Global ESD conference to bring the focus back to education after COP26

19th October 2021

Learning for Sustainability Scotland will virtually host the global conference for the UN-recognised Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) from 16th-18th November 2021. The event will be a fantastic opportunity to build capacity for education for sustainability – locally, nationally and globally.
  
Scotland is fortunate to be maintaining the momentum harnessed at COP26 with the Global RCE conference the following week. This will be the 12th RCE conference and unlike COP will focus specifically on teaching and learning for sustainability, hence its theme 'Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: action through learning in a time of global crises'. The event is being hosted by the UN Global RCE Service Centre and Learning for Sustainability Scotland (LfSS), which is Scotland's Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development.  LfSS, as a fellow supporter of sustainability in the Scottish education sector, regularly collaborate with EAUC Scotland. Our Scotland Programme Manager Rebecca Petford sits on their Steering Group.

The network of Regional Centres for Expertise on ESD (RCEs) was developed by United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) to support and sustain the momentum of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development which ran from 2005-2014. The success of the RCE network is ongoing and, as of August 2021, has 181 members who continue to translate global objectives into the context of the local communities in which they operate. The RCE network will play a vital role in implementation of the UNESCO ESD 2030 Roadmap by supporting on all 5 priority areas of action, and as such making them highly influential policy advocates.

The Conference is inspired by the holistic approach to sustainability proposed by the Scottish sustainability pioneer Sir Patrick Geddes. Each day of the conference is designed to focus on either the ‘heart’, ‘hand’, or ‘head’, and all have the following objectives:

• Enable and sustain collaborative conversations across the RCE Network
• Share and celebrate good practice regarding action through learning from across the RCE network
• Explore, beyond COP26, how to strengthen action on the UNESCO ESD for 2030 agenda in the context of the UN SDGs

This free Conference will take place virtually, featuring keynote presentations, panel discussions, case study presentations, interactive workshops, regional RCE sessions and an online 'marketplace' exhibition, as well as opportunities to network and meet informally. There are also plans afoot for some fun social sessions with a uniquely Scottish flair! For more information and the latest agenda see here. 

Attending the conference offers you the chance to share, explore and build on the knowledge, skills and values within a world-leading network that can build the capacities and actions needed to achieve the SDGs. Following COP26 you may be inspired with ideas - or opposingly you may be left looking for answers. Either way the RCE conference could be the place to influence your next steps.

Register your attendance here