RCE Bulletin
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
We hope you all had a nice holiday season and are refreshed and ready for the new year ahead, with 2019 shaping up to be an exciting one for all of us involved in ESD!
As always, we would love to hear from you, therefore if you have any news, upcoming events, or publications that you would like to share with the RCE community, please complete this form and email your submission to the Global RCE Service Centre at rceservicecentre@unu.edu (submissions close on the 15th of each month).
Sincerely,
The Global RCE Service Centre
All 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took centre stage at the 11th Global RCE Conference, which was hosted by RCE Cebu at the University of the Philippines, Cebu from 7-9 December, 2018 under the theme 'Education for the Sustainable Development Goals'. Over 100 participants were present at the event, which provided RCEs with the opportunity to learn, share, and discuss how they can make an impact to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education and training at all levels.
Participants enjoyed a programme of plenary sessions, case presentations, a series of workshops, and field trips. The conference provided the opportunity for the RCE community to celebrate their activities and achievements, with the importance of education, multi-stakeholder partnerships for community service, cooperation across boundaries, and incorporation of global perspectives into local actions among the key points highlighted throughout the two-day event. Entry points were identified for RCEs to become more involved, whilst synergies to pursue across the network also came to light. Moving forward, greater inter-RCE collaboration will be crucial, and learning through capacity-building of institutions and individuals will continue to be a key undertaking that RCEs can deliver on.
The Global RCE Service Centre would like to thank the team at RCE Cebu and its partners, including the University of the Philippines Cebu and the Government of the Province of Cebu for their dedication, tireless efforts, and wonderful organisation and hosting of the 11th Global RCE Conference. Acknowledgement must also go to the attendees from across the RCE community for their active participation, which combined, made the event a great success.
Read more about the conference here and access materials from the event here on the RCE Portal.
A collection of photos can also be found on this site, hosted by RCE Cebu.
The Global RCE Service Centre would like to congratulate the winners of the 2018 RCE Awards, who were recognised at the 11th Global RCE Conference held in Cebu, the Philippines in December 2018. Recipients were awarded across three categories: (1) Outstanding Flagship Project, (2) Acknowledged Flagship Project, and (3) Honourable Mention across a spectrum of SDGs. Read more
The Global RCE Service Centre is currently accepting applications to host RCE Regional Meetings for 2019 in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. Please visit the open call for further details on how to apply - applications close soon, on Thursday 31 January, 2019 (11:59pm JST).
Upcoming Events
The second RCE Youth Challenge is now open for expressions of interest for youth-based projects focusing on SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities. All youth are welcome to get involved from any region.
The RCE Youth SDG Challenge 2019 will commence in February 2019. With support from their RCE, participants are invited to create their own program or project that will make a difference for themselves, their community and the planet around the SDGs and ESD. Youth can work alone, in a team, or with a neighbouring RCE on a project that must involve as many youth as possible. Projects can include activities and initiatives such as documentaries, youth camps, school expos, writing competitions, art installations, leadership summits, and more. At the conclusion of the project, a 1-day Asia-Pacific Virtual Youth Conference will be held online in September/October 2019 where youth can celebrate and present to a global audience. Furthermore, these will be included in an e-publication to share and inspire other youth from around the world to engage with the SDGs in their communities.
Youth wishing to participate must submit a short project plan by 31 January, 2019, be aged 35 years and younger, and have basic English skills (written and verbal). Find out more and access the project plan application form here.
This initiative is led by the Asia-Pacific Youth Regional Coordinators, Brittany Hardiman (RCE Greater Western Sydney, Australia) and Emmy Yuniarti Rusadi (RCE Yogyakarta, Indonesia).
Open Calls
Is your organisation interested in facilitating learning towards sustainable development in your community? The Global RCE Service Centre is now accepting applications for 2019 from interested organisations wishing to become an RCE!
Before applying, please take time to review the Guidelines for RCE Applications as well as the key dates in the application process, announced in the open call here. Sample applications are also available from RCE Greater Portland and RCE Bordeaux Aquitaine.
To apply, please submit an application and an application summary to the Global RCE Service Centre (rceservicecentre@unu.edu) by 30 April, 2019 (11:59pm JST).
