RCE Chandigarh's lead agency Punjab State Council for Science & Technology has been honoured with a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Action Award 2020 for 'Environment Sustainability' from UNDP and the Government of Punjab, India for promoting Cleaner Technologies to enhance Climate Resilience Capacity in the Punjab state, India. 

The RCE has carried out pioneering work in demonstrating economically viable technological interventions to address two main grand challenges of the state - namely the gainful utilisation of Paddy Straw, and reducing the carbon footprint of MSMEs. Read more 

(Photo credit: RCE Hangzhou)

The 4th Zhejiang German Language SDGs Roadshow, with the theme of "Qiantang River Dialogue with the Rhine", was held in Hangzhou and was jointly organised by RCE Hangzhou, Green Zhejiang, and Sino Education. 

The Zhejiang German Language SDGs Competition has been held annually since 2017. Starting in 2019, the competition began to use SDGs as its theme, hoping to stimulate people's motivation to change the world through working together, and encourage and influence more people to participate in the implementation of the SDGs. Read more

(Photo credit: RCE Otago)

RCE Otago, "Whaiao - Education for Sustainability Otago" was officially launched at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand, on 15 October, 2020. The launch was part of a day-long workshop that involved a broad range of partners joined by a common goal - to identify and address sustainability issues in the region.

The workshop was the latest in an ongoing series of sustainability education initiatives involving a wide range of regional partners, who have been working under the mandate for RCEs since the acknowledgement of RCE Otago in January 2020. Read more

The IUBAT Institute of SDG Studies (IISS) and RCE Greater Dhaka organised a National Seminar on Food Security and Ecosystem Management in COVID-19, held on 19 November, 2020. During the seminar, guests discussed in detail the management of food security during the pandemic and that in order to sustain Bangladesh's success in agriculture, action plans need to be drawn to meet the food and nutrition needs of the growing population. As an agriculture-based nation, Bangladesh has still experienced food shortages during the pandemic, highlighting the need to strengthen coordination between farming and other social, economic, and environmental aspects. Sustainable agriculture needs to be planned and implemented in such a way that it is resource-efficient, socially conducive, commercially competitive, and environmentally friendly. The seminar brought together policymakers responsible for integrating ecosystem management and effective ecosystem governance, and academia, to address the social aspects of the ecosystem connections to food security by strengthening local organisations and gender equality. 

In partnership with Hebron FM 95.5, RCE Ogun has recently launched the EMA SMART KIDS Project as one of their programmes. The programme addresses the issue of high failure rates of Mathematics and English Language subjects of Secondary/High School students by moving them from the 'fail zone' to the 'pass zone' within an academic session. This is done through a disruptive and sustainable educational model that is both interesting and exciting, under the motto of 'fostering functional education for sustainable living'. Further information is available on RCE Ogun's website. 

RCE Ogun is also pleased to announce a new publication 'Handbook of Research on Institution Development for Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Growth in Africa' with the lead editor as Professor Evans Osabuohien, Chair, RCE Ogun. The handbook provides comprehensive research on the processes of building viable institutions in Africa that will serve as the fulcrum for utilising and managing resources as well as promoting economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable. Details are available on the publisher's website. 

(Photo credit: RCE Srinagar)

RCE Srinagar and RCE Kuching, with support from RCE East Kalimantan, RCE East Java (candidate) and RCE Kyrgyzstan, and International Alliance for COVID-19 Community Response (IACCR) co-hosted an International Webinar of RCEs of the Asia-Pacific Region on 11 December, 2020 celebrating 'International Mountain Day' (IMD) 2020 under the theme 'Mountain Biodiversity'.

The aim of the webinar was to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of mountains and the people who rely on them for their livelihoods. The webinar also addressed aspects such as institution building, training and capacity-building, which were highlighted in the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Report to be instrumental for strengthening productive actions. Read the full report prepared by RCE Srinagar here. 

RCE Greater Dhaka host International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), the first non-government university in Bangladesh was founded in 1991 by Prof Dr M Alimullah Miyan. Professor Alimullah Miyan was the pioneer activist of ESD in Bangladesh, declaring the university as a Green Campus in 2008 with the vision of providing an environment designed for learning, with sustainability embedded in higher education. In the 2020 UI GreenMetric World University ranking, IUBAT has ranked second for sustainable universities in Bangladesh and 257th in the world. IUBAT provides a three-credit mandatory ESD course to all undergraduate students.