RCE Community: Progress, challenges and aspirations

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RCE CommunityProgress, challenges and
aspirations
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Evolution of Global RCE Community
Mid-Decade Year
DESD Launched
Development of the RCE concept
Establishment of the first 7 RCEs
Beginning of cross-RCE geographical collaboration
Emergence of thematic and operational groups
Discussion of how to assess RCEs begun
Showcasing RCEs at the World Conference on ESD
(Bonn, Germany)
Establishment of ESD Programme at UNU-IAS
UNU/UNESCO Conference on Globalization and ESD
(Nagoya, Japan)
1st International RCE Conference (Yokohama, Japan)
4th International RCE Conference (Montreal,
Canada)
3rd International RCE Conference (Barcelona,
Spain)
2nd International RCE Conference (Penang,
Malaysia)
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28
47
61
74
Number of RCEs Acknowledged by UNU
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2003
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Evolution of Global RCE Community (cont.)
End-Decade Year
Stronger emphasis on capacity development Engageme
nt with international processes
5th International RCE conference (Curitiba,
Brazil)
6th International RCE Conference (Kerkrade, the
Netherlands)
74
89
Number of RCEs Acknowledged by UNU
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
4
89 RCEs today and coming close to 100!
Expansion strengthening of Global RCE Network
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Promoting expansion of RCE Network in Australia

• 1st RCE (named Western Australia) in Australia
  was acknowledged by UNU in 2010.

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Developing capacities of RCE community

• Facilitating regional (continental) networks as
  well as tactical/strategic networks for capacity
  development
• Generating thematic  capacity development
  materials a long-term global RCE strategic
  vision
• Climate change
• Teacher education and better schools
• Sustainable consumption and production
• Health
• Traditional knowledge and biodiversity
• Higher education
• Well-being, livelihood and poverty reduction

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Developing capacities of RCE community

• Plan for development of the RCE community with a
  goal to upscale action research and
  transformative learning projects.
• Among the capacity development modules are
• Revisiting RCE vision
• Governance
• ESD competences and capabilities
• Principles of transformative learning
• Action research
• Thematic actions
• Marketing, fundraising and communication

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Highlights form the regions
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Highlights from the Asia-Pacific RCE Community

• Development of sub-regional networks and
  collaboration of RCEs in a country
• - Japanese RCEs set up a taskforce (in August
  2011)
• - RCEs in Korea, India, Thailand, and
  Indonesia are engaging with other networks
• A-P RCEs developed the 2011 Yogyakarta Action
  Plan on Community-based ESD
• Contributed to the side events on Biodiversity at
  the CBD COP10 in Nagoya, Japan, October 2010
• Best practices for the Asia Regional Forum on
  Biodiversity Encouraging Partnership between
  Businesses and Communities, Cha-am, Thailand,
  November 2011
• Four continental priority themes Biodiversity,
  Community, Schools and Youth

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Highlights from the European RCEs

• From December 2010 work towards all European bid
  reflecting Strategy 2020 (many individual bids)
• RCE Graz Styria - basis for the new Copernicus
  Alliance Network
• Strategic meeting of European RCEs in Newcastle
  (July 2011) transformative education is at the
  core

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Capacity development of African RCE community
Participants at the First African RCE
Continental Meeting held at Rhodes University,
South Africa on 29-31 August 2011.
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Highlights from American RCEs

• Growth of RCEs in South and Central America
• Experimentation with communication mediums
• Some project accomplishments within specific
  RCEs
• creating formal organizational partnerships with
  structural commitments to ESD within regions
• emphasis on important role of youth and community
  participation in projects
• emphasis on culture and indigenous knowledge and
  participation in RCE projects
• Aspirations to exchange resource people, students
  and translate ESD and RCE material

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Contribution to the international ESD-related
actions

Strategies Increasing visibility of ESD
projects Collaboration with UN Agencies Contributi
on to international ESD processes Synergies with
other ESD-related networks
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Collaboration with international processes and
organisations

• RCEs as strategic partners with UN agencies
  (UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF)
• Contribution of UN agencies into the RCE Global
  Conference
• Exploring collaboration with
• UNICEF and UNDP around issue of climate change
• CBD Secretariat around issues of biodiversity
• Eqator Initiative around issues of traditional
  knowledge
• IAU around higher education
• UNEP around issues of sustainable production and
  consumption and sustainable livelihood
• UNECE on the issue of ESD assessment
• Copernicus Alliance - network of European
  universities on the issue of higher education
  appraisal

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Contribution to international ESD processes

• Collaboration towards Rio20 process
• Input into the UN DESD Global Monitoring and
  Evaluation process
• The 2014 end-of-decade World ESD Conference in
  Nagoya, Japan
• Organisation of back-to-back Global RCE
  Conference

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Learning in Liquid times

• uncertainties and risks are the most prominent
  feature
• The learning processes have to be grounded on the
  requirements of a long-term perspectives
  (scenarios), flexibility, innovativeness,
  diversity and cross-sector engagement
• ESD answers the call

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How RCE community answers the call?

• Our vision

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RCEs charting innovations

• RCE networks takes a lead role in developing
  policies and practices related to ESD and
  sustainability innovations. RCEs are hubs of
  enhanced knowledge networks and collective
  decision-making beyond the constraints of
  bureaucratic oraganisations.
• Linking knowledge with action/innovation
• A diversity of development solutions

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RCEs as partners in reflexive implementation of
global sustainability agenda

• The RCE community is becoming a testing ground
  for the international, regional and national
  sustainable development processes. They
  critically reflect on the contextual issues,
  envision sustainable futures, offer policy
  directions and action plans, develop capacities,
  thereby engaging in processes of global change.

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Thank you very much
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RCE online reporting portal

• Updates of reporting protal in 2011 (by Nov.
  17th)
• Form 1 General Information
• 26 RCEs
• Form 2 RCE Coordination and Development
• 24 RCEs
• Form 3 RCE Project Database
• 42 Projects by 20 RCEs
• Form 4 Self assessment (optional)
• 9 Self assessment reports

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Abb. Mader C., 2009
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RCE Assessment Outcomes of students seminar
(RCE Graz)

• The following RCEs have been assessed according
  to available data and interview opportunities
• Reporting form (yellow)
• RCE Nizhny Novgorod
• RCE Greater Sudbury
• Reporting form and story (red)
• RCE Oldenburger Münsterland
• RCE Saskatchewan
• Story (blue)
• Advisor to European RCEs
• RCE Tongyeong
• RCE Denmark
• RCE Acores
• RCE Makana and Rural Eastern Cape
• RCE Rhine Meuse
• RCE Graz-Styria
• RCE Samara

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RCE Assessment Outcomes - GMID

• Individual RCE level
• Analysis of reporting forms.
• Providing an overview on actions and
  stakeholder/citizen involvement
• Global RCE network (not done yet)
• Providing progress report of global initiative
  (projects, actors, active/passive RCEs,)

Mader, 2011
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RCE Assessment OutcomesStorytelling approach

• Story telling
• Stories easy to read
• Sufficient information
• Facts and figures
• People behind RCE
• Learnings communicated

Mader, 2011