Message from the Global RCE Service Centre:

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Save the Date: 11th Global RCE Conference

The Global RCE Service Centre is pleased to announce the 11th Global RCE Conference will be hosted by RCE Cebu from 7-9 December, 2018 in Cebu, Philippines. Stay tuned for further details!

7th Americas Regional Conference **UPDATE**

The dates for the 7th Americas Regional Conference, to be held in Posadas, Argentina and hosted by RCE Cuenca del Plata, have changed to 24-27 October, 2018. Mark your calendars – further details to follow soon.

Europe Regional Meeting 2018 Registrations

Registrations for the Europe Regional Meeting 2018, to be held in Vannes, France, from 28-31 August, 2018 are now open.

For those NOT applying for funding support, the deadline to register is 11:59pm, Saturday 30 June, 2018 (CEST).

For those applying for funding support, please note the upcoming registration deadline of 11:59pm, Friday 1 June, 2018 (JST). Further details and required forms for submission can be found here.

8th African Regional Meeting Registrations

Registrations for the 8th African Regional Meeting, to be held in Zomba, Malawi, from 8-10 August, 2018 are now open.

For those NOT applying for funding support, the deadline to register is 11:59pm, Friday 6 July, 2018 (CAT).

For those applying for funding support, please note the registration deadline of 11:59pm, Friday 8 June, 2018 (JST). Further details and required forms for submission can be found here.

Sincerely,

The Global RCE Service Centre

Upcoming Events

Webinar: Beat Plastic Pollution – Key Issues and Solutions

5 June, 2018, 06:00-07:15 GMT

The Centre for Environment Education is running a webinar on World Environment Day on the topic 'Beat Plastic Pollution: Key Issues and Solutions'.

How can we tackle the issue of plastic pollution? Can changes in lifestyles and consumption solve this problem? What is the role of education in reducing plastic pollution? These issues and possible options will be discussed.

Registration is free (limited seats). Register online by 1 June, 2018. Full details here.

For more events visit our ESD calendar.

Open Calls

Call for New Fellows: The IPBES Fellowship Programme

The IPBES Fellowship Programme provides an opportunity for outstanding early-career individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines working on biodiversity and ecosystem services to fully participate in IPBES assessments. Fellows gain first-hand experience in participating in major multidisciplinary scientific assessments while working with, and being mentored by, leading experts.

IPBES is currently seeking fellows to participate in two assessments to be launched in 2018:

·         The methodological assessment regarding the diverse conceptualisation of multiple values of nature and its benefits

·         The thematic assessment of the sustainable use of wild species

Selected fellows will take part as authors in the chapter of the assessment they are selected for. They will attend author meetings and receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of the IPBES assessment processes, and will be paired up with a mentor for the assessment period.

More information on the programme, including the open call, can be found here. The deadline for applications is 7 June, 2018.

IPBES: Call for Nominations of Experts and Expressions of Interest in Providing Technical Support Units

Following IPBES-6 in Medellin, Colombia, the Plenary in decision IPBES-6/1 approved:

·         the undertaking of a methodological assessment regarding the diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its benefits, hereafter referred to as "the assessment on values";

·         the undertaking of a thematic assessment of the sustainable use of wild species following IPBES-6; and

·         the undertaking of a thematic assessment of invasive alien species, following IPBES-7, for consideration by the Plenary at IPBES-10.

The Multidisciplinary Expert Panel would like to formally invite governments and other relevant stakeholders:

1. to nominate experts for:

·         the assessment on values; and

·         the assessment of the sustainable use of wild species; and

2. to make offers for hosting a technical support unit (TSU) for:

·         the assessment on values;

·         the assessment of the sustainable use of wild species

Interested experts (Nominees) are encouraged to contact their IPBES National Focal Point regarding any country-specific processes or deadlines and are requested to fill out their application form by no later than 1 June, 2018. Read full details of the call here.

Applications Now Open: UNU Intensive Core Courses

UNU-IAS is currently accepting applications for its four-week UNU Intensive Core (UNU-IC) Courses at UNU Centre in Tokyo, Japan, from 3-28 September, 2018. The courses are designed to provide analyses of global issues from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, and draw on the research projects undertaken at UNU-IAS and at various other UNU institutes located worldwide. Although advanced in nature, they are open to postgraduate students and professionals in various occupations who are not necessarily specialists in the field. Details on the courses offered, requirements, and application procedure can be found here. The deadline for applications is 13 July, 2018.

Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics Online Youth Training Programme, Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development

Applications are currently open for the Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics Online Youth Training Programme, which seeks to prepare young people with the skills and knowledge to be effective sustainability leaders and implement Earth Charter-inspired projects. Held from 2 July - 10 September, 2018, the 10-week programme will rely on an online platform as well as social media and weekly local or online actions to engage participants in the theory and practice of leadership, sustainability, and ethics. Further details about the programme as well as eligibility, content and the application procedure can be found here. The deadline for applications is 4 June, 2018.

Latest News

GAP Partner Networks Discuss the Future of ESD

The third Global Action Programme (GAP) Partner Meeting on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), organised by UNESCO, was recently held in Costa Rica, from 25-27 April, 2018, under the theme 'Looking into the Future of ESD, together'. UNU-IAS (as the Secretariat for the Global RCE Network) attended the meeting as a member of Partner Network 5 – Accelerating ESD solutions at the local level, in which attendees reflected on the post-GAP period and discussed the future direction of ESD.

UNESCO is now preparing a post-GAP position paper on the future of ESD that will focus on using learning and teaching as core competencies for implementation of the SDGs, which will incorporate feedback from the meeting. Stay tuned! Photos from the meeting are on Facebook here.

RCE Jammu and RCE Srinagar Conduct Training and Consultation Workshops

RCE Jammu and RCE Srinagar recently organised a one-week training workshop on 'Writing Research Proposals, Papers and Grant Applications for Social Science Faculty and Researchers' from 27 April to 1 May, 2018. Nineteen young researchers attended this workshop. Sessions covered topics including how to write research proposals and PhD synopses, as well as how to design and improve the quality of research proposals and ensure their usefulness and relevancy.

On 2 May, 2018, a one-day consultation workshop was held on 'Reorienting School Education for the Tribal Communities in Jammu and Kashmir'. The challenge of education faced by tribal communities because of their nomadic nature was discussed, as well as the absence of an education policy for these communities. Read more

ESD Books, Publications and Other

Sustainable Living in Finland: Combating Climate Change in Everyday Life

Published in Sustainability, this article from RCE members Arto Salonen and Jani Siirilä, with Mikko Valtonen in Finland, looks at how sustainable living materialises among Finnish people in Finland. It also explores everyday behaviour and choices in the context of sustainability in order to combat climate change. Read more

The Eco-Responsible Qinmo Primary School in China Rebuilds the Notion of the Village

This article, in two parts, features Qinmo Primary School in Guangdong Province, China. Located in a neglected and remote village, the school focuses on environmental education and seeks to enable economic self-sufficiency among villagers, in particular in relation to rural productivity, in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the village. Read Part I here and Part II here.