SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.”
– Aristotle
UNEP YEA! Updates
Our Offer to the World
For an overview of our youth and education work and how you can apply it, check out our offer for the world!
Times Higher Ed Climate Impact Forum:
How can Universities accelerate the global transition to net zero?
Times Higher Education (THE) and UNEP are working together on the inaugural THE Climate Impact Forum, which will take place on 28 October 2021.
The forum will convene a new discussion with government ministers, education leaders, industry investors and leading youth voices to identify, share, challenge and inspire the higher education sector to take a more significant role in accelerating the socio-economic transformation required to achieve net zero.
The forum aims to produce clear and credible opportunities for universities to position themselves to have a greater impact through their teaching, research and public engagement, that will meet the demands of young people from across the world and the policy commitments of government leaders.
An exciting new initiative on nature-positive universities is set to be unveiled at the forum. In addition, new research will be launched that will reveal the key expectations of the global student community and their proposals for institutional change.
A series of workshops and presentations from leaders across higher education, industry and government will focus on how institutions can take action to respond and achieve the potential change that is required.
Register today and check out the agenda for more details!
Call for Video Messages from Higher Ed Students
UNEP and Times Higher Education (THE) are organizing a Climate Impact Forum on 28 October in advance of COP26. SOS-International will be supporting the effort to bring youth voices into the conversation. Now we are calling on you to share your visions for the future of education with us. For more info check out the website!
The 5 best videos will be compiled into a 4-5 minute video that will be watched by participating ministers and delegates at the THE Climate Impact Forum.
Are you or someone you know interested? Submit your video by 5 October by sending it via wetransfer to tim@sos.
Join us in the Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges
Help us cross the 1,000 mark and showcase the net zero commitments of the higher education community at COP26!
We are in the final stretch of the Race to Zero campaign, with 766 higher education institutions currently on board. If your higher education institution hasn’t yet joined the Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges, now is the time to demonstrate your institutions’ leadership on a global scale. Share your net zero commitment today to be part of a group of front-runners in the sector making ambitious commitments and acting as leaders in the move to a net zero future. Check out the new website and join us today!
UNEP-YEA calling for
University Research Partners
1) Behaviour Change on Campus: UNEP is seeking to build out the evidence behind sustainable behaviour change to showcase the impact of green nudges. Any Universities/behaviour change experts out there who would like to collaborate with us on this? Get in touch with the team at [email protected]
2) Sport and Nature: Do you want to work with us on the sport agenda? In order to set the stage for our sport strategy, we would like to commission a new report that would outline the contribution that sports can make to addressing the nature crisis. If you are interested in conducting such research or have recommendations on researchers/research institutions/universities who might be a good fit, please reach out to Dori at [email protected]
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
Launched: Guidelines for Integrating Ecosystems-based Adaptation into National Adaptation Plans
UNEP recently released the Guidelines for Integrating Ecosystem-based Adaptation into National Adaptation Plans.
The Guidelines aim to help adaptation practitioners at national and local levels to factor ecosystem functions and services into a country’s National Adaptation Plan processes and instruments. The Guidelines detail the multiple benefits as well as the challenges of adopting ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation. And here’s the story.
Generation Earthshot Teacher Toolkit available now!
The first ever winners of The Earthshot Prize will be announced via a global broadcast on the 17 October with the hope that it will inspire children and teachers to join in – by using the free Generation Earthshot Teacher Toolkit to generate and share their own ideas to repair the planet. The toolkit is now available in 8 languages!
The toolkit offers simple activities and guidance for educators to develop their students’ design thinking and creative problem solving skills whilst having fun (a key part of the innovation process). Teachers can submit students’ ideas and some of the favourites will be shared on the website and on social media.
Generation Earthshot is designed to complement existing environmental learning programmes and support students in developing solutions. It will help develop agency and optimism – even the aspiration to become a future Earthshot Prize Winner!
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Get In Touch With Us
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We would love to hear from you! What would you like to hear more about in these newsletters? Let us know and we’ll do our best to share content to your liking.
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Do you have any interesting calls to action, research asks or helpful information to share with others around the environment / sustainability / higher education theme? Please don’t hesitate to send them to [email protected] and we will select a few to include in our next newsletter.
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