RCE Curitiba-Parana - 2021

Location

Brazil
BR
VAMOS - Virtual Exchange to tackle Wicked Problems: Latin American and European Collaboration on Education for Sustainable Development
Basic Information
Title of project : 
VAMOS - Virtual Exchange to tackle Wicked Problems: Latin American and European Collaboration on Education for Sustainable Development
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Curitiba-Parana
Contributing organization(s) : 
Federal University of Technology of Paraná - UTFPR
Federal University of Paraná - UFPR
EcoStudio - Sustainable Solutions
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
pperalta.design@gmail.com
Organizational Affiliation: 
pperalta.design@gmail.com
Name: 
pperalta.design@gmail.com
Organizational Affiliation: 
pperalta.design@gmail.com
Name: 
Libia Patricia Peralta Agudelo
Organizational Affiliation: 
EcoStudio - Sustainable Solutions
Format of project: 
Manuscript
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Distance Learning for Sustainable Development Educations (SDE)
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Global
Country: 
Brazil
Location(s): 
Curitiba (Brazil), Uppsala (Sweden), Padova (Italy), Barcelona (Spain), Tegucigalpa (Honduras),
Address of focal point institution for project: 
Post-Graduation Programme in Technology and Society - PPGTE
Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná - UTFPR
Av. Sete de Setembro, 3165
CEP: 83230-901 - Curitiba - Paraná - Brazil
Ecosystem(s):
Target Audience:
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
The project involves Europe, Central America and South America, represented by institutions from Brazil, Honduras, Sweden, Italy and Spain, and which have different socioeconomic realities and environmental challenges. The exchange of experiences of these institutions in Education for Sustainable Development in their regions can result in a broader understanding of the problems faced in distance learning with a focus on sustainability.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
The VAMOS project brings together 8 universities and one NGO for an exchange of good practice in internationalization, virtual teaching and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The consortium will develop a virtual course in which students from all partner universities will work with the local/global sustainability issues (Wicked Problems)
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Period: 
January, 2021 to December, 2022
Rationale: 
How do we learn to work together as a project?
Build capacity for effective virtual collaboration and for co-creation approaches in the project consortium;
How do we teach sustainability at our universities?
Facilitate an exchange of good practise in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and for creating/upgrading ESD Learning Labs (focus on physical + virtual space, active learning environment, incl. teacher training for virtual teaching;
How can we teach sustainability together in joint international/virtual courses?
Virtual collaboration projects with teacher and students from all partner; local/international case studies addressing wicked problems or specific SDG issues identified by partners, e.g. sustainable buildings, tourism, nutrition, food security, entrepreneurship, green campus.
Objectives: 
1. Strengthen the capacity of teachers to transform university education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
2. Develop the Virtual Exchange (VE) teaching skills of university staff
3. Address local Wicked Problems in society through International Virtual Exchange with students and teachers
4. Empower students and communities leaders to become active agents in addressing SDG issues
5. Increase the relevance of ESD by focusing on transversal approaches and interaction with society
Activities and/or practices employed: 
The VAMOS project has a Management Plan whose objective is to establish how the relationships will happen between the institutions. It is based on the principles of transparency, joint ownership, shared responsibilities and clear distribution of tasks within the VAMOS consortium. It also references specific plans and conflict resolution mechanisms.
The VAMOS management consists of four groups: Steering Committee, Quality Team, Communication Team and Teacher-Developer Team in which members of all the institutions involved participate through virtual workshops
Size of academic audience: 
1000
Results: 
The specific VAMOS Erasmus+ Project priority is: New technologies in higher education: Support to the modernisation of Higher Education systems through the development of open educational resources, connectivity, the acquisition of digital skills and learning methods and mobilisation of stakeholders including teachers, learners, economic and social partners.
Lessons learned: 
The project fosters virtual exchange between universities as well as internationalisation at home and internationalisation of the curriculum which increasingly important in the age of climate change where universities are called upon to rethink the road ahead for international mobility and the impact of internationalisation. Virtual Exchange is arguably an important way to create more sustainable forms of achieving internationalisation of higher education.
Key messages: 
The key characteristic of the VAMOS project is that we follow an action learning-inspired approach which is very hands-on and applied in the sense that we take actions together and reflecting opon the results
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
The project is related to the activities of RCE Curitiba teachers who already work in education for sustainable development in their institutions
Funding: 
ERASMUS+ Program - European Community

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon Group Picture VAMOS 1o Encontro.PNG (2.69 MB) Eloy Casagrande
References and reference materials: 
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 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 
Indirect
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 
Direct
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Direct
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 
Direct
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 
Direct
Theme
Disaster Risk Reduction 
Indirect
Traditional Knowledge  
Direct
Agriculture 
Direct
Arts 
Indirect
Curriculum Development 
Direct
Ecotourism 
Direct
Forests/Trees 
Direct
Plants & Animals 
Indirect
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