Issue 66: February 2017
Issue 66: February 2017
Message from the Global RCE Service Centre:
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
How to benefit most of the RCE Network: A catalogue of resources
Find all the information you need on how to benefit from the RCE Network. This is interesting for existing and new RCEs alike. Here RCEs can get insight in how to use the website, the Name and Logo Policy, Annual Reporting, Facebook, e-bulletin submission, and you can download a mentoring pack. Read more
RCE Greater Portland has prepared a mentoring webinar for new and existing RCEs that summarises the RCE network’s goals and activities. Watch it Read more
Scoping of RCEs' work on Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Traditional Knowledge
The following questionnaire is for a preliminary documentation of RCEs' work on biodiversity, ecosystem services, traditional knowledge (terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems). Please fill in all the activities (Research, Assessments, Capacity development/training/education/awareness programs, Policy advocacy, Implementation projects etc.) of all the RCE partners. The survey can be accessed Read more
Scoping of RCEs' work on Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Traditional Knowledge
We want to hear from you! Earth Day on 22 April focuses on ‘Environmental and Climate Literacy’. Are you planning any activities or do you have any ongoing projects related to this day? If so, we would like to hear about it and showcase your activities. Please send an email to rceservicecentre@unu.edu. You can find some helpful resources to guide you on Climate Literacy here.
FINAL REMINDER - Open Call Regional Conferences 2017 (deadline 15 March 2017)
RCEs that wish to host a regional conference can still apply by sending a letter to the RCE Service Centre at rceservicecentre@unu.eduby 15 March, 2017. For more information visit the RCE Portal
For more information visit the RCE Portal
Sincerely,
The Global RCE Service Centre
Upcoming Events
German RCEs Meeting
6-8 March, 2017, Nuernberg, Germany
Among other items, German RCEs will meet to discuss the upcoming RCE Europe Meeting and activities in 2017.
International Symposium on Biodiversity and Sustainability
12 March, 2017, UNU-Headquarters, Tokyo
UNU-IAS, together with the University of Tokyo Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S), will co-host this symposium that will bring together leading experts to discuss the integration of social and ecological systems. Discussions will include the valuation of ecosystem services, with a view to contributing to building societies in harmony with nature, achieving the SDGs and promoting sustainability science.? Read more
21st Annual EAUC Conference: Global Goals: Local Action"
28-30 March, 2017, Lancaster, UK
The 2017 Annual Conference of the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) will bring together delegates from the further and higher education sector. Delegates include those responsible for environmental management, estates and facilities, finance and procurement as well as curriculum leaders and students. Read more
International Congress on Education for the 21st Century (ICE2017)
3-4 May, 2017, Nonthaburi Thailand
Hosted by the Ministry of Education, Thailand and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) the Congress brings together diverse education actors and stakeholders representing the governments of SEAMEO Member Countries as well as public and private education institutions and agencies. Read more
Sustainable Development Conference - Green technology, Renewable energy and Environmental protection
13-15 July, 2017, Bangkok, Thailand
Conference on sustainable development is intended to be a forum, discussion and networking place for academics, researchers, professionals, administrators, educational leaders, policy makers, industry representatives, advanced students, and others. Read more
Symposium on Sustainable Development Research in Asia-Pacific
25-28 July 2017, Melbourne, Australia
The conference will be hosted by ProSPER.Netmember RMIT University in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, and RCE Hamburg, under the auspices of the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP). Deadline for registration is 30 May, 2017. Read more
The Resilience 2017 conference
20-23 August, 2017, Stockholm, Sweden
Followed by the International Conference on Sustainability Science – Global Goals: new approaches to knowledge generation – challenges and solutions from local to global scales
Organised by the Stockholm Resilience Centre and sponsored by Future Earth, these conferences will be linked together with a science-policy-practice day on 24 August. This day will be a dialogue for pathways for sustainable and resilient societies. The SDG Labs with be complemented by SDG sessions organised by Future Earth’s Knowledge Action Networks. Read more
For more events visit our ESD calendar.
