RCE Greater Kuala Lumpur - 2022

Teen World Soil Day Celebration (Malaysia)
CSV
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Teen World Soil Day Celebration (Malaysia)
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Greater Kuala Lumpur
Contributing organization(s) : 
Main Organizers:
UCSI Springhill International School (National Competition Organizer 2021, 2022)
Teens4CAP - The Blue Ribbon Global (Initiator 2020 & Sponsor)
UCSI Group SDG Secretariat Office (RCE GKL Secretariat)

Partners:
Potato Productions, Singapore (Virtual Host since 2020)
UCSI Schools
El-Shaddai Refugee Learning Centre
UCSI Living Lab
Kiwanis
UCSI College


Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Willie Tan
Organizational Affiliation: 
CEO of UCSI Schools
E-mail: 
willietan@ucsischools.edu.my
Name: 
Kumutha Chelliah
Organizational Affiliation: 
UCSI Springhill International School
E-mail: 
kumuthac@sh.ucsiinternationalschool.edu.my
Name: 
Sundus Al-Saquaf
Organizational Affiliation: 
Teens4CAP - The Blue Ribbon Global
E-mail: 
tbr.malaysia@DL2GO.org
Name: 
Norani Abu Bakar
Organizational Affiliation: 
UCSI Group SDG Secretariat Office
E-mail: 
norani@ucsigroup.com.my
Format of project: 
PowerPoint, Zoom, audiovisual, painting, hands-on gardening
Language of project: 
English and Malay
Date of submission:
Friday, September 9, 2022
Web link: 
https://www.ucsiinternationalschool.edu.my/kl/world-soil-day-celebration/
Additional resources: 
Teens4CAP World Soil Day Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/160983852390370
https://www.ucsigroup.com.my/ucsi-schools-celebrate-world-soil-day-2020
UN FOA WSD 2021 Pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/faooftheun/albums/72177720296047263/page2
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
11th Malaysia Plan
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
The Paris Agreement
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Local Agenda 21 (LA21)
At what level is the policy operating?: 
Local
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Asia-Pacific
Country: 
Malaysia
Location(s): 
Greater Kuala Lumpur
Address of focal point institution for project: 
No. 1, Jalan Menara Gading, UCSI Heights, (Taman Connaught) Cheras 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ecosystem(s):
Agricultural, Coastal, Dryland, Forest, Mountain, Urban/Peri-urban
Target Audience:
Community, Secondary, Youth (Informal)
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Teen World Soil Day celebration started in Greater Kuala Lumpur (GKL) in 2020 and is now upscaled nationally in Malaysia. Since 2020, the country has had an open economy in with a trade-to-GDP ratio averaging over 130% and average growth of 5.4% and is expected to be a high-income economy by 2024. GKL where the project initially took place is about 2% of Peninsular Malaysia. It has 8.4 million of Malaysia’s total population of 32.8 million and about 180,000 refugees and asylum seekers. The city offers rich cultural experience and access to a diverse workforce and urban dwellers of different ethnicity, religion, nationality, and educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. In 2020, GKL contributed 40% of the nation's GDP and is the engine of Malaysia's economic growth. According to May 2022 report by APPGM-SDG, SDG pressing needs in the district where RCE GKL is located include cramped flat housing for low-income city folks and their state of emotional well-being, urban poverty, severe traffic jams, and soil erosions in property construction areas.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
Malaysia is a non-signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. With 180,000 refugees and many undocumented migrants in RCE GKL, the region witnesses the challenge of implementing SDG 4 quality and equitable education for school-aged refugees. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many forced migrants and some Malaysian experienced hunger. In ensuring safety when learning about food security, RCE GKL partners work together to develop a curriculum and safe space for climate education. Today's education also lacks emphasis on connecting humans, technology, and nature. The community has minimal resilience in growing food despite the fact that the many unused lands can be transformed for community gardens in RCE GKL. Training on growing own food is truly needed amidst this climate crisis. It starts with understanding that many climate solutions start from our own soil. The health of the soil determines our health and well-being. We can't meet SDG 2 if we do not work on SDG 15 - halt land degradation, and educate on SDG 12 - responsible consumption, avoiding the use of chemicals in our soil and water. Prior to understanding SDGs, many agencies also work in silos and compete with each other. We have learned that our life will be more sustainable and flourishing when we leverage each other's strengths!
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Period: 
December, 2020
Rationale: 
LA21, in support of the Paris Agreement, can be achieved through interagency and intergenerational partnerships, including the facilitation of potential contributions from the underprivileged. Teens' involvement in this education project amidst today's climate crisis proved that youth has the capacity to campaign and start a movement on soil and earth care. Creating opportunities for refugees who are excluded from mainstream education to give to the community also creates a heart-warming and positive narrative that can change negative views and treatment of forced migrants. Changing public attitude to support the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a long journey, but our milestone of having Malaysia's Ministry of Education approve the participation of students from refugee learning centers in the World Soil Day National Competition demonstrated hope upon perseverance. Upscaling the project to the national level is also made possible with RCE GKL's partners' collaborative actions, each playing its unique role with Malaysia's 11th Plan as the team's aspiration and SDG motto, 'Leaving No One Behind' as their guide.
Objectives: 
1) Enhancing food security (SDG 2)
2) Creating awareness of the importance of soil in earth care (SDG 13, 15) and consuming responsibly (SDG 12)