Does your RCE have an RCE Youth Coordinator? The Global RCE Service Centre would like to remind all RCEs that they are requested to designate a youth focal point within each RCE if they have not already done so. Each person appointed is to represent the youth within their RCE, and to serve as a point of contact for youth seeking to network and engage with cross-RCE initiatives and activities. As such, it is essential that the chosen representative is engaged with and works with a diverse cross-section of youth within their region. For more information, including responsibilities, and to apply, please download the RCE Youth Coordinator form here and submit it to the RCE Service Centre at RCEServiceCentre@unu.edu by 30 April, 2019 (11:59pm JST).
UNU-IAS is now accepting applications for the JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship programme. Jointly organised by UNU-IAS and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship programme provides promising, highly qualified, young researchers with the opportunity to conduct advanced research relevant to the main thematic focus areas of the institute. Applications close 15 March, 2019, and must be submitted via the UNU-IAS online application form - please view this page for further details.
Applications are currently open for UNU-IAS' postgraduate degree programmes for 2019: the Master of Science in Sustainability and the PhD in Sustainability Science. The deadline for submission for the master's programme is 28 February, 2019, and for the doctoral programme, applications are being accepted until 19 April, 2019. Both programmes will begin in September 2019. Read more
Latest News
Convened by UNESCO, the Global Education Meeting was held from 3-5 December, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium under the theme ‘Education in an Interconnected World: Ensuring Inclusive and Equitable Development’. The meeting was an opportunity to review progress towards the global education targets and commitments in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Among the sessions, an ESD workshop was conducted on 3 December, 2018 on ‘Addressing Climate Change through Education for Sustainable Development’, with emerging policy messages set to be forwarded to the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) 2019 later this year. These include ESD’s integral part of strategies to combat the effects of climate change, as well as the need for climate change education to include socio-emotional and behavioural learning aspects.
Another development at the meeting was the adoption of the Brussels Declaration on 5 December, 2018, with eight priority areas identified to achieve SDG 4 over the next four years.
Read the Brussels Declaration here, and find out more about the Global Education Meeting 2018 here.
During last month's UN Climate Conference, COP24, held in Katowice, Poland, from 3-14 December, 2018, 'Education Day' took place on 13 December, 2018, and was a chance for education to demonstrate the pivotal role it plays in global responses to climate change, including the implementation of the Paris Agreement. UNESCO co-organised a series of events, including a high-level ministerial meeting on climate change education, a round table discussion, and a side event. Read more
RCE Lucknow and RCE Greater Western Sydney organised a Sustainability Exchange Programme from 27 November - 7 December, 2018 at Lucknow in India. Developed by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in association with Western Sydney University (WSU) and University of Lucknow, the interdisciplinary two-week course focused on bringing integrated perspectives on sustainability along ecological and social dimensions and used them to examine critical themes of importance to India, such as population, water, health and climate change in view of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more
A new research programme from the International Institute for Educational Planning at UNESCO, titled 'Local challenges, global imperatives: cities at the forefront to achieve the Education 2030 Agenda', was recently launched in December 2018. The research seeks to identify how to build strong and sustainable partnerships between ministries of education and cities to achieve the Education 2030 Agenda. It will look at how cities can ensure successful educational planning, with research taking place in several cities in France during this year, followed by a group of worldwide cities in 2020. Read more
The United Nations has declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL2019), in order to encourage urgent action to preserve, revitalise and promote the world's indigenous languages, many of which are disappearing. Not only are languages a form of communication, but they also allow us to express our history, culture, and identity, and are pivotal in areas such as human rights protection, peace building, and sustainable development. Find out more about IYIL2019, as well as how you can get involved here.
ESD BOOKS, PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER
Published by UNU-IAS in collaboration with Japanese RCEs, 'Good Practices for ESD - Case Reports from Japanese RCEs' presents some good practices on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) from all seven RCEs in Japan, as well as how they contribute to global RCE activities. It also looks at how local ESD networks could work together for the implementation of the SDGs. Access the publication here.
Newly launched, this video tutorial from UNESCO looks at how to implement Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at the local level, focusing on learning cities and how and why they can integrate ESD into their existing programmes. Find out more here or watch the video, available in English, French, and Spanish.
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.
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