Resources
Explore a wide range of valuable resources on GCED to deepen your understanding and enhance your research, advocacy, teaching, and learning.
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Education sector technical notes: climate change education Year of publication: 2013 Corporate author: UNESCO Climate change is a major challenge to sustainable development. The ten hottest years on record have occurred since 1998. Sea-levels are rising. Rainfall patterns are changing, causing droughts and floods. Extreme weather events such as storms, cyclones and heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense. Climate change poses a number of interconnected challenges, including water security, rising pressures on food production and health and disaster risks. ◗ Climate change disproportionately affects developing countries and vulnerable people within those countries, thereby seriously threatening progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA). It is already having a reverse impact on enrolment rates, the delivery of quality education and safe learning environments. ◗ Education has a key role to play in concerted local and global climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. ◗ UNESCO promotes climate change education within the overall context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). ◗ UNESCO supports Member States in building the capacity of policy makers and educators to enhance the education sector response to climate change. ◗ Closer alignment of Climate Change Education with Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) education contributes to safeguarding development gains and building resilience in countries vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. 
Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development: the UNESCO Climate Change Initiative Year of publication: 2010 Corporate author: UNESCO The UNESCO Climate Change Initiative was launched by Director-General Irina Bokova in Copenhagen during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP15). It seeks to reinforce the scientific, mitigation and adaptation capacities of countries and communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. It focuses on a select number of strategic issues in line with The UN System Delivering as One on Climate Change action plan and The UNESCO Strategy for Action on Climate Change. The Initiative is based on four thematic areas: scientific, educational, environmental and ethical. Key objectives will be achieved through intersectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation, coordinated field activities, and networking. Special attention is given to UNESCO’s two global priorities, Africa and gender equality, as well as to the increased vulnerability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).The UN System “Delivering as One” on Climate Change During the 13th session of the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC in Bali, Indonesia, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon presented an unprecedented coordination effort to bring together all the diverse perspectives, expertise and strengths of the UN system so as to deliver as one in the critical area of climate change. The initiative brings together expertise and ongoing work in diverse areas ranging from science and technology to agriculture, transport, forestry and disaster risk reduction, to address both mitigation and adaptation. It brings together the normative, standard setting and knowledge sharing capacities of the system with its operational reach in order to support the most vulnerable. The overall objective is to maximize existing synergies, eliminate duplication and overlap, and optimize the impact of the collective effort of the UN system.To ensure better coordination, convening responsibilities were assigned to UN system entities with a large volume of activities in the five focus areas and four cross-cutting areas. Focus areas ㆍAdaptation – High-Level Committee on Programmes collectively ㆍ Technology transfer – UNIDO, UN-DESA ㆍReduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) – UNDP, FAO, UNEP ㆍ Financing mitigation and adaptation action – UNDP, World Bank Group ㆍCapacity building – UNDP, UNEP Cross-cutting areas ㆍClimate knowledge: science, assessment, monitoring and early warning – WMO, UNESCO ㆍSupporting global, regional and national action – UN-DESA, UN Regional Commissions, UNDP ㆍClimate-neutral UN – UNEP ㆍPublic awareness – UNCG, UNEP. 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. Proceedings of the international congresses of: education for shared values for intercultural and interfaith understanding, (and) religion in peace and conflict: responding to militancy and fundamentalism Year of publication: 2005 Corporate author: UNESCO The results of this conference, and its direct linkages with the Associated Schools Project Network in your region, will support efforts to mould education so that it becomes more conducive to the development of world citizens, proud of their identities and able to contribute to a sustainable and peaceful future for the world’s peoples. 
UNESCO guidelines on intercultural education Year of publication: 2006 Corporate author: UNESCO This paper aims to synthesize the central issues surrounding Intercultural Education, and presents the fundamental guiding principles for an intercultural approach to education as viewed by UNESCO. It is divided into three parts. Part I outlines the key issues surrounding Intercultural Education, as well as its objectives and basic operating principles. Part II contains a short presentation of the normative framework for Intercultural Education, based on an analysis of international standard-setting instruments that make reference to education and intercultural issues, and on outcomes from International Conferences. Part III synthesizes the international position on this issue and provides a set of three basic principles that should guide educational policies with regard to Intercultural Education. Final report of the roundtable: challenges of education for peace, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan Year of publication: 2007 Corporate author: Union Century 21 (Georgia) The Roundtable Meeting was organized in Tbilisi in June, (24 -27) 2007. The meeting gathered participants of the ToT course in all three countries of the Caucasus, which happened to be a sort of “première” given the region’s tensions. It was important to bring together teachers and social workers from 18 regions of Georgia as well as from the neighboring countries like Azerbaijan and Armenia ( a total amount of 40 persons (some travelled at their own expenses). Civil Society was thus well represented and will be involved in project realization with a multiplier effect once they get back to the regions or countries. The tentative programme of the meeting identifies common challenges in this field and setting up of common action plan in addressing them. This was possible with the notable participation of a facilitator and the openness of those who attended this workshop. They were also keen to draw attention to the authorities from their educational systems to implement these grassroots activities so as to attract attention not only on a regional level but on the international level too and inform international organizations about the outcomes as well as the further steps planned. 
