Issue 30: April 2015

Message from the ProSPER.Net Secretariat:

Dear colleagues and friends, Warm greetings from UNU-IAS! We are pleased to introduce you to the newest members of the UNU-IAS ESD team. Ms. Ikuno Suzuki, and Ms. Ryoko Suzuki are joining us as Administrative Programme Associates. Before joining our team, Ikuno worked in various industries in the private sector, ranging from food, finance, information to travel and tourism, as well as in a couple of public institutions. Her interests include children’s education in Africa and she has lived in Ethiopia to do fieldwork for her Master. She joined the team as temporary staff last autumn, and some of you may have met her during the Higher Education Conference held in Nagoya, Japan last November. Ryoko worked as an intern at the Education Policy and Reform Unit, UNESCO in the Bangkok Office. She also has several years of working experience at a research institute in Japan and the Japanese Embassy in the UK. She obtained her MA in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex.

Please join us all in welcoming Ikuno and Ryoko to the ProSPER.Net community!

Taking this opportunity, we would also like to ask ProSPER.Net members to disseminate the information on the ProSPER.Net-Scopus Young Scientist Award (YSA) and the ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme. Please encourage those engaged in the field of SD and ESD to apply for the YSA and Leadership Progamme. You will find below more details of these activities. Sincerely, ProSPER.Net Secretariat

Upcoming Events

Events organized by UNU-IAS

Joint meeting of the 9th ProSPER.Net General Assembly and the 15th Board Meeting

3-4 June 2015 Shanghai, China ProSPER.Net members and partners will gather at Tongji University for the ProSPER.Net General Assembly and Board meeting. Members will discuss the ProSPER.Net Strategy and Roadmap, linkages with other networks and international initiatives and will also report on the joint research projects. The outcomes of the meeting will be posted on the ProSPER.Net website. For more information, please contact the ProSPER.Net Secretariat at ProSPERNet@unu.edu.

The 3rd ProSPER.Net Forum on Sustainability in Higher Education “Higher Education for Sustainable Development- Advancing the Nagoya Declaration”

4 June 2015 Shanghai, China Tongji University will be hosting the 3rd ProSPER.Net Forum on Sustainability in Higher Education. The Forum will discuss the transformative role of higher education and institutions of higher learning towards sustainable development by sharing experiences and examples of good practices. The Forum will also discuss policy implications in the context of the Nagoya Declaration, which was adopted by the participants of the International Conference on Higher Education for Sustainable Development in Nagoya, Japan, on 9 November 2014.

ProSPER.Net-Scopus Young Scientist Award in Sustainable Development Symposium

27 July 2015 Yokohama, Japan The Young Scientist Award (YSA) is given annually to young scientists and researchers who have made significant contributions in the area of sustainable development. The categories for this year’s YSA are Energy, Water and Biodiversity. Panelists of each category will engage in a lively discussion and will also judge the work of the top three finalists. For further details of the YSA, please visit the ProSPER.Net website.

World Environmental Education Congress Side Events

29 June- 2 July 2015 Gothenburg, Sweden The 8th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden from 29 June to 2 July 2015. RCEs will organize a number of events during the congress. A plenary session, “The Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) - Global, Regional and National Perspectives,” will take place on 30 June. The event will showcase examples of implementation plans and strategies for the GAP with a purpose of informing and inspiring participants in initiating GAP-related actions in their own organizations and countries. The event will be coordinated by the Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD) in partnership with UNR/Globala Skolan, UNESCO, Swedish National Commission for UNESCO, UNU-IAS, and WWF-Sweden. Additionally, the Nordic RCEs will organize a side event after the plenary session, as a follow-up activity. The event will focus on how the RCE network can support the GAP, and how the GAP can support the progress of the RCE network. RCE West Sweden will be the main organizer of this event. Participants are also welcome to attend a separate workshop organized by RCE West Sweden (3-5 July) with the main theme “Learning 4 change”. Here discussions will be held on how RCEs can develop and test methods and tools to support the change process for leaders. If you are interested in joining these RCE-organized events, held during the WEEC 2015, please send an email to loc@gmv.gu.se. For more information, please visit the website of RCE West Sweden or the conference website.

Other Events

Summer Course: Introduction to Learning for Sustainability

8-26 June 2015 The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland This course aims to criticize aspects of the scientific evidence available and the social context of Homo sapiens influence on today’s world situation in terms of climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, environmental impact and our responses to it. In so doing, participants will consider educational responses to the contested concept of ‘sustainability’. This will involve participants considering the breadth and complexity of concepts of ‘sustainability’, and necessarily challenging and partially re-grounding their present understanding and practices by comparing these with the internationally diverse set of practices that sail beneath the ‘flag of convenience’ that is "Learning for Sustainability", "Education for Sustainable Development" and their variants. For those interested in taking this course, please visit the website for more information.

Regional Forum on Climate Change (RFCC) - Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Societies: Bridging Science, Practice, and Policy

1-3 July 2015 Bangkok, Thailand The Regional Forum on Climate Change (RFCC) will be held at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand from 1-3 July 2015. During the Forum interventions will be proposed that can influence climate policy in the region, and inspire the ASEAN position for climate change negotiations on a global scale. The event is jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Technology, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the European Union and the ASEAN secretariat. Early registration is open until 31 May 2015. For more information, please visit the conference website.

