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Learning to mitigate and adapt to climate change: UNESCO and climate change education Year of publication: 2009 Corporate author: UNESCO This report is a result of the UNESCO International Seminar on Climate Change Education at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, 27-29 July, 2009. Over the past 30 years, UNESCO has actively contributed to building the global knowledge base on climate change. Primarily through its contribution to climate science (global ocean observation systems, assessment and monitoring) and secondarily by promoting education, capacity development, public awareness and access to information. As Task Manager of Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 – which relates to the promotion of education, public awareness and training – and lead agency for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014), the Organization plays a lead role in promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Climate change is one of the key action themes of the Decade, as was reaffirmed at the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development held in Bonn in April 2009. Education has a central role to play in understanding, mitigating and adapting to the changing climate. While education at all levels and in both formal and informal settings is needed, instilling climate change awareness and understanding at a young age is ultimately the best way to change behaviours and attitudes. What children learn today will shape tomorrow’s world. Through the New Delhi work programme – which is a flexible programme for country-driven action engaging all stakeholders on education, training and public awareness on climate change, UNESCO supports its Member States to implement Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Similarly, the UNESCO Enhanced Plan of Action for the Strategy for Action on Climate Change recognizes the importance of and outlines action for education in promoting mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. UNESCO associated schools news infos: climate change education Year of publication: 2009 Corporate author: UNESCO As the United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place on December 7 to 18 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, this special issue will focus on selected climate change education activities carried out by the ASP network around the globe. Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges of sustainable development and a key action theme in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). ASPnet schools around the world work on Climate Change Education in order to enable students to make informed and responsible decisions, turn passive awareness into behaviour change and make sustainable behaviours a daily habit. The development of good practices and innovative educational materials in climate change education is a key element in ASPnet’s strategy to meet the pressing educational needs of the future generation. This newsletter highlights only a few of the large number of activities of ASPnet worldwide. 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. Sandwatch: adaptar-se à mudança climática e educar para o desenvolvimento sustentável Year of publication: 2012 Author: Gillian Cambers | Paul Diamond Corporate author: UNESCO Sandwatch provides a framework for children, youth and adults, with the help of teachers and local communities, to work together to critically evaluate the problems and conflicts facing their beach environments, and to develop sustainable approaches to address these issues. It also helps beaches become more resilient to climate change. The preliminary chapters of this publication focus on how to get started with Sandwatch activities and examine ways to address climate change impacts. The principle aim of this publication is to document the Sandwatch methodology: monitoring, analysing, sharing and taking action. An activities-orientated approach is used to provide step-by-step instructions to cover monitoring methods and data analysis, including observation and recording, erosion and accretion, beach composition, human activities, beach debris, water quality, waves, longshore currents, plants and animals. The activities are related to (a) sustainable development issues, including: beach ownership, mining beaches for construction material, conflict resolution between different beach users, pollution, conservation of endangered species, and (b) climate change adaptation issues: sea level rise, rising temperatures, ocean acidification and increased extreme events. Ways to share findings and create a Sandwatch network are detailed including methods such as the use of local media, websites, social networking and video production. Finally, ways are discussed to design, plan and implement a Sandwatch project to fulfill one or all of the following criteria: (a) addressing a particular beach-related issue, (b) enhancing the beach, and (c) promoting climate change adaptation. Sandwatch stands as an example of Education for Sustainable Development in action, and is being targeted as one of several flagship projects for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014). As the world confronts the growing threat of climate change, Sandwatch presents an opportunity to help people and ecosystems respond to present and future changes in a practical manner. Beaches are among the ecosystems most at risk from climate change as they face rising sea levels and increased more intense storms. By contributing to ecosystem health and resilience, Sandwatch can help people from all walks of life learn about climate change and how their actions can contribute to the adaptation process. Sandwatch: adapting to climate change and educating for sustainable development Year of publication: 2010 Author: Gillian Cambers | Paul Diamond Corporate author: UNESCO Sandwatch provides a framework for children, youth and adults, with the help of teachers and local communities, to work together to critically evaluate the problems and conflicts facing their beach environments, and to develop sustainable approaches to address these issues. It also helps beaches become more resilient to climate change. The preliminary chapters of this publication focus on how to get started with Sandwatch activities and examine ways to address