Issue #46: April 2015

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Issue 46: April 2015

 

Message from the Global RCE Service Centre:

 

Dear colleagues and friends,

Warm greetings from UNU-IAS!

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the newest members of the RCE Global Service Centre team. Ms. Ikuno Suzuki, and Ms. Ryoko Suzuki are joining us as Administrative Programme Associates for the ESD team of UNU-IAS. Before joining our team, Ikuno worked in various industries in the private sector, ranging from food, finance, information to travel and tourism, as well as in a couple of public institutions. Her interests include children’s education in Africa and she has lived in Ethiopia to do fieldwork for her Master. She joined the team as temporary staff last autumn, and some of you may have met her at the conference in Nagoya, Japan last year. Ryoko worked as an intern at the Education Policy and Reform Unit, UNESCO in the Bangkok Office. She also has several years of working experience at a research institute in Japan and the Japanese Embassy in the UK. She obtained her Master in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex.

We are very pleased to have two new additions in our team. Please join us all in welcoming Ikuno and Ryoko to the RCE community!

In addition to this, we would like to remind everyone about the process for submitting RCE applications this year. Organisations interested in becoming an RCE are requested to submit an application and an application summary to the Global RCE Service Centre: rceservicecentre@unu.eduby Tuesday, 30 June 2015.The Global RCE Service Centre will communicate with the applicants during the following months, so that applications can be developed in time for the Ubuntu Committee Meeting in the last quarter of this year. Please visit the RCE Portal for more information.

Sincerely,

Global RCE Service Centre

 

Upcoming Events

 

Events organized by UNU-IAS


The 3rd ProSPER.Net Forum on Sustainability in Higher Education

“Higher Education for Sustainable Development- Advancing the Nagoya Declaration”

4 June 2015
Shanghai, China

Tongji University will be hosting the 3rd ProSPER.Net Forum on Sustainability in Higher Education. The Forum will discuss the transformative role of higher education and institutions of higher learning towards sustainable development by sharing experiences and examples of good practices. The Forum will also discuss policy implications in the context of the Nagoya Declaration, which was adopted by the participants of the International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development in Nagoya, Japan, on 9 November 2014.

ProSPER.Net-Scopus Young Scientist Award in Sustainable Development Symposium

27 July 2015
Yokohama, Japan

The Young Scientist Award (YSA) is given annually to young scientists and researchers who have made significant contributions in the area of sustainable development. The categories for this year’s YSA are Energy, Water and Biodiversity. Panelists of each category will engage in a lively discussion and will also judge the work of the top three finalists. For further details of the YSA, please visit the ProSPER.Net website.

Events organized by RCE members


RCE Kano: Sustainable Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

31 May 2015
Kano, Nigeria

RCE Kano is providing Sustainable Technical Vocational Education and Training with the aim to decrease unemployment, particularly among women and youth, and to promote sustainable development by enabling innovation. The training offers skills that can be used in soap manufacturing, tailoring, shoe making, interlock block manufacturing, carpentry, mobile repair, automobile mechanic and other.

More than 330 informal vocational and technical trainees are going to graduate on 31 May 2015. Different skills and expertise were taught over the period of 6 months to one year. Skills gained from the training will be applied directly in the various industries.

It is expected that the graduated trainees will train three people each within the next 12 months. This training programme will continue for the next three years depending on availability of funds and other resources. For more information, please contact Mr. Ali Bukar Ahmad of RCE Kano.

World Environmental Education Congress Side Events

29 June- 2 July 2015
Gothenburg, Sweden

The 8th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden from 29 June to 2 July 2015. RCEs will organize a number of events during the congress.

A plenary session, “The Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) - Global, Regional and National Perspectives,” will take place on 30 June. The event will showcase examples of implementation plans and strategies for the GAP with a purpose of informing and inspiring participants in initiating GAP-related actions in their own organizations and countries. The event will be coordinated by the Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD) in partnership with UNR/Globala Skolan, UNESCO, Swedish National Commission for UNESCO, UNU-IAS, and WWF-Sweden.

