RCE Salisbury hosted the 11th Americas Regional Meeting from 3-5 October, 2022 to explore the theme 'Now, More than Ever! The RCE Network as a Peace Leader!'. The immense challenges that were presented by COVID-19 underlined how vital it is for RCE agencies to rise to the top of a global crisis in support of communities and individuals in need. Presentations throughout the Meeting emphasised the importance of localising SDGs, fostering collaboration, and the sharing of ideas and information across institutions. Read more

(Photo credit: RCE Salisbury)

From 10-13 October, 2022, RCE Fryslan hosted the Europe Regional Meeting 2022 (part II) around the theme of 'Greater than the Sum of its Parts'. Having already hosted the European Regional Meeting 2022 (part I), The Imaginative Power of the Region, in February 2022, which due to the pandemic took place in a fully online setting, for this meeting RCE Fryslan aimed at creating a programme in which the European RCEs could meet each other physically in order to explore possibilities for collaboration and concretize projects across European RCEs. Following an open space session conducted, plans were made to create working groups around the topics of Pedagogies for ESD and of research-based evaluations of RCE actions, whilst attendees also participated in field trips to learn about the Whole School Approach and how some organisations implement ESD in their programmes and educational models. Read more

(Photo credit: Jennie Qiu)

From 6-7 October, 2022, the Central Asian Symposium on ICT in Education (CASIE) was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, under the theme 'ICT-enabled Skills Development in Rural and Remote Areas.' Organised by UNESCO, in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS), the event provided a platform for participants to discuss policies and practices towards developing ICT-enabled education in rural and remote areas, as well as action plans to support the learning recovery and transformation of education for learners in these areas.
 
In a presentation on 'Innovative Use of ICT in Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCEs)', Dr. Jonghwi Park (UNU-IAS) shared preliminary findings from research on the innovative use of technologies for ESD by RCEs, along with examples of ICT empowered RCE projects. The research being conducted will analyse RCE projects that were reported in the RCE database for the last 5 years (2017-2022), and investigate factors affecting their use of technologies, whilst also comparing regional and local differences. The main study is planned to be completed in early 2023.
 
Learn more about the symposium here.

RCE Hangzhou recently held the 'Better Lancang-Mekong River' Youth Policy Essay Writing Competition, in collaboration with the Waterkeeper Alliance East Asia Region, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Lower Sesan River Waterkeeper, and 3S Rivers Protection Network. The writing competition was open to youth from the six countries along the Lancang-Mekong River. Its main focus was how to help achieve the co-governance and sharing of water resources by promoting communication among young people from those six countries, about sustainable protection and utilisation of the Lancang-Mekong River. Read more

RCE Greater Burlington partners University of Vermont and the Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools have collaborated to launch two innovative Education for Sustainability (EFS) graduate certificates for practicing educators. These new certificates combine Shelburne Farms' international reputation for EFS professional learning with the University of Vermont's research capacity, land-grant mission, and track record of high-quality teacher education.
 
Shelburne Farms and the University have a long history of collaboration, and in 2014, co-founded the Greater Burlington Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development.
 
"It is more critical than ever to offer these transformative experiences for educators and their schools," says Shelburne Farms Executive Vice President Megan Camp. "Programs like these can help make positive change in communities around the world, and create a more just and sustainable future for all."
 
Enrolment is now open for the 18-credit Certificate of Graduate Study and the 12-credit Micro Certificate. Read more

On 20 September 2022, UNU-IAS held an online symposium on community-based activities and governance for seascape restoration, focusing on blue carbon systems and citizen science. It was part of a series of events launched in February 2022 as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The event was organised in partnership with the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) and the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ). Read more