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
Environmental education in action: a story from the Tonle Sap biosphere reserve in Cambodia Year of publication: 2013 Author: Keat Kunthea Osmose is a not-for-profit association linking community-based conservation, ecotourism and environmental education in Prek Toal. Osmose has been supported by UNESCO in Phnom Penh in many projects including: production of a poster depicting the flooded forest and plants of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve, handicraft, and particularly, environemental education (EE). EE was initiated in 2000 when Osmose realized there was an increase in the child population and that education was therefore needed in order to protect their natural resources.
Fostering safer and resilient communities: a natural disaster preparedness and climate change education program Year of publication: 2009 Corporate author: UNESCO Jakarta The Asia and the Pacific region is vulnerable to many natural disaster and expected impacts from climate change. In 2006, 74% of people killed by natural disasters were in Asia, with Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam among the countries most badly affected. Natural disasters such as windstorms, floods, droughts, earthquakes in combination with human-induced conditions such as deforestation, pollution, soil erosion collectively contribute to serious challenges for communities and governments. Climate change impacts are imminent and inevitable. The consensus among natural and social scientists, economists, and policymakers is that climate change is the most important challenge that this planet faces. It is pervasive, touching on every facet of the environment and human life including the environment, economy, transportation, communication, food production, and health. The temporal and geographic scale is wide. The projected economic, health, and societal costs put forth by experts are extraordinary. For example, the total economic cost of climate change threats could be an annual loss of 6-7% of Southeast Asian countries’ GDP by the end of the century, and the Pacific sub-region will see a sea-level rise of 0.19-0.58 meter by 2100 severely changing the lives of more than 50% of the people that live within 1.5 km of the shoreline leading to relocation, water and power shortages, and submerged infrastructure. Climate change impacts in Asia and the Pacific is particularly serious because of the fact that: 1) over 60% of the global population reside in Asia and the Pacific; 2) it has the most extensive coastline of any geographic region; and, 3) many of the world’s largest cities are located along Asian coasts. The impact of climate change in sea level rise would impact small island states such as the Maldives and Kiribati, and many of Asia’s largest coastal cities, such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Shanghai, and Ho Chi Minh City. Tens of millions of people in Asia may have to be resettled. Further, the expected greater intensity of cyclones and typhoons could have a larger impact than before on Bangladesh, China, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines, whose coastal areas already encounter among the world’s worst weather-related disasters year after year. Parts of many countries in Asia, including Northwestern India, Western China, and almost all of Pakistan, are already suffering from shortages of water, as well as land degradation and desertification, which will be further exacerbated by climate change. The World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in January 2005 in Kobe, Japan, adopted the Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (referred as the “Hyogo Framework for Action” – HFA). The framework emphasizes the need to understand the linkages between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, and that stakeholders work toward reducing disaster vulnerabilities of communities by helping them build their capacity to deal with disasters.
Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the Valedictory session of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education; Ahmedabad, India, 28 November 2007 Year of publication: 2007 Corporate author: UNESCO. Director-General, 1999-2009 (Matsuura, K.) This address was given by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the Valedictory Session of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education.
2030 Agenda: Challenges for us all Year of publication: 2017 Since 1948, the UNESCO Courier has served as a platform for international debates on issues that concern the entire planet. This first issue of 2017, which marks the Courier’s revival after
a five-year break, is no exception to the rule: experts, public figures, artists and journalists from around the world have come together to discuss topical issues. Climate change and sustainable energy (p. 23), the future of cities and Smart Cities (p. 15), access to water and the state of groundwater (p. 19), educational policies and the importance they give to girls (p. 8), new technologies and their role in establishing efficient democratic institutions (p. 27), alliances and partnerships that must be forged to advance towards a better world
(p. 31) — these are some of the subjects that constitute the main dossier,
Wide angle, of this issue dedicated to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNESCO is closely associated with the development and implementation of this international road map that aims
to achieve the seventeen objectives established by the UN, which is convinced that culture, though officially absent from the SDGs, is at the heart of sustainable development policies (p. 12). Elyx, the jovial character created by Yacine Ait Kaci (YAK) and designated virtual ambassador of the UN, supports the Courier in its mission to make palpable the different realities around the world. These are illustrated by a number of SDGs and highlight the players who participate in achieving this agenda for everyone. These include the international community, states, civil society, local communities and authorities, the private sector, and the partnerships that these players set up between each other. The Ideas section, which is dedicated
to another highly topical issue — the current perception of Islam — suggests considering a reinterpretation of the Koran (p. 42) and the sharia (p. 48).
This issue of the Courier also features a reference text on the Different Aspects of Islamic Culture. Launched in 1977, in the wake of a monumental work produced by UNESCO Publishing on general and regional histories, this comprehensive work was completed in November 2016, with the publication of two volumes that constitute an important contribution to the current debate on Islam. In the Current affairs section for the April-June 2017 quarter, the Courier
will celebrate the launch of the World Book Capital programme in Conakry
on 23 April (p. 70) and the International Jazz Day, with the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés (p. 58) on 30 April in Havana. The Courier will also participate in the celebration of several other international days such as the World Press Freedom Day on 3 May (p. 62), the World Oceans Day on 8 June (p. 65), and the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on 19 June (p. 61). This issue of the Courier also invites you to delve into the peculiar and largely unknown world of Jeju Island’s haenyeo, the women divers from the Republic of Korea. Discover, through the stunning images in the Zoom section, the exceptional destinies of these extraordinary women (p. 36). We hope you enjoy reading this issue!
Integrating sustainable development in technical and vocational education and training: six case studies from Southern and Eastern Africa Year of publication: 2010 Author: Roland Dubois | Koontee Balgobin | Modesto Sylvester Gomani | Joy Kasandi Kelemba | Gabriel S. Konayuma | Matthews Lebogang Phiri | John W. Simiyu Corporate author: UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (UNEVOC) The case studies in Southern and Eastern Africa were commissioned in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius and Zambia. They were carried out by writers connected with the UNEVOC Network as part of capacity building and of contributing to knowledge building and sharing. They have described and have analysed experiences, practices relating to integrating ESD in TVET programmes, primarily. Also, they have identified gaps for additional action so that the integration can be satisfactorily done. Through the case studies it is intended to build a pool of resources and tools of what works as part of the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre’s clearinghouse.
Citizenship education: does it have a place in the curriculum? Year of publication: 2005 Author: Carol Mutch Corporate author: NZCER Press The call for citizenship education as a compulsory part of the curriculum has met with a varied response worldwide. While everyone would espouse the ideals of ensuring our young people grow up to be active and fair-minded citizens, why does citizenship education not figure more prominently in our curriculum?This article discusses the past, present, and possible future of citizenship education in the New Zealand curriculum.
Empowering Adolescent Girls and Young Women through the Provision of Comprehensive Sexuality Education and a Safe Learning Environment in Nepal Year of publication: 2016 Corporate author: UNESCO Kathmandu | United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) | United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) There are many challenges for adolescent girls and young women in Nepal in terms of access, participation, and completion of good quality education. Child marriage and early pregnancy, gender-based violence, lack of knowledge or provision of proper hygiene facilities such as WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) are factors preventing adolescent girls and young women from accessing education. This publication is a project plan for empowering adolescent girls and young women in Nepal.
Addressed by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO on the Occasion of Launch of the Joint Programme in Nepal Empowering Adolescent Girls and Young Women through Education; Kathmandu, 18 April 2016 Year of publication: 2016 Corporate author: UNESCO. Director-General, 2009-2017 (Bokova, I.G.) 