Additionally, the Nordic RCEs will organize a side event after the plenary session, as a follow-up activity. The event will focus on how the RCE network can support the GAP, and how the GAP can support the progress of the RCE network. RCE West Sweden will be the main organizer of this event. Participants are also welcome to attend a separate workshop organized by RCE West Sweden (3-5 July) with the main theme “Learning 4 change”. Here discussions will be held on how RCEs can develop and test methods and tools to support the change process for leaders.

If you are interested in joining these RCE-organized events, held during the WEEC 2015, please send an email to loc@gmv.gu.se. For more information, please visit the website of RCE West Sweden or the conferencewebsite.

Other Events


Summer Course: Introduction to Learning for Sustainability

8-26 June 2015
The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

This course aims to criticize aspects of the scientific evidence available and the social context of Homo sapiens influence on today’s world situation in terms of climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, environmental impact and our responses to it. In so doing, participants will consider educational responses to the contested concept of ‘sustainability’. This will involve participants considering the breadth and complexity of concepts of ‘sustainability’, and necessarily challenging and partially re-grounding their present understanding and practices by comparing these with the internationally diverse set of practices that sail beneath the ‘flag of convenience’ that is "Learning for Sustainability", "Education for Sustainable Development" and their variants. For those interested in taking this course, please visit the website for more information.

Regional Forum on Climate Change (RFCC) - Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Societies: Bridging Science, Practice, and Policy

1-3 July 2015
Bangkok, Thailand

The Regional Forum on Climate Change (RFCC) will be held at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand from 1-3 July 2015. During the Forum interventions will be proposed that can influence climate policy in the region, and inspire the ASEAN position for climate change negotiations on a global scale. The event is jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Technology, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the European Union and the ASEAN secretariat. Early registration is open until 31 May 2015. For more information, please visit the conference website.

 

Open Calls

 

Distance Learning Scholarships for candidates from Caribbean and African Commonwealth Countries


The MSc Education for Sustainability course at London South Bank University is offering 10 scholarships in 2015 for African and Caribbean Commonwealth Citizens. This course is designed for anyone interested in paving the way for a more sustainable world by way of understanding, educating or promoting sustainability. Although most of the students, present and past, are educators, teachers and NGO educational, training or campaigning staff, this course may draw students from many other backgrounds, such as, health, media, business, government, botanic, and zoological work.

If you are interested in applying for the scholarship, please visit their website for more information. Applications must be submitted by 15 May 2015.

Please note that it is important that candidates apply via the Commonwealth Commission’s website as those applying directly with the university will be considered on the basis of being self- funded. For any questions, please email leacockv@lsbu.ac.uk.

ProSPER.Net- Scopus Young Scientist Award in Sustainable Development


This year’s Young Scientist Award (YSA) will be given annually to young scientists and researchers who have made significant contributions in sustainable development with a focus on Energy, Water and Biodiversity. Applications and nominations will be accepted until 24 May 2015 through ProSPER.Net and Elsevier’s website. As part of the judging process, the three finalists in each category will be sponsored to present their work in a public symposium on 27 July 2015 in Yokohama, Japan. Winners will receive a cash award from ProSPER.Net-Scopus and a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Apply now for the 2015 ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme


The third ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme will be held in Sabah, Malaysia from 23 to 29 August 2015 under the theme of “Transformational Leadership in Implementing and Assessing Sustainability Projects”. This year’s programme will be jointly organized by ProSPER.Net and the Higher Education Leadership Academy of the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS).

The Leadership Programme provides opportunities for participants to develop inter-disciplinary skills to lead sustainable development initiatives appropriate to local, regional or global contexts. Participants will go through a unique experience that will assist them in leading efforts towards developing work with a clearer vision and understanding regarding diverse perspectives, focusing on collaborative efforts, leveraging networks and involving multiple stakeholders. Applications are being accepted until 14 June 2015. Application form and tentative programme are available on ProSPER.Net website.

