This presentation was part of the RCE Americas Meeting 2017 in Vancouver, Canada on Sustainable Communities: Exploring the Role of ESD in Development of a “Green Culture”.

1. Updates on Global
RCE NetworkNOVEMBER 2016 – SEPTEMBER 2017
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY – INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCED STUDY OF SUSTAINABILITY
SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2017

2. UN System

3. 3
United Nations University
The UNU Council
UNU-CRIS
Bruges,
Belgium
UNU-EHS
Bonn,
Germany
UNU-IAS
Tokyo
Japan
UNU-FLORES
Dresden,
Germany
UNU-GCM
Barcelona,
Spain
UNU-IIGH
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
UNU-INRA
Accra
Ghana
UNU-CS
Macao, SAR,
China
The Rector
Vice-Rector
UNU-INWEH
Hamilton,
Ontario,
Canada
UNU-WIDER
Helsinki,
Finland
UNU-MERIT
Maastricht,
The Netherlands
UNU-BIOLAC
Caracas,
Venezuela
UNU-FTP,
UNU-GTP,
UNU-LRT &
UNU-GEST
Reykjavík,
Iceland
The UNU
Office at
UNESCO
UNU Office at
the United
Nations in New
York
Senior Vice-
Rector
• UN organization that contributes, through collaborative research
and education, to efforts to resolve pressing global issues.
• Headquartered in Japan（launched in September 1975).

4. United Nations University
UNU-WIDER
• UNU-NWEH
UNU-CS
UNU-IIGH
UNU-INRA
UNU-BIOLAC
UNU-GCMUNU-EGOV
UNU-MERITT
UNU-CRIS UNU-FLORES
UNU-EHS
UNU-FTP, UNU-GTP,
UNU-LRT, UNU-GEST
UNU-IAS,
UNU-CPR

5. UNU-IAS
 Framework: sustainability science, encompassing a broad range of
issues such as resilience and governance
 Approach:
 Produce science-based inputs to inform policy making
 Capacity building through teaching and training
 Targeted International Policy Areas
I. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
II. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES)
III. Climate Change and
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
UNFCCC Process
Sendai Framework for DRR

6. UNU-IAS – ESD Project

7.  Launched at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD (Nov 2014)
 Adopted at the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly as the
Follow-up to the UN Decade of ESD (Dec 2014)
 Midterm Review in Ottawa (March 2017)
Overall goal:
To generate and scale-up action in all levels and areas of
education and learning in order to accelerate progress towards
sustainable development (education for, not about, SD)
Objectives:
1) To reorient education and learning (integrate ESD into the
education agenda)
2) To strengthen education and learning in all agendas,
programmes and activities that promote sustainable
development (integrate ESD into the development agenda)
7
Global Action Programme (GAP)
on ESD

8. ESD Beyond 2014
Strategies:
1. Building New Momentum
Through Launch Commitments
2. Harnessing Partnerships
Through Partner Networks
3. Fostering a New Global Community of
Practice
Through a Global Forum and an
Online Clearinghouse
4. Showcasing Good Practice
Through a UNESCO ESD Prize
GAP Implementation mechanisms:
Global monitoring framework
78 Partner Networks identified by
UNESCO
UNU-IAS is a Partner Network for the
Priority Action Area 5
8

9. GAP Priority Action Areas
1. Advancing policy
2. Transforming learning and training environments
3. Building capacities of educators and trainers
4. Empowering and mobilizing youth
5. Accelerating sustainable solutions at the local level

10. Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs) on
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
An RCE is a network of existing formal,
non-formal, and informal organizations
that facilitate education for
sustainable development in local and
regional communities (secretariat
usually higher education institution)
Because of this unique synthesis of
actors from different sectors, an RCE
can access a pool of experts from
different fields and different spheres of
influence
Helps break down silos
Gives overview of critical issues due to
multiple stakeholders
Pool of experts can support and facilitate
change

11. Newly Acknowledged RCEs
 New RCEs:
10 RCEs have been acknowledged since November 2016:
 Africa: North Rift (Kenya), Zaria (Nigeria), Gauteng (South Africa)
 Asia-Pacific: Jammu (India)
 Americas: Kawarthas (Canada), Borderlands Mexico-USA (Mexico),
Georgetown (USA)
 Europe: Czechia (Czechia), Bordeaux-Aquitaine (France), Stettiner Haff
(Germany)

13. Overview of RCE Related Activities
November, 2016 – December, 2017
Date Event Venue
November, 2016 Global RCE Meeting Yogyakarta, Indonesia
March, 2017 GAP Midpoint Meeting Ottawa, Canada
August, 2017 African RCE Meeting Lusaka, Zambia
September, 2017 European RCE Meeting
Americas RCE Meeting
Dortmund, Germany
Vancouver, Canada
November, 2017 Asia-Pacific RCE Meeting Delhi, India
December, 2017 RCE Thematic
Conference
Okayama, Japan

14. RCE Awards
 10 projects from 10 RCEs were submitted for the RCE Award in 2016
 1 project received an award under “Outstanding Flagship Project”
 7 projects received awards under “Acknowledged Flagship Project”
 The names and categories of the awarded projects can be found
under the following link at the RCE Portal:
http://www.rcenetwork.org/portal/innovative-projects-education-
sustainable-development-esd

15. RCEs in the Americas

16. Action Plan for the Americas
 Communication:
 Shared documents from Americas meeting on portal (October, 2016)
 Closed Facebook group for RCEs of Americas (December, 2016)
 Listserve for Americas RCEs in UNU Connections (December, 2016)
 Need permission to share!
 Projects:
 Course content on IK/local food for the Americas
 Local biodiversity curriculum/mascots
 Podcast on SDGs
 Youth:
 Exchanges
 Projects

17. Youth
 At the request of the youth delegates who attended the 10th Global
RCE Meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and with the approval of the
Ubuntu Committee of Peers to the RCEs, the Global RCE Service
Centre would like to announce that all RCEs are requested to
designate a youth focal point within each RCE.
 This position will be available to any persons between the ages of
16-35 who is active within their local RCE
 The position will be appointed for a two year term with the possibility
of extending for one additional two year term.
 This focal point will serve as a point of contact for youth seeking to
network and engage with cross-RCE initiatives and communication.

18. Youth
 Countries with multiple RCEs requiring national youth focal points
 (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United States)
 Regional coordinators will in turn communicate with national focal
points within their given region, and act as a bridge between the RCE
Global Service Centre and the youth within their region.
 While RCE youth will be engaged within their own unique projects, at
the request of youth present during the 10th Global RCE Meeting, youth
networks will also be asked to help with coordination and
communication matters among the network at large.
 One example will be RCE youth will be initiating contact with RCEs that
have not reported in order to make connections with those among the
community who do not have projects showcased on the portal for the
last year.

19. Youth
 So far, there have been five RCEs in the Americas that have
nominated RCE Youth Focal Points
 RCE Bogotá: Jennifer Rivera Jimenez
 RCE Borderlands: Ramon Hernandez
 RCE Greater Portland: Ibrahim Ibrahim
 RCE Rio de Janeiro: Marcel Lima Marujo
 RCE Shenandoah Valley: Samuel Stoner
 Please feel free to nominate a Youth from your RCE if it has not
already done so!

20. Next steps
 Communication – what is desired?
 More? Less? On what issues? Through which platform?
 Projects
 Every RCE is working on projects locally – is there a desire for regional or
continental initiatives?
 Resource/Expertize Mapping
 Who is working in which fields?
 What mechanisms already exist for exchange and collaboration?
 What resources can be mobilized?

21. Thank you!