climate change impacts. The principle aim of this publication is to document the Sandwatch methodology: monitoring, analysing, sharing and taking action. An activities-orientated approach is used to provide step-by-step instructions to cover monitoring methods and data analysis, including observation and recording, erosion and accretion, beach composition, human activities, beach debris, water quality, waves, longshore currents, plants and animals. The activities are related to (a) sustainable development issues, including: beach ownership, mining beaches for construction material, conflict resolution between different beach users, pollution, conservation of endangered species, and (b) climate change adaptation issues: sea level rise, rising temperatures, ocean acidification and increased extreme events. Ways to share findings and create a Sandwatch network are detailed including methods such as the use of local media, websites, social networking and video production. Finally, ways are discussed to design, plan and implement a Sandwatch project to fulfill one or all of the following criteria: (a) addressing a particular beach-related issue, (b) enhancing the beach, and (c) promoting climate change adaptation. Sandwatch stands as an example of Education for Sustainable Development in action, and is being targeted as one of several flagship projects for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014). As the world confronts the growing threat of climate change, Sandwatch presents an opportunity to help people and ecosystems respond to present and future changes in a practical manner. Beaches are among the ecosystems most at risk from climate change as they face rising sea levels and increased more intense storms. By contributing to ecosystem health and resilience, Sandwatch can help people from all walks of life learn about climate change and how their actions can contribute to the adaptation process. 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. International implementation scheme for the UN decade of education for sustainable development, 2005-2014 Year of publication: 2005 Corporate author: UNESCO In December 2002, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to put in place a UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, lasting from 2005 to 2014. UNESCO was tasked with leading the Decade and developing an International Implementation Scheme (IIS). 
United Nations decade of education for sustainable development (2005-2014): international implementation scheme Year of publication: 2005 Corporate author: UNESCO The International Implementation Scheme (IIS) sets out a broad framework for all partners to contribute to the Decade. It is a strategic document that focuses primarily on what nations have committed to achieve through the DESD and under UNESCO’s leadership. It summarizes the goals and objectives of the Decade, and its relationship to other key education movements. It emphasizes the importance of partnership in the eventual success of the Decade and outlines how these might contribute at all levels – community, national, regional, and international. It outlines UNESCO’s leadership tasks. The IIS also lists key milestones for the DESD. It then lays out seven strategies for moving forward with ESD and describes how this wide range of partners can develop contributions based on their particular contexts. Those not familiar with the background of the Decade or Education for Sustainable Development are referred to Annex I of this document, which provides a succinct summary of key trends as well as other important background information. The IIS should foster collective ownership of the DESD. The IIS describes pathways forward in the hope that it will stimulate imagination, creativity, and energy to make the DESD a success. It is envisaged that regions and nations will create plans, strategic approaches, and timetables on the basis of the framework provided by this International Implementation Scheme. Promotion of a global partnership for the UN decade of education for sustainable development (2005-2014): the international implementation scheme for the decade in brief Year of publication: 2006 Corporate author: UNESCO Through the International Implementation Scheme governments and other partners, especially potential donors, are urged to assess existing ESD resources and needs in countries, reallocate existing resources and find means of mobilizing new resources to ensure that ESD will not be a mere slogan but actual reality. 
YouthXchange guidebook series: climate change and lifestyles Year of publication: 2011 Author: Adam Cade | Rob Bowden Corporate author: UNESCO | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Climate Change and Lifestyles is the first in a series of guidebooks supporting the UNESCO/ UNEP YouthXchange (YXC) Initiative, which was created in 2001 to promote sustainable lifestyles among youth (15-24 years) through education, dialogue, awareness raising and capacity building. The series is being produced for young people and people working with youth, such as educators, teachers, trainers and youth leaders in both developed and developing countries. Almost half of the world’s population is under the age of 25, and nearly 90 per cent of them live in developing countries. Youth is a critical stakeholder in the global economy and will be the main actor and motor for change in the near future. Thus, the energy, motivation and creativity of youth are essential assets to stimulating change. Aims of the YXC Guidebook on Climate Change and Lifestyles: • Explore the links between lifestyles and climate change; • Help young people consider the actions they should take towards more sustainable lifestyles; • Support courses and actions that promote greater understanding of climate change and lifestyles among youth. The guidebook: • Considers the causes and effects of climate change and its human impacts and responses, while connecting them to lifestyle choices and the technical and social infrastructures of a society; • Provides scientific, political, economic, social, ethical and cultural perspectives on climate change; • Explains complex issues in accessible language supported by facts, graphics, images, examples and web links; • Develops the critical skills young people need to make personal choices to address the challenges of climate change.