IPBES Young Fellows Pilot Programme


Nominations for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Young Fellows Pilot Programme are open until 31 May 2015. The Pilot Programme is targeting young scholars who wish to gain experience by participating in the development of the regional and sub-regional assessments (Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and Central Asia) or the thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration. Selected fellows will take part as contributing authors to the chapter of the assessment they are selected for.

Fellows will attend two author meetings and receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of the IPBES assessment processes. Fellows from developing countries and countries with economies in transition will receive support to attend these two meetings, in accordance with UN rules.

Contributing authors to the assessments are, in accordance with the IPBES procedures, selected by the coordinating lead authors and lead authors to assist with the work (IPBES/2/17). Fellows can be selected from within the pool of nominated fellows as well as from the pool of experts already nominated for contributions to the assessments in question. Nominations from a broad range of organization/institutions are encouraged. Self-nominations will not be accepted. Nominators are expected to give their consent to the time commitment required from the candidate. For those who are interested in the IPBES Young Fellows Pilot Programme, please check the RCE Portal and their website.

RCE members are encouraged to apply. Those interested in applying are requested to send a detailed CV to the Global RCE Service Centre before 25 May 2015. After a preliminary screening those shortlisted for nomination through the RCE network will be asked to fill in the online application.

UNESCO- Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)


Within the framework of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development honours outstanding efforts of individuals, institutions, organizations or other entities engaged in ESD activities. The Prize was established by the Executive Board of UNESCO at its 195th session, and officially announced at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD. The Prize will be awarded for the first time in 2015. Funded by the Government of Japan, the Prize consists of three annual awards of USD 50,000 each.

Please note that nominations should be submitted to UNESCO by governments of Member States and non-governmental organizations in official partnership with UNESCO. They should focus on a specific project or programme of the nominee. The deadline for nominations is 31 May 2015.

You can download the Nomination Form (in English and French) and find the selection criteria and other relevant information on the Prize website.

Call for the Coordinating Committee for the Asia-Pacific region


Based on the discussions at the 8th RCE Asia-Pacific Meeting in March 2014, the new general guidelines for Organizing Asia-Pacific RCE Meetings as well as for Asia-Pacific RCEs Coordinating Committee have been formulated. The Coordinating Committee is to take over the role of current Organizing Committee serving the Asia-Pacific RCE community in facilitating inter-RCEs communications and collaboration. On behalf of the regional coordinator, regional advisor and current organizing committee members, we are pleased to call for new members who are willing to take an active role as a coordinating committee member.

For those who are interested in becoming part of the coordinating committee for the Asia-Pacific region, please contact the Global RCE Service Centre by 31 May 2015. The revised guidelines for the coordinating committee are available here and the guidelines for the meeting organizer here.

Call for a commitment for a New Strategic Policy on Sustainable TVET


RCE members, Dr. Charles Hopkins, Mr. Detlev Lindau Bank and Mr. Jos Hermans are calling for commitments from the RCE community to develop a new strategic policy on Sustainable Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

The objective of the new strategy is to gather all TVET-cases in which RCEs have committed themselves actively in determining the needs and realizations of TVET in each region. By researching and finding existing role models worldwide, this initiative aims to find best ways of co-creating new schools or training centers in practice. The RCE Portal will be a platform for collecting the different cases from the respective RCEs.

At the end of the project, a handbook shall be created with an annex that illustrates:1) Demonstrations and showcases of role models; 2) a step-by-step methodology of how to co-create your own TVET-institute (by learning from the aforementioned role models); and 3) showcase a few projects that have been established with the help of RCEs, using the method of co-creation.

For those who are interested in contributing to a new strategic policy for the RCE Community on Sustainable TVET, please visit the RCE Portal for more information to find out how to contribute to this strategy.

 

Latest News

 

The 2nd National RCE Conference and the National RCE Youth League


The 2nd National RCE Conference was held from 8-9 April 2015 and hosted by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) on behalf of the Kenyan RCEs Network. The conference was held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), in Nairobi under the theme, “RCEs- Supporting Environmental Sustainability” and included exhibitions by the various RCE stakeholders.

