RCE Czechia - 2023

Location

Czech Republic
See map: Google Maps
CZ
Localising SDGs - special collection of articles on the role of RCEs in education on regional level
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Localising SDGs - special collection of articles on the role of RCEs in education on regional level
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Czechia
Contributing organization(s) : 
University of South Bohemia
Society for Sustainable Living
Local Action Group Network in CR
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Jana Dlouhá
Organizational Affiliation: 
Univerzita Karlova
E-mail: 
jana.dlouha@czp.cuni.cz
Name: 
Rodrigo Lozano
Organizational Affiliation: 
University of Gävle,Gävle,Sweden
E-mail: 
rodrigo.lozano@hig.se
Format of project: 
Special collection of articles in Frontiers in Sustainability, focused on the role of RCEs regionally
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Monday, August 14, 2023
Web link: 
https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/18670/the-role-of-the-human-dimension-in-promoting-education-for-sustainable-development-at-the-regional-level
Additional resources: 
All of the articles are published open access - accessile on the above mentioend link; the Editorial is just in the process of review.
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
SDGs and Agenda 2030
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Education 2030
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Sustainable regional development policies
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Global
Country: 
United Kingdom
Location(s): 
Czech Republic
Address of focal point institution for project: 
José Martího 2
Praha 6
160 00
Ecosystem(s):
Agricultural, Urban/Peri-urban
Target Audience:
Community, Higher, Teacher Ed., Youth (Informal)
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
The Special Collection reflects situation globally, with emphasis on regional specifics in the implementation of SDGs and ESD principles from theory to practice.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
"Localisation" of SDGs is a difficult process as it should be negotiated by numerous stakeholders, and accepted by the local communities. Education plays a key role in this transformation process, and should be transformed itself. Principles of transformative education are widely discussed in literature, however, there is a little evidence how this approach works in practice - with the goal to promote sustainable regions. RCEs could play a key role here, and this role is discussed by the authors from different regions of the world.
Contents
Status: 
Completed
Period: 
January, 2022
Rationale: 
Research on the roles of RCE in education is needed as it may provide incentives for systemic changes in (higher) education and sustainability policies as such.
However, each of the articles built on the practical experiences from the concrete region (case study analysis was a common approach). That means, the experiences were exchanged between different RCEs in a sound, evidence based way.
Objectives: 
The goal in compiling this collection of articles was to provide sound evidence for further development of the RCE community. As transformative processes in higher education are associated with accepting SDG (regionally based) perspective, both of these goals (ESD, sustainable regional development) were interonnected in this SC.
Activities and/or practices employed: 
The call for papers has been disstributed in the RCE networkand leading personalities form all of the regions of the world have entered into the process of preparation. the former team included:
Ph.D. Jana Dlouhá
Ph.D., M.SC. Philip Vaughter
Detlev Lindau-Bank
Dr. Andrew Reeves
Dr. Akpezi Ogbuigwe
Dr. Clemens Mader
Prof emeritus Ros Wade
Ph D Kiran Chhokar
Ph.D. Roger Petry
Betsy King
Some of them however stepped out after some time.
Size of academic audience: 
1000
Results: 
There are 9 articles already published in this SC, and the editorial is prepared and will be published soon.
Each of the articles has from x100 to x1000 views.
Lessons learned: 
Publishing studies on the RCE role in education is relatively difficult as the RCEs are devoted to activities in practice, the research dimension is less emphasized. Especially quantitative research is difficult to realize; however UNU has data also for this kind of reflection (and contributed substantially to the quality of the outcome).
Key messages: 
RCEs is still a novel approach to organizing education on different levels, and it is associated with a new institution that involves numerous regional actors (the RCE itself). This could result in a more deep transformation of educational systems globally.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
For the RCE Czechia, this project was resulting form the 3-years' project "Sustainable development goals on regional level – empowering rural communities through education" (2019-2022). Two of the articles were written by the project team members - their research reflects the situation (actors, processes and (E)SD regional strategies) in the Czech Republic. This is based on RCE local cooperation and activities. However, the results are generalized, as the Local Action Groups (which were involved/analysed) work in many countries of the EU.
Funding: 
The published articles were funded from the project "Sustainable development goals on regional level – empowering rural communities through education". Production of the Special Collection (editing of the articles, writing editorial) was not funded - represented voluntary activity of the RCE.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere 
Indirect
SDG 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture 
Indirect
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Indirect
SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 
Indirect
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Indirect
SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all 
Indirect
SDG 9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation 
Indirect
SDG 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries 
Indirect
SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 
Direct
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Indirect
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Direct
SDG 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 
Indirect
SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss 
Indirect
SDG 16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 
Indirect
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Direct
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Indirect
Traditional Knowledge  
Indirect
Agriculture 
Indirect
Curriculum Development 
Direct
Ecotourism 
Indirect
Waste 
Indirect
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 1 - Advancing policy 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Developing capacities of educators and trainers 
state: 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes