ProSPER.Net E-Bulletin Issue 64 (May 2018)

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Message from the ProSPER.Net Secretariat

Save the Date – ProSPER.Net Joint Meetings: General Assembly and Board Meeting

The ProSPER.Net Joint Meetings, the 12th General Assembly and the 18th Board Meeting, will be hosted by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) on 23 October, 2018, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Participants are also welcome to attend the 4th International Conference on Low Carbon Asia and Beyond (ICLCA 2018), also hosted by UTM from 24-26 October, 2018.

Open Calls

Call for New Fellows: The IPBES Fellowship Programme

The IPBES Fellowship Programme provides an opportunity for outstanding early-career individuals from all backgrounds and disciplines working on biodiversity and ecosystem services to fully participate in IPBES assessments. Fellows gain first-hand experience in participating in major multidisciplinary scientific assessments while working with, and being mentored by, leading experts.

IPBES is currently seeking fellows to participate in two assessments to be launched in 2018:

• The methodological assessment regarding the diverse conceptualisation of multiple values of nature and its benefits
• The thematic assessment of the sustainable use of wild species

Selected fellows will take part as authors in the chapter of the assessment they are selected for. They will attend author meetings and receive training to gain an in-depth understanding of the IPBES assessment processes, and will be paired up with a mentor for the assessment period.

More information on the programme, including the open call, can be found here. The deadline for applications is 7 June, 2018.

IPBES: Call for Nominations of Experts and Expressions of Interest in Providing Technical Support Units

Following IPBES-6 in Medellin, Colombia, the Plenary in decision IPBES-6/1 approved:

• the undertaking of a methodological assessment regarding the diverse conceptualization of multiple values of nature and its benefits, hereafter referred to as “the assessment on values”;

• the undertaking of a thematic assessment of the sustainable use of wild species following IPBES-6; and

• the undertaking of a thematic assessment of invasive alien species, following IPBES-7, for consideration by the Plenary at IPBES-10.

The Multidisciplinary Expert Panel would like to formally invite governments and other relevant stakeholders:

1. to nominate experts for:

• the assessment on values; and

• the assessment of the sustainable use of wild species; and

2. to make offers for hosting a technical support unit (TSU) for:

• the assessment on values;

• the assessment of the sustainable use of wild species

Interested experts (Nominees) are encouraged to contact their IPBES National Focal Point (https://www.ipbes.net/national-focal-points) regarding any country-specific processes or deadlines and are requested to fill out their application form by no later than 1 June, 2018. Read full details of the call here.

Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics Online Youth Training Programme, Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development

Applications are currently open for the Leadership, Sustainability, and Ethics Online Youth Training Programme, which seeks to prepare young people with the skills and knowledge to be effective sustainability leaders and implement Earth Charter-inspired projects. Held from 2 July – 10 September, 2018, the 10-week programme will rely on an online platform as well as social media and weekly local or online actions to engage participants in the theory and practice of leadership, sustainability, and ethics. Further details about the programme as well as eligibility, content and the application procedure can be found here. The deadline for applications is 4 June, 2018.

Applications Now Open: UNU Intensive Core Courses

UNU-IAS is currently accepting applications for its four-week UNU Intensive Core (UNU-IC) Courses at UNU Centre in Tokyo, Japan, from 3-28 September, 2018. The courses are designed to provide analyses of global issues from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, and draw on the research projects undertaken at UNU-IAS and at various other UNU institutes located worldwide. Although advanced in nature, they are open to postgraduate students and professionals in various occupations who are not necessarily specialists in the field. Details on the courses offered, requirements, and application procedure can be found here. The deadline for applications is 13 July, 2018.

Latest News

GAP Partner Networks Discuss the Future of ESD

The third Global Action Programme (GAP) Partner Meeting on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), organised by UNESCO, was recently held in Costa Rica, from 25-27 April, 2018, under the theme ‘Looking into the Future of ESD, together’. UNU-IAS attended the meeting as a member of Partner Network 5 – Accelerating ESD solutions at the local level, in which attendees reflected on the post-GAP period and discussed the future direction of ESD.

UNESCO is now preparing a post-GAP position paper on the future of ESD that will focus on using learning and teaching as core competencies for implementation of the SDGs, which will incorporate feedback from the meeting. Stay tuned!

Publications

Sustainable Living in Finland: Combating Climate Change in Everyday Life

Published in Sustainability, this article looks at how sustainable living materialises among Finnish people in Finland. It also explores everyday behaviour and choices in the context of sustainability in order to combat climate change. Read more

The Eco-Responsible Qinmo Primary School in China Rebuilds the Notion of the Village

This article, in two parts, features Qinmo Primary School in Guangdong Province, China. Located in a neglected and remote village, the school focuses on environmental education and seeks to enable economic self-sufficiency among villagers, in particular in relation to rural productivity, in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the village. Read Part I here and Part II here.

This is a publication of UNU-IAS ProSPER.Net Secretariat. The bulletin is a great way to share your activities, events and news as a ProSPER.Net member with the rest of the network. Feel free to send us any information you may deem relevant for the rest of the community to prospernet@unu.edu. We look forward to your inputs! Visit ProSPER.Net regularly for up-to-date news and event information

ProSPER.Net Secretariat 

United Nations University 
Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability 
5-53-70 Jingumae, 
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925 
Japan