The event was attended by representatives from all the seven RCEs and three RCE candidates in Kenya. Participants discussed a wide range of topics from challenges of governance and coordination of RCEs both on global and national levels, as well as contributions for the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD by the Kenyan RCEs including Youth. At the end of the conference, Kenyan RCEs came up with recommendations to make contributions to GAP. The recommendations point out the need of establishing a National Youth Green Fund and exchange programmes among RCEs to share their experiences. A need for creating guidelines to mainstream a national ESD policy in curricula at all levels was also mentioned.

In addition to above, the “Kenya RCE Youth League” was launched for the purpose of involving the youth more in RCE activities at the conference. Through this youth league, it was noted that Kenya is making another milestone towards achieving the Priority Action Area 4 of the GAP on “empowering and mobilizing youth”.

The Kenya RCE Youth League will facilitate realization of the goals of RCEs in Kenya by creating synergy between all youth-led and youth-focused CBOs, NGOs and other interested youth groups for the advancement of ESD agenda. The Kenya RCE Youth League will also act as the coordinating body for youth participation and involvement in RCEs activities in Kenya. A full report on the conference is available on the RCE Portal.

A national implementation approach for GAP by RCE Middle Albania


RCE Middle Albania is preparing a proposal for the national government to support the national commissioner in designing the mechanism and national focal point for ESD. The proposal will focus on the process for the implementation of the GAP from the country perspective with an aim to make suggestions to UNESCO guidelines. It also complies with the process of designing an action plan on ESD for Albania. RCE Middle Albania is planning to launch the national approach program for the GAP in December 2015, after having consultations with policymakers, donors, and international organizations. For those who are interested in the planned activities of RCE Middle Albania, please contact Ms. Kalterina Shulla for more information.

 

Media and Other Articles

 

United Nations Youth Flash

UNEP News Centre: African Ministers Call for Strong Paris Agreement, Climate Finance Flows

UNEP: The Three Dimensions of Sustainable Development

World Economic Forum: Is time running out to avoid a mass extinction?

The Guardian: How much fossil fuel has been used in your lifetime?

The Guardian: What they say about climate change: our favourite quotes

Business and Climate Summit 2015 in Paris: Working together to build a better economy

The 2015 Global Monitoring Report – Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges

UNESCO: World Oceans Day 2015: Ocean and Climate in Paris

The World Bank: Out-of-School Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Policy Perspective

FAO: The XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa

These and many more articles can be found on the RCE Portal. For instantaneous news, please sign up for our RSS Feed!

 

Publications

 

UNEP Discussion Paper: Sustainable Consumption and Production Indicators for the Future SDGs


The UNEP discussion paper has been released at the start of the post-2015 development agenda discussions in New York. The purpose of this document is to assist Member States in identifying potential indicators for targets proposed under SDG 12 (“Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns”) and for related targets in twelve of the other proposed SDGs. This discussion paper aims to contribute to the development of an integrated, science-based set of indicators to monitor progress towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns, which support achievement of the SDGs. The paper highlights a number of potential indicators, which can serve for different goals and targets and thus contribute to making the targets more actionable and transformative, by promoting an integrated approach to shifting towards SCP patterns and achieving the SDGs. The paper can be downloaded from the Global SCP Clearinghouse of the 10YFP or from the RCE Portal.

This is a publication of UNU-IAS RCE Global Service Centre.

If you wish to contribute to the monthly bulletin or have news, upcoming events, or publications, you would like to share, please use this form. You can mail it to the Global RCE Service Centre: rceservicecentre@unu.edu. Submissions must be made by the 15th of every month. In addition, we encourage you to continue using the RCE Portal to exchange ideas, share expertise and resources and deliberate emerging sustainability issues towards ESD implementation at a global level.

Please send your comments, suggestions and materials to rceservicecentre@unu.edu.