RCE Bulletin
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
Greetings from the Global RCE Service Centre! It has been wonderful to see so many of you at the RCE Regional Meetings over the past month, and to be able to connect once again and have the opportunity to share and collaborate - there is only one Regional Meeting left to go this year, with the 12th Americas Regional Meeting taking place soon at the end of this month. In this bulletin we feature the report from the 13th African Regional Meeting - stay tuned as we'll bring you the reports from the rest of the meetings in upcoming bulletins.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their projects for the RCE Awards 2023, we received a record number of applications this year! The results will be announced at this year's 13th Global RCE Conference - speaking of which, registrations are closing soon, so make sure you don't miss out by registering to attend either in person in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or online.
If you would like to share any news, upcoming events, open calls, or publications for an upcoming bulletin, please complete this form and email your submission to the Global RCE Service Centre at rceservicecentre@unu.edu (submissions close on the 15th of each month).
Sincerely,
The Global RCE Service Centre
Under the theme 'Whole Community Approach for ESD', the 13th Global RCE Conference will be jointly hosted by RCE Greater Gombak and RCE Greater Kuala Lumpur, to be held in a hybrid format from 31 October - 2 November 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Registrations are open until 29 September 2023 for in-person participation, and 15 October 2023 for online participation. See the event page for further details.
(Photo credit: Abe Nubhan)
Upcoming Events
21 October 2023, 17:00-19:00 (JST), online and in-person
Organised by Sophia University in collaboration with UNU-IAS, and as part of the UN Weeks at Sophia University, this year's ProSPER.Net Sustainability Forum will be held on 21 October 2023, from 17:00-19:00 (JST) in a hybrid format under the theme 'Exploring the New Direction of Equity and Inclusion towards Transforming Education'. The event will focus on the ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis on the provision of inclusive and equitable quality education, particularly its impact on vulnerable populations, as well as the role of HEIs in striving for sustainability and inclusion in their activities. Read more
Open Calls
Latest News
The 13th African Regional Meeting on 'Fostering Pan-African Collaboration for Just Futures' was hosted online on Thursday 17 August 2023, by RCE Makana and Rural Eastern Cape, RCE Lesotho, RCE Eswatini and RCE KwaZulu-Natal.
Over 200 registrants attended the meeting, which had a Just Transitions focus. Themes covered included Water, Indigenous Heritage, Citizen Science and 'Handprint CARE'. Read more
(Photo credits: RCE KwaZulu-Natal)
On 30 August - 1 September 2023, UNU-IAS conducted the workshop Net-Zero Thailand: ACE Youth Ideathon Camp in Bangkok, Thailand. Engaging 40 Thai youths from across the country, it explored pathways to decarbonisation, emphasising a whole-of-society approach. The workshop aimed to empower youth participants to take an active role in climate action in their communities, and ultimately contribute to accelerating the net-zero transition in Thailand. Read more
(Photo credit: Vorrawan Rujiwan / Department of Climate Change and Environment, Government of Thailand)
On 21 September 2023 UNU-IAS held a workshop as part of the third UNESCO ESD-Net 2030 learning webinar, which promoted innovative practices in education for sustainable development (ESD). The workshop, facilitated by Jonghwi Park (Academic Programme Officer, UNU-IAS) and Sawaros Thanapornsangsuth (Postdoctoral Fellow, UNU-IAS), guided participants through a design process for community-based actions and education focused on sustainable consumption and production (SCP), utilising a problem-based learning pedagogical approach.
The workshop introduced three critical factors of SCP: (i) resource efficiency; (ii) waste management and minimisation; and (iii) consumer behaviour. It drew upon 12 case studies from RCEs that were featured in a recent UNU-IAS publication. RCE representatives Thi Ngoc Tran Diep (RCE Southern Vietnam) and Lawrence Thuo (RCE Greater Nairobi) discussed how they applied problem-based approaches to designing ESD projects for SCP in their communities. Read more
On 9 September 2023, UNU-IAS organised a session at the SDGs Youth Summit 2023 on the theme 'Youth Empowerment for the SDGs - UNU-IAS Stakeholder Dialogue'. It discussed challenges and opportunities to enhance meaningful youth participation in policymaking. The event was held with the support of the Global Environment Outreach Centre (GEOC). Read more
On 24 August 2023, UNU-IAS co-organised a conversation event featuring Youssef Nassef, Director of the Adaptation Programme at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat and UNU Rector Tshilidzi Marwala. Focusing on the theme 'Enhancing Global Actions for the Paris Agreement and SDGs - Towards the SDGs Summit, COP28, and Beyond', the event was part of the UNU Conversation Series, a platform for international experts to share insights on contemporary global affairs. Read more
On 16 September 2023, UNU-IAS contributed to the event 'Catalyzing Transformative Change: Science, Academia, and the Journey to 2030', held at UN headquarters in New York ahead of the SDG Summit. The event was part of SDG Mobilization Day, during the SDG Action Weekend convened by the UN Secretary-General. Engaging policymakers, researchers, academics, and other stakeholders, the event discussed opportunities and partnerships for science and academia to accelerate transformations in high-impact areas for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read more
ESD BOOKS, PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER
This paper by the Community Inter-Relations and Conciliation Initiative (CIRCI) (RCE Greater Yenagoa), published in the International Journal of Development and Sustainability, discusses participatory and holistic approaches to sustainable development, and additionally used studies to further elucidate the benefits of these approaches. Stakeholders' participation in community development planning and implementation must be broad-based - even more so for developing nations where the development and cultural challenges are greater. Read more
This is a publication of the UNU-IAS Global RCE Service Centre.
If you wish to contribute to the monthly bulletin or have news, upcoming events, or publications you would like to share, please use this form. You can email it to the Global RCE Service Centre: rceservicecentre@unu.edu. Submissions must be made by the 15th of every month. In addition, we encourage you to continue using the RCE Portal to exchange ideas, share expertise and resources and deliberate emerging sustainability issues towards ESD implementation at a global level.
Please send your comments, suggestions and materials to rceservicecentre@unu.edu.
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