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Apparently they are in the process of collecting information on Education for Sustainable Development. Check it out for yourself.
Filed under: ESD learning materials
We are pleased to announce the 2008 Asia-Pacific Leadership Programme on Environment for Sustainable Development, which will be held during the week of 15-20 September 2008 at the UNEP Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) in Shanghai, China.
This annual Leadership Programme brings together mid to senior level managers and practitioners from government, private sector and civil society from across the Asia Pacific region. It aims to develop a new breed of leadership relevant to evolving challenges of the Asia Pacific region, and foster closer cooperation and coordination in environment for sustainable development issues.
Please note that deadline for receipt of applications is 8 August 2008 (Friday). All application documents can be submitted online at www.rrcap.unep.org/leadership/.
Your assistance in disseminating this announcement to other relevant parties in the Asia Pacific region would be most appreciated as well.
We look forward to hearing from you.
For inquiries and further information, please contact us at leadership2008@gmail.com or visit the following URL: www.rrcap.unep.org/leadership
Filed under: ESD learning materials
Did you know that the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP) has scholarships available to attend those courses at Wageningen International?
The NFP scholarship covers the following costs:
Tuition fees
Travel costs
Full-board accommodation
Health insurance
Allowance for personal expenses
Fellowships are available for candidates from the following Asian countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao), India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
This is a last call for applications with NFP scholarship to the following Wageningen International courses in 2008:
· Fisheries data collection and analysis, 29 September – 17 October
· Towards participatory fisheries management, 20 October – 7 November
· Landscape functions and people: applying strategic planning approaches for good natural resource governance, 27 October – 7 November
· Governance for forests, nature and people: managing multi-stakeholder learning in sector programmes and policy processes, 24 November – 5 December
THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS 1 JUNE 2008.
More information on:
Netherlands Fellowship Programmes
Application procedures Wageningen International
Feel free to pass on this information to colleagues in your network and others who you feel will be interested. If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact them.
Filed under: ESD learning materials
One of the members in our ESD-Net discussion asks what ESD learning materials actually are… “Because many materials can be used in teaching ESD, it is more a question how these are used. Therefore, ESD teaching material should then be more like a reference book on teaching methods and examples of lessons that promote creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, planning, communication…”
One of the objectives of this discussion is to make a reference list of ESD teaching and learning materials. Here are some sites we should definitely include in that list:
• The ESD Toolkit – The ESD toolkit helps teachers and their community, school, or institution take the first steps toward creating an education for sustainable development program.
• Teachernet – The Sustainable Schools area is designed to support schools on their journey to sustainability, introducing the principles of sustainable development and offering guidance on how to embed these principles into the heart of school life.
• UNICEF – A wealth of resources on ESD
• Sustainable Cities - A good place to start your search for information on sustainable cities.
• Sustainability Now - An introduction to sustainability.
• Responsible Consumption – About responsible consumption.
• Teachernet – tips to reduce water use in schools.
• My Footprint - Calculate your own footprint.
• Overpopulation – A more radical but revealing source.
• 19.20.21 - A great resource on how society has changed and will continue to change in urbanization. And note where the majority of the big cities will be located…
Also, complete your reference list with the UNESCO Bangkok Teacher Education webpage on ESD.
Send us your ESD learning materials so we can include them in our ESD reference list.
Thanks,
Bart Cornille
Filed under: ESD learning materials
We are currently holding an ESD-Net E-list discussion on ESD Teaching and Learning materials. The best place to start digging deeper into the concept of ESD is the UNESCO Teaching and Learning for Sustainable Future (TLSF) webpage. It provides a self-study ESD resource for pre-service teachers, experienced teachers and other educators. It contains 25 four-hour modules on ESD concepts and is organized into four themes to support the reorientation of ESD curricula and teaching and learning. As an ICT resource, TLSF can be used independently by individuals or small groups and be used as a resource for teacher education courses. TLSF is also available on CD-ROM and utilizes multimedia for presenting information and engaging learners through an interactive and experiential approach to learning.
If you have used it before, kindly give us some feedback. What are the problems? Lessons learned? Thanks.
