RCE Wales[type]

Welsh universities joining forces to put the Well-Being of Future Generations Act into practice
CSV
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Welsh universities joining forces to put the Well-Being of Future Generations Act into practice
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Wales
Contributing organization(s) : 
Bangor University (in collaboration with the Higher Education Wales Future Generations Group members – Aberystwyth University
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Dr Einir M. Young, Director of Sustainability
Organizational Affiliation: 
Bangor University, (Chair of the Higher Education Wales Future Generations Group)
Format of project: 
Power Point
Language of project: 
English/Welsh
Date of submission:
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Web link: 
http://planet.cymru/en/wales-rce-wcfg/
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
This work relates to the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) 2015 Act and the UN SDG
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Europe
Country: 
United Kingdom
Location(s): 
Pan-Wales
Address of focal point institution for project: 
All participating Universities
Ecosystem(s):

Target Audience:

All
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Wales (population 3.1 million) is a bilingual nation. It has a total land area of 20,758 sq.kms, with over 2,700km of coastline and large mountainous hinterland; Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), the highest summit standing at 1,085 meters. It shares a border with England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and West and the Bristol Channel to the south. The nation’s economy relies heavily on tourism, providing services, the public sector and small business. A large percentage of the population is urban, living in and around Caerdydd (Cardiff), Casnewydd (Newport) and Abertawe (Swansea), cities in the south of Wales.
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Rationale: 
We are collaborating in an informal (networked) approach across the eight Higher Education Institution in Wales to promote sustainability and well-being of future generations within and beyond our own universities. This is a move away from formal (representative) governance and an over-complicated managerial/institutional approach towards crowd wisdom, sharing and open-sourcing.
Objectives: 
- To create cohesive communities of interest
- To develop a ‘hub of expertise’ that will be collaborative, inclusive and promoting a ‘do-it ourselves’ ethic
- To use the Well-being of future generations (Wales) Act 2015 as a framework to guide and shape our work and thus contribute to the Welsh and UN Sustainability Goals
Size of academic audience: 
Our academic audience is, potentially the whole HE sector in Wales
Results: 
Currently we have terms of reference form the circles of interest, six circles are in development with a further four emerging. Two conferences are being organized, one in September in the north of Wales and a larger conference in Cardiff in November to formally launch RCE Cymru. We will be developing ways of measuring impact and how working together as RCE Cymru adds value – if any to our individual and joint activities.
Lessons learned: 
We are learning from the past that a disproportionate focus on formal governance, managerialism and institutionalism can be counterproductive and are aiming for self-organization and opt-in decision making as an alternative model.
Key messages: 
RCE Cymru is a network based on trust providing an opportunity to explore, with no strings attached, how the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. There is no funding, no targets, no pressure to join and most importantly, no shame in failing. Our motto: #TogetherStronger
Funding: 
RCE Cymru does not receive external funding to operate.
Bangor University ESRC Impact Accelerator Account funding (ESRC-IAA) has been secured to fund the forthcoming conferences, which are organized in collaboration with the Wales Audit Office and the Good Practice Exchange.

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon Wales 1. RCE Cymru logo.png (109.57 KB) RCE Cymru: universities collaborating, integrating, involving across all sectors for the well-being of future generations Gwenan Griffith, 2018
Image icon Wales 2. WAW.jpg (2.12 MB) A campus litter pick Sustainability Lab 2017
Image icon Wales 3. Sustainability accross Continents.jpg (2.2 MB) Sustainability and well-being across continents Sustainability Lab 2017
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 
Direct
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 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Direct
SDG 7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 
Direct
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 
Indirect
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 
Indirect
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Indirect
Traditional Knowledge  
Direct
Agriculture 
Indirect
Arts 
Indirect
Curriculum Development 
Direct
Ecotourism 
Direct
Forests/Trees 
Indirect
Plants & Animals 
Indirect
Waste 
Direct
Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development – Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 1 - Advancing policy 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Building capacities of educators and trainers 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Empowering and mobilizing youth 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
Direct
Update: 
No