Open Calls

ProSPER.Net- Scopus Young Scientist Award in Sustainable Development

This year’s Young Scientist Award (YSA) will be given annually to young scientists and researchers who have made significant contributions in sustainable development with a focus on Energy, Water and Biodiversity. Applications and nominations will be accepted until 24 May 2015 through ProSPER.Net and Elsevier’s website. As part of the judging process, the three finalists in each category will be sponsored to present their work in a public symposium on 27 July 2015 in Yokohama, Japan. Winners will receive a cash award from ProSPER.Net-Scopus and a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Apply now for the 2015 ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme

The third ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme will be held in Sabah, Malaysia from 23 to 29 August 2015 under the theme of “Transformational Leadership in Implementing and Assessing Sustainability Projects”. This year’s programme will be jointly organized by ProSPER.Net and the Higher Education Leadership Academy of the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS). The Leadership Programme provides opportunities for participants to develop inter-disciplinary skills to lead sustainable development initiatives appropriate to local, regional or global contexts. Participants will go through a unique experience that will assist them in leading efforts towards developing work with a clearer vision and understanding regarding diverse perspectives, focusing on collaborative efforts, leveraging networks and involving multiple stakeholders. Applications are being accepted until 14 June 2015. Application form and tentative programme are available on ProSPER.Net website.

IPBES Young Fellows Pilot Programme

Nominations for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Young Fellows Pilot Programme are open until 31 May 2015. The Pilot Programme is targeting young scholars who wish to gain experience by participating in the development of the regional and sub-regional assessments (Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and Central Asia) or the thematic assessment on land degradation and restoration. Selected fellows will take part as contributing authors to the chapter of the assessment they are selected for. Fellows will attend two author meetings and receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of the IPBES assessment processes. Fellows from developing countries and countries with economies in transition will receive support to attend these two meetings, in accordance with UN rules. Contributing authors to the assessments are, in accordance with the IPBES procedures, selected by the coordinating lead authors and lead authors to assist with the work (IPBES/2/17). Fellows can be selected from within the pool of nominated fellows as well as from the pool of experts already nominated for contributions to the assessments in question. Nominations from a broad range of organization/institutions are encouraged. Self-nominations will not be accepted. Nominators are expected to give their consent to the time commitment required from the candidate. For those who are interested in the IPBES Young Fellows Pilot Programme, please check the RCE Portal.

UNESCO- Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Within the framework of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development honours outstanding efforts of individuals, institutions, organizations or other entities engaged in ESD activities. The Prize was established by the Executive Board of UNESCO at its 195th session, and officially announced at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD. The Prize will be awarded for the first time in 2015. Funded by the Government of Japan, the Prize consists of three annual awards of USD 50,000 each. Please note that nominations should be submitted to UNESCO by governments of Member States and non-governmental organizations in official partnership with UNESCO. They should focus on a specific project or programme of the nominee. The deadline for nominations is 31 May 2015. You can download the Nomination Form (in English and French) and find the selection criteria and other relevant information on the Prize website. Distance Learning Scholarships for candidates from Caribbean and African Commonwealth Countries The MSc Education for Sustainability course at London South Bank University is offering 10 scholarships in 2015 for African and Caribbean Commonwealth Citizens. This course is designed for anyone interested in paving the way for a more sustainable world by way of understanding, educating or promoting sustainability. Although most of the students, present and past, are educators, teachers and NGO educational, training or campaigning staff, this course may draw students from many other backgrounds, such as, health, media, business, government, botanic, and zoological work. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship, please visit their website for more information. Applications must be submitted by 15 May 2015. Please note that it is important that candidates apply via the Commonwealth Commission’s website as those applying directly with the university will be considered on the basis of being self- funded. For any questions, please email leacockv@lsbu.ac.uk.

Media and Other Articles

United Nations Youth Flash UNEP News Centre: African Ministers Call for Strong Paris Agreement, Climate Finance Flows World Economic Forum: Is time running out to avoid a mass extinction? The Guardian: How much fossil fuel has been used in your lifetime? The Guardian: What they say about climate change: our favourite quotes Business and Climate Summit 2015 in Paris: Working together to build a better economy The 2015 Global Monitoring Report – Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges UNESCO: World Oceans Day 2015: Ocean and Climate in Paris UNEP: The Three Dimensions of Sustainable Development The World Bank: Out-of-School Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Policy Perspective FAO: The XIV World Forestry Congress in Durban, South Africa These and many more articles can be found on the RCE Portal. For instantaneous news, please sign up for our RSS Feed!

Publications

UNEP Discussion Paper: Sustainable Consumption and Production Indicators for the Future SDGs

The UNEP discussion paper has been released at the start of the post-2015 development agenda discussions in New York. The purpose of this document is to assist Member States in identifying potential indicators for targets proposed under SDG 12 (“Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns”) and for related targets in twelve of the other proposed SDGs. This discussion paper aims to contribute to the development of an integrated, science-based set of indicators to monitor progress towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns, which support achievement of the SDGs. The paper highlights a number of potential indicators, which can serve for different goals and targets and thus contribute to making the targets more actionable and transformative, by promoting an integrated approach to shifting towards SCP patterns and achieving the SDGs. The paper can be downloaded from the Global SCP Clearinghouse of the 10YFP or from the RCE Portal. This is a publication of UNU-IAS ProSPER.Net Secretariat. Please send your comments, suggestions and materials to prospernet@unu.edu . Visit the ProSPER.Net website regularly for up-to-date news and event information