Bart Cornille
Filed under: ESD learning materials
The Webby Awards are the Oscars of the Internet. This year the Educational Webby Award went to The Earth Institute of the Colombia University!
As soon as you browse through the website of the institution you understand why it has won. The Earth Institute’s overarching goal is to help achieve sustainable development primarily by expanding the world’s understanding of Earth as one integrated system. They work toward this goal through scientific research, education and the practical application of research for solving real-world challenges. With 850 scientists, postdoctoral fellows and students working in and across more than 20 Columbia University research centers, The Earth Institute is helping to advance nine interconnected global issues: climate and society, water, energy, poverty, ecosystems, public health, food and nutrition, hazards and urbanization.
Get involved! Also, take your time to look at the video of the Millenium Development Goals.
Here they challenges you to get involved by doing five quick actions! Do it now!
OpenLearn is on-line learning that is open to anyone, anywhere in the world using materials taken from the Open University (UK) courses. Instead of attending classes, learners study on-line, free of charge, using materials that have been specially designed for distance learning.
OpenLearn is a service for informal study – in their own time learners access materials in areas familiar or new to them, without the pressure of keeping to a timetable or sitting exams. Instead, they assess their own progress by keeping an on-line learning journal, discussing the topics with other on-line learners in forums and completing self assessment exercises where they may control when the answer is revealed. While OpenLearn isn’t exactly the same as studying at university, it gives real learning experiences taken from degree courses.
Study topics are sorted into 11 categories such as Business and Management, Mathematics and Statistics, Education or Science. Each topic has a range of study units from access to Masters level, each lasting between three and 20 hours.
Do you know the Green School at the Kul-Kul Campus in Bali?
Start your exploration of the Green School and discover more about the vibrant holistic Curriculum, their commitment to sustainability, the lush and spectacular campus, and the inspiring example of the founders, John and Cynthia Hardy.
The Green School was planned and constructed within the concept that education consists of more than ‘school’. In addition to the classrooms, athletic facilities, student and faculty housing, and numerous other buildings, an integral feature of the school is the Learning Village. In this specialized setting, the students have the chance to apply lessons to specific disciplines and real business situations, making abstract ideas come to practical life with results they can witness on a daily basis. Students are involved in everything from manufacturing their own chocolate to helping to manage the organic fields, bamboo plantations, and rice paddies that are integral to the campus. By working with dedicated teachers and experienced professionals, students solve problems while developing entrepreneurial skills that will inform and empower them to become the leaders of their generation.
Check it out on You Tube!
Filed under: ESD learning materials
We are pleased to introduce the Asia-Pacific ESD-NET Online Discussion Sessions to be carried out from mid-May to mid-July 2008.
Based on the areas of interest acknowledged in the Asia-Pacific ESD-NET E-list introductions last year, we have identified four discussion themes to assist with reorienting teacher education programmes to address sustainability. These themes include:
1. ESD-related Research: 12 May – 30 May (Facilitated by Mr. Elwyn Thomas)
2. ESD-related Teaching and Learning: 12 May – 30 May (Facilitated by Mr. Bart Cornille)
3. ESD Curriculum Practices: 2 June – 20 June (Facilitated by Mr. Renato Opereti)
4. Promoting Understanding and Awareness of ESD: 23 June – 11 July (Facilitated by Mr. Jose Roberto Guevara)
We invite you at this time to join one or more discussion groups for which you would like to actively participate. To do so, please contact Joel Bacha (j.bacha@unesco.org).
Filed under: ESD learning materials
Young people from around the world are invited to enter the 2008
International Essay Contest organized by UNESCO and the Goi Peace
Foundation with the sponsorship of the Earthrise Society.
The theme for this year’s contest is “My project to create positive
change in my environment. How can I foster sustainable development in my
community.” The deadline for entry is June 30, 2008. First prize winners
will receive a cash award and a trip to Japan.
Please see the complete guidelines below. The same information can be
found on the Goi Peace Foundation website:
http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0801_00.htm
To read winning essays from last year’s contest, go to
http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0702.htm
Please spread the information about the essay contest to young people in
your network.
May Peace Prevail on Earth!
The Goi Peace Foundation