Learning to live together: an intercultural and interfaith programme for ethics education Year of publication: 2008 Corporate author: Interfaith Council on Ethics Education for Children | Arigatou Foundation (Switzerland) Learning to Live Together has been developed for use in different religious and secular contexts as a resource for everyone concerned with promoting ethics and values. The objective has been to develop a resource that is relevant on a global level and yet flexible enough to be interpreted within different cultural and social contexts. The resource has been tested in many different regions and cultural contexts to assure that it is relevant in regional and local contexts (see ‘We did it like this’, p.187).Test workshops have been held in 10 different countries, where the GNRC was able to bring together various religious and secular organisations working with children. During the test workshops, this resource manual was used to the benefit of more than 300 children and youth, representing African Traditional Religions, Bahá’í Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, members of Brahma Kumaris and a number of people of secular thinking. Test workshops as well as input and comments from experts in the area of education, ethics, spirituality, intercultural and interfaith learning and child rights have contributed important experiences and opportunities for learning for the development of this resource. Learning to Live Together is already having an impact. In a GNRC programme in Israel, the resource material was used during a six-day journey made by a group of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim youth to the historical sites of Israel and Palestine, all of which have symbolic relevance to the conflict in their region. At each stop, youth participants discussed their values and their differing perceptions of their shared history.Learning to Live Together is an adaptable resource that can be used with children from many different cultural, religious and social contexts to nurture common values and a mutual respect for different backgrounds and traditions. The resource provides space for enhancing children’s innate potential for spirituality and hope for a better world, as a contribution to changing the situation for children worldwide. The Users Guide provides all necessary information for its use. UNESCO and UNICEF have been closely involved in developing Learning to Live Together and have endorsed the material as an important contribution to a quality education, which takes a multicultural and multi-religious society into consideration. UNESCO’s Guidelines for Intercultural Education underpin the philosophy and the approach of the resource: “Religious education can be described as learning about one’s own religion or spiritual practices, or learning about other religions or beliefs. Interfaith education, in contrast, aims to actively shape the relations between people from different religions”. Educação para a cultura da paz, os direitos humanos, a cidadania, a democracia e a integração regional: manual de referência da CEDEAO, à intenção do(a) formador/formador(a) de formadores/formadoras Year of publication: 2013 Corporate author: UNESCO Dakar | Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) The manual comprises seven modules dealing with the Culture of Peace and Conflict Management; Human Rights; Civism and Citizenship; Democracy and Good Governance; Gender and Development; Public Health, Environment and Sustainable Development; and Regional Integration. Each module has sub-themes with introductions, reference materials, general objectives to guide the trainer and generic pedagogical tables that are flexible enough to be adapted to available teaching resources in the different ECOWAS countries. It is also suitable and adaptable to the training of teachers involved in both formal and non-formal education delivery at different levels of teaching and learning. The ultimate goal of the Manual is to build a critical mass of ECOWAS citizens equipped with competent skills, not only for cognitive and psycho-motor domains of education, but also affective skills for positive values, attitudes and behaviors that promote peace, tolerance and peaceful co-existence of community citizens. Education for a culture of peace, human rights, citizenship, democracy and regional integration: ECOWAS reference manual, for use by trainer of trainers Year of publication: 2013 Corporate author: UNESCO Dakar | Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) The manual comprises seven modules dealing with the Culture of Peace and Conflict Management; Human Rights; Civism and Citizenship; Democracy and Good Governance; Gender and Development; Public Health, Environment and Sustainable Development; and Regional Integration. Each module has sub-themes with introductions, reference materials, general objectives to guide the trainer and generic pedagogical tables that are flexible enough to be adapted to available teaching resources in the different ECOWAS countries. It is also suitable and adaptable to the training of teachers involved in both formal and non-formal education delivery at different levels of teaching and learning. The ultimate goal of the Manual is to build a critical mass of ECOWAS citizens equipped with competent skills, not only for cognitive and psycho-motor domains of education, but also affective skills for positive values, attitudes and behaviors that promote peace, tolerance and peaceful co-existence of community citizens. 
Beyond 2015: the education we want Year of publication: 2014 Corporate author: UNESCO | United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) The post-2015 education agenda should be aspirational, transformative and holistic, and an integral part of the broader post-2015 development agenda. It should be of universal relevance and mobilize all stakeholders in all countries. Education must be a stand-alone goal in the broader post-2015 development agenda and should be framed by a comprehensive overarching goal, with measurable global targets and related indicators. In addition, education must be integrated into other development goals. The future education agenda should be rights-based and reflect a perspective based on equity and inclusion, with particular attention to gender equality and to overcoming all forms of discrimination in and through education, ensuring that no-one is left behind. It must support free and compulsory basic education.It should expand the vision of access for all to reflect relevant learning outcomes through the provision of quality education at all levels, from early childhood to higher education, in safe and healthy environments. It should take a holistic and lifelong learning approach, and provide multiple pathways of learning using innovative methods and information and communication technologies. It should reinforce approaches such as global citizenship education and education for sustainable development, which foster attitudes and behaviours that promote peace, conflict resolution and mutual understanding, tolerance, critical thinking, and respect for cultural diversity and for the environment.