(Photo credit and source: UNESCO)

Earlier this month, UNESCO held the UNESCO Forum on ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) and GCE (Global Citizenship Education), from 2-3 July, 2019, in Hanoi, Vietnam, with the aim to discuss the future of UNESCO’s ESD and GCE initiatives under the Education 2030 Agenda between 2020 and 2030. Over 300 participants from 120 countries participated in the two-day event which was structured around the review of a UNESCO study on ESD curriculum from 10 countries in the five UN Geo-regions.

Following this event, the GAP Partner Network Meeting was held from 4-5 July, 2019. With 70 participants from over 40 countries in attendance, this was the final meeting of GAP Partners to review progress made by the 100+ partners under the GAP in drafting ESD policies, integrating ESD practices into school settings, training teachers to integrate ESD in curriculum, working with youth on ESD, and working with community on ESD through non-formal education.

As the representative of the Global RCE Network in Partner Network 5, UNU-IAS, where the Global RCE Service Centre sits, participated in the GAP Partner Network Meeting on behalf of the Global RCE Network, providing feedback to UNESCO about the opportunities and challenges faced in implementing ESD between formal and non-formal education partners at the local level.

Read more about both events here.

The Asia-Pacific SDG Youth Challenge, 'Youth for the Goals' is an international youth-led project-based initiative run annually that connects youth leaders working in their own communities to a larger global platform that includes mentoring support and peer validation. The aim of the initiative is to engage and empower local youth leaders with the opportunity to have a voice and implement their own place-based projects on issues that matter to them. Each project is shaped by a youth leader and/or youth team to address the needs of a community in line with the challenge theme. Using a peer-to-peer learning model, youth drive change from a grassroots level incorporating ESD principles.

Supported through the Global RCE Network, over the last two years the challenge has engaged directly with 17,500 youth and delivered 39 individual sustainability projects across 9 countries from 17 RCEs and 5 external organisations.

This year's SDG Challenge is currently running and is themed around SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Not only does the challenge model how to successfully mobilise existing networks to engage with youth in a meaningful and empowering way, it also takes on the global agenda for sustainable development directly through education and localises the goals.

To celebrate, the organisers of this initiative (Asia-Pacific Youth Regional Coordinators Brittany Hardiman of RCE Greater Western Sydney and Emmy Yuniarti Rusadi of RCE Yogyakarta, Indonesia) will be hosting a 2nd Virtual Youth Summit (for SDGs 1, 6 and 10) at the end of September 2019. Youth leaders will present on their projects via a webinar, with all RCEs invited to join for the live stream (all participants are welcome regardless of age). Further details will be announced in due course.

(Photo credit: RCE Minna)

For this year's World Environment Day 2019, RCE Minna ran a campaign to beat air pollution by inspiring people to plant trees and to consider how changes in one’s everyday life can lead to a reduction of air pollution, bettering the environment and the health of the community.

Around 200 participants attended an event on 13 June, 2019, which included the official unveiling of the Bridget Aisha Lemu Conservatory & Children's Park (BAL-CCP), with the proposed park set to house different species of trees (both locally and from outside the State), intended to educate the populace on their medicinal values, curb the effects of climate change, and to be used by students for research purposes. A video of the proposed site development plan of the park can be viewed here. Read a report of the event, prepared by RCE Minna, here.

(Photo credit: RCE Cymru/Wales)

Collaboration was the main theme for a group of RCEs based in the UK and Ireland when they gathered for a meeting at Swansea University, Wales (hosted by RCE Cymru/Wales) in early July 2019. A key outcome of the meeting was to develop a collaboration charter to facilitate further collaboration and partnership working towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The following values and principles were agreed upon as a starting point:

"We are here because we are passionate about working towards the greater good in a transparent, honest and inclusive way. We will listen, respect and value everyone's contribution."

Keep an eye on the RCE Cymru/Wales website for further developments, and look out for their new hashtag #rcetogether on social media platforms.

(Photo credit: RCE Minna)

The School Empowerment and Nutritional Supplementation through Agriculture (SENSA) project, initiated and funded by the Association of Female Appointees and Wives of Niger State Officials (AFAWNSO), seeks to contribute towards addressing the challenge of quality nutrition and relevant education by reviving the school-gardening culture through the sustainable horticulture of vegetables and fruit trees, and various life-skills training. Within its very short life span, the project has attracted both national and global recognition.

As part of its strategy to consolidate and sustain the SENSA project objectives across 15 selected boarding schools across three geopolitical zones, RCE Minna recommended a Consolidation Workshop take place with all the 15 SENSA schools, which was run on 14 May, 2019 in Minna, Nigeria. The workshop provided an avenue for the funder and participating schools to review the project performance and also to motivate the schools through a number of awards to the top-performing schools as well as certificates of participation to the 15 schools. Watch a video summary here, and read a report of the event, prepared by RCE Minna, here.

As part of their Science and Technology Awareness Programme 2019, RCE Penang is hosting a video competition on 'Empowering Students' Leadership in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through Networking at Global Level'. RCE Penang, Universiti Sains Malaysia will bring together school students in Malaysia, South Korea, Mexico, Denmark, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and India to share and exchange ideas on issues relating to sustainability, focusing on specific themes such as Water, Good Health & Well-Being, and Food Security.

The programme is sponsored by the Penang State Government and Penang Education Council. Further information about the competition can be viewed here.

(Photo credit: RCE Minna)

RCE Minna co-founder, Mallam Nuruddeen Lemu, recently presented at the TEDx Ahmadu Bello University event, organised by the students of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria on 6 July, 2019 at the ABU Business School (ABU Zaria is the host institution for RCE Zaria). In his talk, titled 'Advanced 3D Food Printers', Mr Lemu spoke about the cutting-edge form of technology that they have been working on, and its ability to successfully convert soil into edible food. RCE Minna was represented at the event by the Coordinator Dr. Abdul Husaini, Youth Coordinator Ibrahim Akibu Jaafaru, and members of the Youth Network including Isah Ibn Mohammed, Hamza Abdullahi Nauzo, John Dawaba, and Nana Sule.

(Photo credit: RCE Srinagar)

Supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, an NGO in India, the Voluntary Institute for Community Applied Science (VICAS) has been preparing an information and activity manual on water, ecology and renewable energy sources for students and teachers of standards 6-12. Under the project 'Balancing the Needs of Water Use, Ecological Resources and Renewable Energy-Science Communication for Capacity Building of Teachers in Uttar Pradesh, India', the objective of the manual is to encourage children to become informed, aware of, and perform various activities using no-cost or low-cost techniques and methods. The focus is on using local, easily available material to better understand environmental challenges, and to find workable solutions within reach to reduce footprint impacts.

The suggested activities will trigger several positive actions that students will be able to carry out in their schools, homes and neighbourhood, and promote in the community around them.

RCE Srinagar has been contributing to this campaign, providing their guidance to help children and the community in Uttar Pradesh reduce their footprint and increase their hand print towards promoting environmental sustainability. Read more