Open Calls
Launch of RCE Disaster Risk Reduction Group in Asia Pacific
The frequency and magnitude of disasters pose a serious threat to mankind, which require a certain preparedness for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Preparedness for DRR is an integral part of ESD. The RCE community provides a perfect platform for addressing DRR by way of ‘Building Climate Smart, Disaster Resilient and Sustainable Communities’. The ‘Mehfooz’ (in Urdu language) ‘School Safety’ Programme encompasses safety of all, safety everywhere, and safety all the time. In an open call, RCE Srinagar appeals and encourages RCEs in the Asia Pacific region to engage in DRR. For more information on how to join the RCE DRR Group for Asia Pacific click here
Call for Ideas and Innovations for Breakthroughs to Achieve the SDGs
Future Earth and the Stockholm Resilience Centre are looking for ideas with potential to make major breakthroughs on the SDGs. The outcomes of the SDG Labs will be presented on 24 August during the joint “Ideas and Innovation” policy day for policymakers, business, researchers and media Read more
Vacancy: Senior Programme Associate ESD Team, UNU-IAS, Tokyo
The ESD Team at UNU-IAS is looking for a Senior Programme Associate to coordinate the overall work of the ESD Project including the day-to-day management as well as programme outreach, event coordination, and budget management. Deadline is 3 March, 2017 Read more
2017 International Essay Contest for Young People
Young people from around the world are invited to enter the 2017 International Essay Contest for Young People organized by the Goi Peace Foundation, a GAP Key Partner Read more
Latest News
Americas RCE Meeting Concludes with Collaborative Action Plan for the Region
The RCE Meeting of the Americas was hosted by RCE Curitiba-Parana in Curitiba, Brazil from 19-24 October, 2016. The theme of this year’s meeting was "Renewable Energy and Sustainable Education", and was held in parallel with a regional symposium on Low Carbon Economy, Renewable Energy and Cities. To promote each RCEs contribution to the SDGs, individual RCE Action Plans were consolidated into a collaborative Action Plan for the Americas region. Outcomes of the Conference have now been posted online here.Photos are now onfacebook
Video on New RCE Georgetown, USA
Watch the Video on the launch of new RCE Georgetown, South Carolina, USA, that joined end of 2016. With a projected population growth of 95 percent from 2000 to 2030, the region is faced with substantial environmental and economic consequences over the next years. Here is how they plan to address these issues. Read more
Policy Makers in South East Asia Grasp Concept of Sustainable Value Chains - Shifting from ‘Governance through Rules’ to ‘Governance through Goals’
Over 50 policymakers of different ministries from ASEAN countries joined the ASEAN+3 Leadership Programme in Hanoi, Vietnam to learn more about Sustainable Consumption and Production best practices and addressing the demand of upscaling these through new models and systems. Read more
Students Celebrate World Wetlands Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
CEE Himalaya and RCE Srinagar, together with other organisations, conducted various events across the Indian Himalayan Region in February on the occasion of World Wetlands Day. Through educational games, quizzes and drawing competitions, students looked at the problems associated with depleting wetlands and how these relate to disaster risks. Read more
The Stockholm Statement - Towards a consensus on the principles of policy-making for the contemporary world
13 economists discussed the challenges faced by today’s economic policy makers and came up with ten principles essential for policy making. Read more
European Union Policy Brief Series: European Identity and the Learning Union
The Learning Union is at “arm’s length” distance from Governments with autonomy and funding designed to incentivize learning goals as well as equality of opportunity. Universities are a special case with regard to increasing competitiveness, but also for their impact on identity. The Learning Union has three components: contributing to a sense of European belonging, the “communication EU” as well as the “competency EU”. Download the policy brief Read more
Five Challenges of Analysing Progress – and How We Got Around Them
Sadly, it’s often the positive development stories that don’t make the headlines – for example how Nepal has reduced maternal mortality by an estimated 75% since the early 1990s; how Peru lowered urban poverty from 42% to 16% between 2001 and 2013, or how Burkina Faso reclaimed 2-300,000 hectares of land from the Saharan desert over the past 30 years. These are just a few of the examples that deserve more attention. This ODI article summarises a few of the biggest challenges in trying to better analyse examples of progress like these. Read more
Winners of 2016 SEAMEO-Japan ESD Award Announced
The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan in cooperation with UNESCO Asia Pacific Regional Bureau for Education have announced the winners of the 2016 SEAMEO-Japan ESD Award under the theme 'Saving Energy’. Read more
National Students Union (NSU) Survey on Sustainability
This survey initiated by NSU and the results clearly show how much students care about sustainability. 80 per cent of them want their institution to be doing more on sustainable development, 60 per cent of students want to learn more about sustainability. Read more
World Economic Forum: Why Collaboration Will be Key to Achieving the SDGs
Building partnership models which are long lasting, scalable and transformative, and which create shared value are key. The rapid transformation heralded by the Fourth Industrial Revolution will affect economic, social, environmental, cultural and political life more widely, demanding new ways of working together. Read more
ESD Books, Publications and Other
Urban Environmental Education Review, Russ and Krasny, eds., 2017
According to 90 scholars from six continents, environmental education in cities can foster urban sustainability, as showcased in this book. Three themes—participation of urban residents in planning and environmental stewardship, exploring and reconstructing urban places, and forming partnerships among disciplines and organizations who care about the urban environment—emerged as critical. Read more
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.
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