JULY 2023 NEWSLETTER
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”
– Robert Swan
What’s New with our Greening Education Partnership
- Greening Schools
- Greening Curriculum
- Greening Teacher Training and Education Systems’ Capacity
- Greening Communities
Countries are encouraged to join the Greening Education Partnership across these four action areas. Countries are invited to commit to achieve the set targets of at least two and if possible all four components by 2030. Progress is regularly discussed through 4 working group meetings and major advocacy moments, including COP28, to accelerate synergetic action on climate change education.
In addition, UNESCO, UNEP, UNFCCC, and UNITAR will be working closely together to establish a multi-partner trust fund as part of this Partnership to help unlock financing for greening education.
Learn more about the Greening Education Partnership here and here.
Online Course on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Disaster and Climate Resilience
On behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR), we are delighted to present this online course on ‘Nature-based Solutions for Disaster and Climate Resilience’ hosted on the SDG Academy/edX platform.
Here are 6 reasons why you should sign up for this course:
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Receive a free UNEP course certificate upon course completion.
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Choose to take the course in 8 languages (English, French, Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Brazilian-Portuguese and Indonesian).
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Meet & interact with environmental experts and practitioners.
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Access 6 hours of free learning materials, with exclusive interviews with world leaders.
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Join a growing community of practice on Nature-based Solutions and expand your professional network.
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Take the course at your own pace and learn how to make a difference!
CIF Youth Fellowship Applications Open Now
Are you a resident of Egypt, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Thailand, or Tunisia and aged between 18-28? Are you looking to expand your expertise in climate change issues?
The CIF Youth Fellowship is a unique professional capacity-building programme focused on providing hands-on experience to the next generation of young leaders in global climate action.
As a CIF Youth Fellow, you will be able to work on real-world projects that are making a tangible impact on the global fight against climate change. You will be part of a diverse and inclusive community of like-minded professionals that share your passion for climate action. The programme is designed to provide fellows with professional mentoring, training, and networking opportunities.
Join our community of like-minded leaders and make a real impact on the future of our planet. Apply to the CIF Youth Fellowship by Friday, 7th July 2023, at 11:59pm Eastern Time (US & Canada).
RCE Sustainable Consumption and Production Publication
Spotlight on Tide Turners
Tide Turners App Launched
UNEP and the ISLANDS programme, funded by the Global Environment Facility, launched a new Tide Turners app on World Environment Day. The app empowers young people to turn the tide on plastic pollution by equipping them with youth-focused, community-based solutions. You can try out the app here, sign-up and create a profile – and please do send us your feedback ([email protected]).
Kenyan Government to Support
Informal Waste Pickers
On 6th June, the British High Commission hosted a roundtable around mitigating plastic pollution & waste management in Nairobi, Kenya.
Tide Turners Plastic Challenge Badge champions from the Kenya Girl Guides and Kenya Scouts movements joined the roundtable, which saw the Kenyan Government committing to work more closely with young informal waste pickers. Technological training will be offered to waste pickers to help create a stable niche for them in social recycling, which is key for plastic pollution mitigation.
The UK is supporting the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge Badge to educate young people about plastic pollution & how to resolve pressing environmental issues.
Turning the Tide on World Environment Day
The Tide Turners Plastic Challenge Phase V was launched in India on 20th April, and saw participation from champions across the world.
For World Environment Day and World Oceans Day, the Tide Turners team in India co-convened an inter-school national painting competition around the theme of “healthy oceans for a healthy economy,” which saw engagement from government of India representatives, G20 delegates and UNEP representation.
Throughout Phase V so far, the Tide Turners Plastic Challenge in India has seen bourgeoning participation from over 100,000+ youth and joined hands with the Government of Delhi to implement the programme across 985 schools in Delhi. To celebrate this partnership, a three day puppetry workshop was organized to upskill 500+ educators and teachers in creative pedagogies for climate action.
Celebrating World Sea Turtle Day
To mark #WorldSeaTurtleDay on 16th June, staff at the British High Commission joined UNEP, UN Habitat, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, Baus Taka and our Tide Turners Plastic Challenge Badge Champions from the Kenya Girl Guides and Kenya Scouts movement for a beach clean-up in Mombasa. We picked up 300 kilograms of plastic rubbish in just one hour!
Learn more about Tide Turners here.
Reminders:
International Green Skills Conference:
Skills for a Changing World
When: 28th September 2023
Where: Imperial College London
Hosted in partnership between the UK Government Department for Education and Times Higher Education, the International Green Skills Conference explores the challenges and opportunities that are coming to light with the development of green skills training and green career pathways.
The conference brings together the key groups needed to meet these challenges and make the most of these opportunities: the further and higher education sectors, businesses, policymakers, young people, adult learners and international partners. Join us to develop partnerships across sectors and countries to accelerate green skills provision for our changing world. More information and sign up details can be found on the website.
RCE Youth Art Challenge: From Waste to Art
Submissions Open: Calling all young eco-artists! Create artwork to inspire others around the world to use resources more efficiently and to reduce waste. The challenge is open to anyone aged 35 or younger worldwide. Artwork should demonstrate how you or your local community are working to achieve sustainable consumption and production. Learn more here.
Deadline: 15th August 2023
Call for Applications:
The ESD Okayama Award 2023
Deadline: 14th July 2023 (Friday) 17:00 (JST)
The award recognizes activities that contribute to the spread of ESD in local communities in Japan and abroad and serve as models for the world. We are looking for projects that educate and develop people to learn from each other and take action toward the creation of a sustainable society in various aspects, such as environmental conservation, community development, inheritance of traditional culture, diversity and inclusion, and more. Learn more here.
Get In Touch With Us
Do you have any interesting calls to action, research asks or helpful information to share with others? Please don’t hesitate to send them to [email protected] and we will select a few to include in our next newsletter.