Resources
Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
104 Results found
Education sector responses to climate change: background paper with international examples Year of publication: 2012 Corporate author: UNESCO Bangkok Through a review of academic articles and project documents, this paper explores the relationship between the education sector and climate change. It introduces how education is both impacted by and has an impact on this phenomenon, and proposes various sector responses. Different theoretical frameworks for where and how climate change education fits into the education sector are made concrete with case studies from across the globe. An essential introduction to climate change and education, this paper brings together theory, policy and practice. A useful read for those working in either the education sector or on climate change. Russian regions for sustainable development: education and culture of peoples in Russian Federation; proceedings of the international conference Year of publication: 2010 Author: Ilona Graf | Natalia Dulepova | Nikolai Lyakhov | Vera Markova | Vladimir Sobyanin | Victoria Shatrova Corporate author: Novosibirsk State University The publication gives careful consideration to RF regional efforts to contribute undertaking a survey of educational contents and methods promoting cultural diversity, including traditional modes of transmission, in Siberia as a vast territory involving three greatest regions of Russian Federation. The mainstream of this recognition and accommodation of Siberian cultural diversity – efforts to create opportunities and facilities for culture-specific learning in each region, adapting teaching methods to the requirements of the everyday life of learners with the support of educational policymakers, educational professionals at all levels and local communities. The goal of publication is contributing to raising the awareness of Siberian population in recognizing the cultural dimension as a central pillar of the UNESCO decade «Education for Sustainable Development» (2005-2014). The publication is aimed at teachers, ethnologists, sociologists, linguists, philosophers, those researching the education and culture of peoples in Russia, government specialists, representatives of national-cultural communities of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities. Mudança climática em sala de aula: curso da UNESCO para professores secundários (fundamental II e ensino médio) sobre educação em mudança climática e desenvolvimento sustentável (EMCDS) Year of publication: 2014 Author: David Selby | Fumiyo Kagawa Corporate author: UNESCO Brasilia This course has been created with the goal of bringing climate change education outside the science classroom into the many other subject areas upon which climate change now has an impact, or will impact in the future, such as ethics, social studies, economics, political science, among others. The course materials are organized into four parts: 1. Course Framework and Overview, 2. Teachers’ Education Course daily materials, 3. Regional Resource Packs, 4. Daily Classroom Materials for teachers. These materials are all described in more detail and can be accessed from the Start Menu found on the following pages. This course is designed to enable teachers at the secondary level from diverse subject areas to introduce climate change education for sustainable development (CCESD) across the curriculum. UNESCO has identified the professional development of teachers in education for sustainable development as the top priority in recognition of the transformative role that teachers and teacher educators need to play in re-orienting education to help realize a sustainable future (UNESCO, 2005, p. 19). But good intentions for the professional development of teachers have fallen short in practice. Although taken up by enthusiasts, teacher education for sustainable development has rarely been mainstreamed, and, where there are courses, is often approached within a disciplinary as opposed to an interdisciplinary frame (Wals, A., 2009). If professional development in education for sustainable development is at an adolescent stage, teacher education in climate change education for sustainable development is in its infancy. For instance, according to a 2009 international comparative study on climate change education and sustainable development in ten countries, climate change education has peripheral status in educational research and practice, and when it is addressed it is only within science education (Læssøe,J. Schnack, K., Breiting, S. & Rolls, S., 2009). There is a clear and present need to respond to climate change challenges through systematic teacher education programmes that are not restricted to a single subject area. This teacher education course is an attempt to fill the current gap and is in line with one of UNESCO’s key objectives for climate change education for sustainable development, that is, to support teacher training on climate change for sustainable development (UNESCO, 2010, p. 9). The programme has four distinctive features: 1. It helps teachers to understand the causes, dynamics and impacts of climate change through a holistic approach. 2. Teachers are exposed to, and experience, a range of pedagogical approaches and techniques, that they can use in their own school environment. This includes engagement of themselves and their students in whole school and school-in-community approaches. 3. Teachers will develop their capacities to facilitate students’ community based learning. 4. Teachers will develop future-oriented and transformative capacities in facilitating climate change mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction learning. Outcome document on education and biodiversity conservation, adopted at the parallel event: international conference on biodiversity conservation and education for sustainable development: learning to conserve biodiversity in a rapidly changing world Year of publication: 2012 Corporate author: Centre for Environment Education The Outcome Document from the two day International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation and ESD, attended by over 250 participants including educators and held as a parallel event inside COP 11, outlines a way forward by providing recommendations towards a strategic plan of action for ESD in the context of biodiversity conservation. The role of education and training in sustainable development: social, economic and environmental dimensions Year of publication: 2006 Author: Mohammad Jabir Ali | Abdallah AmboSaeedi | Jilani Lamloumi | Sulieman Sulieman Corporate author: UNESCO Beirut Education, Training and Sustainable Development are three fields for life were selected to be the topic in the Regional Workshop on the Role of Education and Training in Sustainable Development (Manama - Kingdom of Bahrain, 19-21 September 2005), as part of TVET-UNEVOC programme for 2004-2005, and follow-up on Bonn Declaration issued at the end of the International Expert Meeting on “Learning for Work, Citizenship and Sustainability”, Bonn, 25-28 October 2004. Thirty five (35) officials, experts and specialists from thirteen (13) Arab countries, UNESCO Offices in Beirut and Doha, and the International Centre for TVET - Bonn Centre took part in Bahrain Workshop. The Organizing Committee for the Workshop had highlighted the social, economic and enviromental dimensions of sustainable development, according to the plan of action of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). The main working papers discussed in the Workshop were developed into a reference study in TVET-UNEVOC Searies to reflect on future orientations in the fields related to Sustainable Development in the Arab countries. Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Launch of the United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014); United Nations Headquarters, New York, 1 March 2005 Year of publication: 2005 Corporate author: UNESCO. Director-General, 1999-2009 (Matsuura, K.) This speech was presented by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), on the occasion of the International launch of the United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). Address by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the Seminar on Climate Change and Education at the UN University: Responding to Climate Change Starts with Education; Tokyo, 26 November 2010 Year of publication: 2010 Corporate author: UNESCO. Director-General, 1999-2009 (Matsuura, K.) This document is an address of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the Seminar on Climate Change and Education at the UN University “Responding to Climate Change Starts with Education” in Tokyo, 26 November 2010. She highlighted the importance of climate change education for the sustainable future and underlined the importance of several programme such as Sandwatch and YouthXchange which have been lead by the UNESCO. Climate change starter's guidebook: an issues guide for education planners and practitioners Year of publication: 2011 Author: Alejandro Deeb | Amber French | Julia Heiss | Jason Jabbour | Dominique LaRochelle | Arkadiy Levintanus | Anna Kontorov | Rummukainen Markku | Gerardo Sanchez Martinez | Rosalyn McKeown | Nicolay Paus | Antoine Pecoud | Guillaume Pénisson | Daniel Puig | Vanessa Retana | Serban Scrieciu | Morgan Strecker | Vimonmas Vachatimanont | Benjamin Witte | Noriko Yamada. Corporate author: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) The Climate Change Starter’s Guide provides an introduction and overview for education planners and practitioners on the wide range of issues relating to climate change and climate change education, including causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation strategies, as well as some broad political and economic principles. The aim of this guide is to serve as a starting point for mainstreaming climate change education into school curricula. It has been created to enable education planners and practitioners to understand the issues at hand, to review and analyse their relevance to particular national and local contexts, and to facilitate the development of education policies, curricula, programmes and lesson plans. The guide covers four major thematic areas: 1. the science of climate change, which explains the causes and observed changes; 2. the social and human aspects of climate change including gender, health, migration, poverty and ethics; 3. policy responses to climate change including measures for mitigation and adaptation; and 4. education approaches including education for sustainable development, disaster reduction and sustainable lifestyles. A selection of key resources in the form of publication titles or websites for further reading is provided after each of the thematic sections. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) provides its expertise and know-how in areas such as education, culture, and the social sciences. In particular, UNESCO emphasises the role of education in support of climate change adaptation and mitigation in providing skills and capacities but also through shaping the values, attitudes and behaviours needed to put the world on a more sustainable path. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) works with countries to strengthen their ability to adapt to climate change, move towards low-carbon growth, reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, improve understanding of climate science, and raise public awareness of the changing climate. UNEP is supporting countries to seize the opportunities of moving towards low-carbon growth, while improving human health and well-being, generating green jobs and moving towards a green economy. With this publication, the two organizations have embarked on a collaboration on climate change education that we are committed to building upon and expanding in the period ahead. Learning to live with risk: disaster risk reduction to encourage education for sustainable development: concept note Year of publication: 2009 Author: Ria Hidajat Corporate author: International Strategy for Disaster Reduction | German Committee for Disaster Reduction In this paper the German Committee for Disaster Reduction and the UN ISDR Thematic Platform on Knowledge and Education introduced their reflection on linking Education for Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Management. It is aimed in particular at the participants of the World Conference of Education for Sustainable Development and other stakeholders engaged in promoting Education, Sustainable Development and Disaster Risk Reduction at all levels. The paper elucidates how Disaster Risk Reduction supports Education for Sustainable Development or even shows that Disaster Risk Reduction is imperative for Sustainable Development. Disaster Risk Reduction is about preventing disasters caused by natural events, such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, storms or volcanic eruptions. Hazards are part of nature but can turn into disasters as a result of human interactions. Disasters are among the biggest obstacles to achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals for poverty reduction. Symposium on climate change education and sustainable cities, 31 August 2009, United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya Year of publication: 2009 Corporate author: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) | United Nations Centre for Human Settlement Programme (UN Habitat) Education plays an important role in promoting knowledge, skills and values that are necessary for the realization of a sustainable society. It also assists learners to learn to cope with today's challenges such as climate change and urbanization. The overarching theme of the symposium was the critical role of education in promoting sustainable urbanization with a particular focus on climate change and its challenges. This broad theme was divided into two major sub-themes: 1. Role of education in building sustainable cities 2. Mainstreaming climate change in education for building sustainable cities. The key objective of the symposium was to raise awareness about the decade of education on sustainable development and to promote a constructive dialogue between local authorities, practitioners, academia and civil society organizations on the role of education in addressing the challenges of sustainable urbanization and climate change. A major thrust of the dialogue was “moving from rhetoric to action”. Key concepts of the Symposium Cities Half of humanity now lives in cities, and around one billion urban residents live in slums. The urbanization of poverty is therefore one of the most daunting challenges of the 21st century. Cities offer opportunities, but most urban development is largely toxic, segregated and inefficient. If cities are to come to terms with rapid levels of urbanization, they require leaders, managers and staff capable of adopting innovative and robust approaches to planning, developing, managing and financing growth for all citizens. Climate Change Globally, climate change is now recognized as one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. The future of hundreds of millions of people in urban areas across the world will be affected by the different impacts of climate change. Developing and least developed countries have higher vulnerability to climate change impacts compared to developed countries. Climate change has been identified as one of the main strategic perspectives to inform education and learning for sustainable development and by extension sustainable city development. Climate change issues need to be part of public awareness, learning and education for a sustainable future. The integrated, multifaceted vision provided by ESD is particularly well-suited to addressing climate change and city development in terms of understanding its causes, recognising its impact and effects, and preparing and implementing appropriate mitigation and adaptation responses.