3) Advocating education for all children and youths, regardless of their backgrounds (SDG 4)
4) Optimizing the usage of underutilized urban land to support sustainable cities (SDG 11)
5) Fostering collaborative interagency and intergenerational climate actions amidst today's drastic climate change (SDG 17)
Activities and/or practices employed: 
In ensuring safety when learning about food security, RCE GKL partners - UCSI Group's 'Leave No One Behind' program, The Blue Ribbon (TBR) Global's advocacy Peace3Ps, Potato Productions' food security for refugee, and refugee learning centers collaborated to run a 3-month residential SDG program for teen refugees, hosted at UCSI Living Lab. Their daily activities include soil regeneration and edible gardening. The Teens4CAP team developed the under-utilized neighborhood land to grow veggies and donated the surplus weekly to the hungry. Together, the partners developed:
1) Eco-Edible Gardening Workshop (15-hour workshop includes a lesson on Soil and Composting) - Since 2020, around 2-3 bathes/year
2) 3-month residential program (Vocational Internship Program) hosted by UCSI Living Lab, later TBR continues as 3-month virtual program Climate Action Incubator Program (CAIP) (on sustainable living, including practical on composting, planting, harvesting, and other skills)
2) Annual Teen World Soil Day Celebration (virtual, facilitated by RCE GKL partners and their youth members)
2020 - The Blue Ribbon organized Teens4CAP WSD virtual - teens shared their planting and soil regeneration projects & activity designing planting at different sites
2021 - UCSI SDG Group organized Teen Celebration of World Soil Day (teen representatives presented their soil-related projects)
2021 - UCSI Schools organized Teens4CAP World Soil Day National Competition (2 categories: Soil Painting and Video Competition for formal schools and alternative education centers)
2022 - UCSI Schools is organizing Teens4CAP World Soil Day National Competition (Soil Painting for primary and secondary, formal schools, and alternative education centers) & Asia Pacific competition that focuses on edible gardening.
Size of academic audience: 
1000+
Results: 
1) 2020 - Community engagement as more than 10 NGOs and teens that resided in Malaysia and a few from Australia, Indonesia, and Africa participated. Teachers and staff from UCSI and TBR's NGO partners from 5 countries took part to facilitate group activities and all, young and old, shared their gardening work and uploaded it to Teens4CAP WSD Facebook
2) 2021 - (i) greater awareness of the importance of soil, 200+ participated in teen celebration for WSD & 280 students from formal and alternative education centers from 4 states and Wilayah Persekutuan participated in soil painting and video competitions (iii) Increase support from the government for earth care and inclusive education, (iv) social integration and improvement on mainstreaming of education for refugees
Lessons learned: 
1) SDG 17 -the importance of interagency and intergenerational partnership in climate action and transforming community
2) SDG 15 - the importance of soil through learning from each year's World Soil Day theme
3) SDG 13 & 11 - Climate action is possible through perseverance and creative ways to reach out and campaign
4) SDG 2 & 3 - restoring soil enhances food security, and the process, such as personal and community gardening, improves our well-being, especially during COVID-19
Challenges
5) Consumerism - preference for veggies and imported food that is well displayed at the shopping mall and commercialized, even if they are GMO or non-organic products
6) Learning institutions do not take the climate crisis seriously and often use the lack of 'demand' from students as an excuse not to attend to the urgency to regenerate our earth
Key messages: 
For centuries, adults have decided on the education content for children and teens, so we can't blame them for not demanding climate action education to be part of their curriculum today. If yesterday, Math, Science, and ITC were a must to have in every school, in this Anthropocene period, education institutions that do not integrate education on social and environmental regeneration can be considered as failing to anticipate the future. Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”!.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
Education for Climate Change (E4CAP) by The Blue Ribbon Global
Leave No One Behind Program by UCSI Group
Vocational Internship Program by UCSI Living Lab
Peace and Unity Education (Lesson 6) by El-Shaddai Refugee Learning Center, Malaysian Youth Council, The Blue Ribbon, UCSI, RCE Central Semenanjung and RCE Greater Gombak
Funding: 
Teens4CAP - The Blue Ribbon (TBR) Global (sponsor for the prizes)
UCSI Group, UCSI Schools, Potato Productions - Human Resources
Potato Productions, Singapore (Zoom premier account)
Teens4CAP participants (sponsor for consolation prizes - seeds)

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon WSD3 2021.png (1.33 MB) Zoom 2021 World Soil Day Potato Productions
Image icon CAIP WSD2 2021.jpg (239.84 KB) CAIP 2021 participants doing soil painting Norani Abu Bakar
Image icon Teesn WSD2 2021.jpg (122.68 KB) Teens Celebration WSD 2021 UCSI Group SDG Office
Image icon Teens4CAP Edible Garden Graduate Dec 2021.png (437.84 KB) Teens4CAP Edible Garden Graduation Teens4CAP Team
References and reference materials: 
PDF icon TBR T4CAP WSD2021 Press ReleaseJan2022.pdf
PDF icon TEENS4CAP TOPIC 1 Soil Feb 2022.pdf
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 
Direct
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Indirect
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Direct
SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 
Indirect
SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 
Indirect
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Indirect
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Direct
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 
Indirect
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Direct
Agriculture 
Direct
Curriculum Development 
Direct
Plants & Animals 
Direct
Waste 
Direct
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: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes