CONTENTS

9th Global RCE
Conference
Regional Centres ofExpertise on Educationfor Sustainable
Development
4-7 November 2014
Okayama, Japan

2

CONTENTS

Contents

Foreword

2

Opening

3

Kazuhiko Takemoto (Director, UNU-IAS)
Masao Omori (Mayor, City of Okayama)
Soichiro Seki (Ministry of the Environment)
Alexander Leicht (UNESCO)
Hans van Ginkel (Former UNU Rector)
Highlights

Thematic Sessions
Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity

26

Climate Change

27

Higher Education

28

Sustainable Consumption and Production

29

Youth

30

Strategic and Operational Sessions
4

Special Sessions
RCE Recognition Awards 2014

6

Policymakers’ Roundtable Discussion

10

Stocktaking: 10 Years of RCE movement

14

Social Programme

16

Continental Sessions
Africa and the Middle East

18

Americas20

Asia-Pacific22

Europe24

Capacity Development

31

Engagement with Policies

31

RCE Assessment

32

Networked Governance32

RCE Movement Beyond 201433

Okayama Declaration on RCEs and ESD Beyond 201434

Afterword

35

This publication should be cited as:
9th Global RCE Conference –Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development
Editing and coordination:
Hanna Stahlberg
Design and layout:
Fraser Biscomb© The United Nations University 2015
Published by:United Nations University Institute for the
Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)
53-70, Jingumae 5-chome
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan
Email: rceservicecentre@unu.edu
Web: www.ias.unu.edu
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the United Nations University.

A number of images contained in this publication are courtesy of:
Mr. Yuuki Miyaji (Okayama Convention Center); and© RCE Okayama

1

FOREWORD

Foreword

Opening“With ten years of experience in ESD, the RCEcommunity stands tall today with 129 RCEs facing thechallenges ahead.“
Kazuhiko Takemoto (Director, UNU-IAS) welcomed everyone to the conference.

Okayama’s Mayor Masao Omori welcomed everyone.

“This conference is significant to review theachievements of ESD by RCEs during the UN Decadeof ESD, and to discuss policy, strategies and concrete
activities after the Decade to support the GAP on ESD.“The 9th Global RCE Conference in Okayama, Japanis historic in that it marked a decade of global RCE
movement. The movement was launched in 2005 in
response to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development (DESD, 2005-2014). RCEs, which areacknowledged by the United Nations University withthe support of the Ubuntu Alliance through its Ubuntu
Committee of Peers for RCEs, are not only significant for
the region in which they are geographically located, where
they provide a unique opportunity to promote learningand practice for sustainable development, but are also
important at the international level in creating the Global
Learning Space for Sustainable Development.
The conference took stock of the achievements,
opportunities and challenges of the RCE community,
and also looked post-2014 on the implementation of the
Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD, as well as onaligning RCEs with international sustainable development
processes including the post-2015 development agenda.
The conference was special in having been one of theofficial Stakeholder Meetings of the UNESCO World
Conference on ESD in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The immense
efforts of the City of Okayama and the stakeholders of
RCE Okayama in hosting the 9th Global RCE Conference
were gratefully acknowledged.

2This booklet encapsulates the technical proceedings ofthe conference, featuring highlights of the RCE community
development over the decade, reflecting on the lessons
learned, and the progress and prospects of ESD. It also
features discussions on strategic, thematic, operationaland geographic issues, the policymakers’ roundtable,
and shows RCE engagements with internationalsustainability processes.
The booklet further depicts the recipients of the
RCE Award, which illustrates how RCEs contribute toaddressing local sustainability challenges through multistakeholder learning and partnerships. It reflects a decadeof experience, and the RCE network stands tall to face thechallenges in sustainable development and is committed
to the Okayama Declaration on RCEs and ESD.

“It is a great pleasure for the government of Japan to beable to provide support to UNU-IAS which runs these
ESD projects.”
Soichiro Seki (Vice Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of theEnvironment Japan)
Alexander Leicht (Chief ESD Section, UNESCO) acknowledges Japan’s role in ESD
and the ESD-rich culture in Okayama in particular:“Japan has been the country that has most strongly
supported UNESCO’s ESD work, hence it is only fitting
to host this event here in Okayama.”

Director“The original idea behind the RCE network was
to mobilize and to involve people, experts andcommunities.”

United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Studyof Sustainability

Hans van Ginkel (former UNU Rector) was very pleased to see so many people
actively participating in the RCE community.

Dr. Kazuhiko Takemoto

3

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights

4

5

SPECIAL SESSIONSRCE Recognition Awards 2014

31 RCE projects from 27 RCEs
were submitted for the 2014 RCE
Recognition Award. The Global RCE
Service Centre created the Awardto celebrate outstanding projects
on education for sustainable
development (ESD) and to increase
the visibility of the work of individual
RCEs as well as the global RCE
network. This year’s Award recognizes
ESD projects in five categories,
underscoring the contribution of
RCEs to the goals of the UN Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development
and UNESCO’s proposal for the Global
Action Programme (GAP).

Category 1:
Community Engagement Mobilising
Local Innovations for SD
RCE Yogyakarta: Integrated Bio-cycle
Farming System
RCE Yogyakarta: Community Empowerment
Program in Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo
Province, Indonesia: concerning to the uniquelocal biodiversity conservation
RCE Bohol: Mangrove planting and mudcrab
culture in Bool District: SD through community
empowerment
RCE Greater Phnom Penh: Promoting ESD
through food, agriculture and environment
education in elementary schools and ruralcommunities in Cambodia
RCE Okayama: Okayama ESD Project – Decadein Okayama ‘ESD Okayama Model’ & Release of‘New Okayama ESD Project Fundamental Plan’RCE Curitiba Parana: SENAI in Parana Centerfor sustainable solutions: increasing ESD
awareness through sustainable costruction andtechnologies Innovation Lecture

6

Category 2:
Capacity Development throughEnvironmental Learning

Category 3:
Bridging Local Knowledge andGlobal Perspectives on SD

Category 4:
Youth Empowerment, Networking
and Collaboration

Category 5:
Curriculum-based Transformative
Learning and Research Processes

RCE Greater Portland: E4 Sustainability
TeamWorks TeamRCE Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan
eco-museums Initiative (SEI)RCE North East: Great Northern Youth Voices

RCE Espoo: The Gulf of Finland Year 2014

RCE Nuremberg: Koopstadt – multilateral,
coherent and interdisciplinary urban
development Bremen, Leipzig, Nuremberg-facing common global tasks and solving
challenges together

RCE Graz-Styria: ConSus –Connecting science-society collaborations forsustainability innovations

RCE Penang: Kelab Sejahtera (Sejahtera Club)RCE Tongyeong: Clean plate movement –a new wave from the local to tourism(a voluntary basis project
RCE Kunming: Human values –based water, sanitation and hygiene educationin Kunming City
RCE Porto Metropolitan Area: FUTURE –100.000 trees project in Porto Metropolitan Area

RCE Lima-Callao: Diploma Course on
biodiversity and intercultural dialogue ofknowledge systems
RCE Cuatemala: Mayan cities, educational wealth
RCE Kyrgyzstan: Advancing women’s economic
opportunities in Fergana Valley handicraft andtextile supply chain

RCE Kakamega Western: Youth and education
for sustainability camp 2014
RCE Kano: Skill impartment among youth:
Saving our future today
RCE Greater Nairobi: Kenyatta University and
NEMA Ngong Waste Management Project
RCE Oldenburger Muensterland: Youth inrural areas – Regional Youth Report for the
district of Vechta
RCE Yogyakarta: Development of sustainable
power and water supply utilizing renewableenergy resources for remote and rural areas
in Indonesia through a student community
services program

RCE Saskatchewan: RCE K-12 Education website(www.rceed.ca)
RCE Shangri-la: Waterschool China
RCE Lucknow: ESD through mobile exhibition
on biodiversitys for sustainability innovations
RCE Grand Rapids: ESD + SD skillsets = jobs
in the new economy
RCE Scotland: Communities with a common
cause action learning programme
RCE Grand Rapids: Plaster Creek Steward7

SPECIAL SESSIONSRCE Recognition Awards 2014: Outstanding Flagship Projects

Outstanding Flagship Projects – (Nominated projects made significant contributions to community engagement,
transformative learning, youth empowerment and collaborative governance)
Name of RCE

Project Title

For its contribution to …

RCE Yogyakarta

Community Empowerment Program in
Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo Province,
Indonesia: concerning the unique local
biodiversity conservation

Community engagement and empowerment
through student community services linked to ESD

RCE Bohol

Mangrove Planting and Mudcrab Culture in
Bool District: Sustainable Development throughCommunity Empowerment

Sustainable livelihoods in local communities
through active involvement in project
implementation and management

RCE Tongyeong

Clean plate movement – a new wave from thelocal to tourism (a voluntary basis project by
RCE Tongyeong Informal Education Committee)

Sustainable consumption and community
engagement through the ‘clean plate movement’

RCE Kunming

Human Values-based Water, Sanitation andHygiene Education in Kunming City (HVBWSHE)

Capacity development for schools and communities
on water and sanitation through value-based waterand health initiatives

RCE Porto
Metropolitan Area

FUTURE – 100.000 trees project in Porto
Metropolitan Area

Capacity development and community engagement
in improving and expanding native urban forests

RCE Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Eco-museums Initiative (SEI)

Application of an eco-museums model to enablecommunities conserve and learn from their naturaland cultural heritage

RCE Nuremberg

Koopstadt – multilateral, coherent andinterdisciplinary urban development Bremen,
Leipzig, Nuremberg – facing common global
tasks and solving challenges together

Establishing and providing applied urban sustainable
development solutions

RCE Lima-Callao

Diploma course on Biodiversity and Intercultural
Dialogue of Knowledge Systems

An innovative approach to revitalization of
traditional cultures and promotion of theirco-evolution with modernity

RCE Kyrgyzstan

Advancing women’s economic opportunities in
Fergana valley handicraft and textile
supply chain.

Improving economic opportunities of rural women
through revival of traditional handicrafts knowledge

RCE North East

Great Northern Youth Voices

Increasing youth employability by building theirconfidence and sustainability skills

RCE Yogyakarta

Development of Sustainable Power and Water
Providing sustainable energy and water supplies
Supply utilizing Renewable Energy Resources for to remote areas in Indonesia through student
Remote and Rural Areas in Indonesia throughengagement
Student Community Services Program

RCE Scotland

Communities with a Common Cause Action
Learning Programme

Generation of new knowledge on the role of humanvalues in motivating action to address sustainable
development

ConSus – Connecting Science-Society
Collaborations for Sustainability Innovations

Strengthening the connection and collaborationof higher education institutions, research and
ESD practice

RCE Graz-Styria

8

RCE Grand Rapids

Plaster Creek Stewards

Linking education and research initiatives with
opportunities for residents to take restorative actions

RCE Okayama

Okayama ESD Project – Decade in Okayama"ESD Okayama Model" & Release of "NewOkayama ESD Project Fundamental Plan"

Improving knowledge and understanding
about sustainable lifestyles among people living
in Okayama

2

1

5

4

9
12

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10

6

8

7

3

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13
15

Photos of Award Winning Projects
1. RCE Grand Rapids
2. RCE Porto Metropolitan Area
3. RCE Graz-Styria
4. RCE Yogyakarta‐Development of
Sustainable Power and Water Supply
5. RCE Kunming
6. RCE Lima-Callao
7. RCE Saskatchewan
8. RCE Yogyakarta – Community
Empowerment Program
9. RCE Tongyeong
10. RCE Kyrgyzstan
11. RCE Nuremberg
12. RCE Bohol
13. RCE North East
14. RCE Okayama
15. RCE Scotland
9

SPECIAL SESSIONS

Policymakers’ Roundtable Discussion

The Global Action Programme on ESD focusedon five priority action areas, the first one being‘Advancing Policy’. This area is considered a key
leverage point to advance the ESD agenda
beyond 2014.
The objective of the Roundtable Discussion was toshare how RCEs can contribute to enable a policy
environment necessary for mobilizing ESD andscaling up ESD activities. Speakers and participants
were invited to address issues relevant to policy
support, based on experiences at the local, national
and international levels.
Okayama, Japan exemplified engagement in
the promotion of ESD with the local government
facilitating multi-stakeholder involvement. The ‘ESD
Okayama model’ provided a community-basedlearning framework. These so called “Kominkan”
are community learning centres (CLCs), hubs for
ESD promotion with the involvement of local
government on the policy level and academic
support. Other stakeholders are the ASPnet schools
commonly referred to as the UNESCO Associated
Schools. In future, RCE Okayama plans to scale up
concepts of ESD promotion and incorporate theminto city policy.

10Skåne, Sweden was a good example of how at the
local level, an enabling and facilitative approach
can be taken towards engagement. Their ‘Learningfor doing City Project’ works in three dimensions,
ecological, economical and social. By providing a
multi stakeholder platform, they enable conditions
for policy development and allow innovative
ESD ideas to form. Their main objective was tobring knowledgeable citizens to work with themunicipality in an open and inclusive manner, withthe municipality supporting pilot projects.
Japan is a pioneer in ESD with strong national ESD
policies and initiatives. The World Conference in2014, for example, was organized by UNESCO andthe Government of Japan. The Japanese Ministry of
the Environment strongly supports policy actions
particularly in environmental education and has
implemented a policy plan for ESD beyond 2014.
Since the launch of the UNDESD, the Ministry has
promoted many ESD activities and beyond 2014,
the Ministry will continue to promote capacity
development, and initiate a collaboration andsupport system.

11

SPECIAL SESSIONS

Kenya is a good model for national ESD leadership.
RCEs are formally recognized as instruments ofchange, with the government mentoring RCEs.
ESD policy is implemented in sessional papers.
Future plans are to mainstream policy actions andto further develop Standard Procedures of how
to implement ESD activities. The policy enabler isbasically the National ESD Strategy embedded in
the Kenyan Constitution. By 2030, Kenya envisions areorientation towards ESD in policy and curricula as amandatory requirement for the public sector.
During the discussion, a UNESCO-MGIEP delegate
highlighted that the drive did not come fromsustainability, but from the threat of lifestyle change,
due to environmental degradation. Systemic change
happens by integrating ESD into international andnational policies and mainstreaming good practices.
The RCE network should form links with international
key players such as IPBES and the World Economic
Forum. The challenge was how to enable systemicchange, linking Sustainable Development to job
creation, and not focusing solely on GDP but on
overall human development.

A former Rector of UNU stressed the importanceof the concept of subsidiarity appropriate at the
local level. The representative of RCE Tongyeong
referred to the strength of having a heritage, citing
local policy level collaboration and the Bridge to theWorld project of the RCE.
The take-home messages of this session were
(1) the need for political will,(2) university leadership,(3) coordinated action in line with national
priorities,(4) leadership by example of local governments,(5) multiculturalism and local heritage and(6) to recognize that SDGs were about people
and ESD.

A UNESCO representative cited the key findingsof the UNDESD final report, i.e. that the value ofpolitical leadership at all levels is a precondition for
ESD, that we need to recognize the value of policy
frameworks, link policy and practice, and that there isa need for an integrated approach. It was justnot enough to target education policies, but tointegrate Sustainable Development into educationand vice versa.

12

13

SPECIAL SESSIONS

Stocktaking: 10 years of RCE movement

Social Programme

The global movement of RCEs had reached a decadeof existence. On the occasion of the 9th Global RCE
Conference, participants celebrated the launch of acommemorative book titled “Building a Resilient Future
through Multistakeholder Learning and Action:
Ten Years of Regional Centres of Expertise on Educationfor Sustainable Development”.

Morning Field Trip to Korakuen Garden andOkayama Castle
6 November 2014
Taking a short break from vigorous discussions,participants enjoyed the morning field trip to
Okayama’s historical sites Korakuen Garden andOkayama Castle and the Okayama Art Project.
Having breakfast and playing ping-pong against the
backdrop of the castle was a particular treat.

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14

Opening Ceremony
6 November 2014
The ESD Week kicked off with the Opening
Ceremony on the evening of 6 November. Over 1,200
participants from three official stakeholder meetings– UNESCO ASPnet International ESD Event, the Youth
Conference and the 9th RCE Global Conference– gathered together to enjoy cultural and music
performances, speeches, and a networking dinner.

Side Event “Bridge to the Future Okayama
ESD Plaza”
7 November 2014
A number of interactive side events were organized
during the conference, such as a poster exhibition
by RCE members and local schools, different booths,
talk shows and ESD games for children. Students
from local schools presented their ESD activities andinspired many participants. This also gave students achance to learn issues about ESD around the world,
and a chance to interact with ESD practitioners
coming from different countries.

Excursions
8 November 2014
ESD is about mutual learning and understanding.
Participants were fortunate to have learnt about
the city of Okayama, its culture, history and people.
Below excursions were arranged by RCE Okayama
with the general support from local stakeholders.
• Trees Turn into Energy? Experience the life in
Satoyama (community forests in Maniwa City)• Environmental tour to Kagamino-cho and
Yamada Bee Farm
• Thinking of the Historical Romance – Visit toBicchu Matsuyama Castle and a project site of‘Revitalization of the tea gardens’ in Takahashi City•

A day trip to Naoshima Island – A site of the newurban development with art projects• A day trip to the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter• Okayama City Culture Zone
• A half-day trip to the Kibi-Ryonan Machikado
Museum (street-corner museum)• A half-day trip to Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama City

15

SPECIAL SESSIONS

3

Social Programme
2
4
1“I was thrilled
to learn how
motivated thesestudents are topromote issues
on ESD at theirschools.”“This was a BONUS for me
and I learned so much.”

7

6
5
8

11

9

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:

Welcome performance of “Sankyoku”
With “Uraja” dancers
Koto player at Welcome Reception
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Exchange with future generations(“Bridge to the Future Okayama ESD Plaza”)
6: Breakfast in front of Okayama Castle
7: Lunch time with local people in Okayama
8: ASP-net school Presentation
9: Exchange with future generations(“Bridge to the Future Okayama ESD Plaza”)
10: Field Trip to Okayama Castle(ping-pong tables belonged to the Imagineering
Okayama Art Project)
11: Koto players at Welcome Reception
12: Students’ performance at the Opening Ceremony

10“It was an
excellent idea
to organize
the field trip in
the morningand to “charge
batteries” forthe coming
work day. It
was a beautiful
surprise!”12“Wow! So muchis happening inOkayama. Whata great city!”

Images 5, 7, 8 and 12 are courtesy of the City of Okayama

16

17

CONTINENTAL DISCUSSIONS

Africa and the Middle East

RCEs in Action
With 17 RCEs and two candidate RCEs, the meeting
was very well attended. Many deliberations werebased on the reflections of the last 4th African
RCE meeting in Namibia, two months prior to theconference. The meeting had emphasized the needfor more collaboration and communication within the
African network in order to strengthen and upscale
ESD activities across the continent.

12
2

24
13
14
4

15
1
5
6

1. Buea, Cameroon
2. Cairo, Egypt
3. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
4. Ghana
5. Greater Eastern Uganda
6. Greater Mbarara, Uganda
7. Greater Nairobi, Kenya
8. Greater Pwani, Kenya
9. Kakamega-Western Kenya
10. Mau Ecosystem Complex, Kenya
11. Nyanza, Kenya
12. Jordan
13. Kano, Nigeria
14. Minna, Nigeria
15. Lagos, Nigeria
16. Khomas-Erongo, Namibia
17. KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
18. Makana & Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa
19. Lesotho
20. Lusaka, Zambia
21. Maputo, Mozambique
22. Mutare, Zimbabwe
23. Harare, Zimbabwe
24. Senegal
25. Swaziland
26. Zomba, Malawi
27. Central Kenya (acknowledged in November 2014)
28. Mount Kenya East (acknowledged in November 2014)

18

9
11

10
7

27
28

During the conference, one aspect of discussion
was the concept of RCE assessment, in particular of
appreciative enquiry. All participants felt it was animportant process that needed to be continued with
all African RCEs. The delegates looked into possibilities
of how RCE activities can be embedded into larger
more continental processes by overcoming the gap
between policy and natural sciences. Emerging
strategic directions of the meeting included tocollectively influence ESD policy and incorporate ESD
in strategic plans in and across all sectors of society,as well as to realign RCE activities with global processes
such as the SDGs.
Scaling up RCE success stories within GAP andincreasing the visibility of African RCEs were otherissues of discussion. The community decided todevelop an online course with co-engaging capacity
development material that would include theevaluation component and could be used as areference manual for African RCEs and beyond Africa.
African RCEs were encouraged to make more use of
the financial opportunities available by international
donor agencies that implement global agendas. It wasnoted that many African countries had left possible
financial shares unclaimed, given by such international
agencies. Consequently it was agreed that RCEs shouldtake the lead in the processes of recovering suchfinances, also in order to boost their visibilities andaccelerate their programmes.

8

3

26

20
23

22

16
25

21

19 17

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19

CONTINENTAL SESSIONS

Americas

RCEs in Action

15

Participants shared their experiences from the latest
activities of the different RCEs, such as the Biodiversity
and Livelihoods Project, the Virtual Youth Conference,the Eco Journal Project and the Association for the
Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education(AASHE) Conference in Greater Portland to namebut a few.

2
10
6

7

17

11
18

5

16

Other important and collaborative activities werediscussed such as the RCE of Americas Exchange
Initiative, the RCEs of the Americas Mentoring Initiative
and the proposed 4th conference of the Americas in
Bogotá. All delegates agreed that RCEs in the region

12should focus on existing policies in order to advance
ESD on the national level. The difficulty of coming
together as a community due to the region’s geography
was raised, and the importance of leadership turnoveremphasized, in order to build resilience within the RCEs.
Future plans were to engage the youth more, toincrease the communication with key stakeholders
on the continental level, and to develop a frameworkaround GAP for the region. The delegates also felt thatengagement in certain sectors could be strengthened
such as for example the cooperative.

19

1. Bogota, Colombia
2. British Columbia (North Cascades), Canada
3. Chaco, Argentina
4. Curitiba-Parana, Brazil
5. Grand Rapids, USA
6. Greater Sudbury, Canada
7. Greater Portland, USA
8. Guatemala
9. Lima-Callao, Peru
10. Mauricie/Centre-du-Québec, Canada
11. Montreal, Canada
12. North Texas, USA
13. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
14. São Paulo, Brazil
15. Saskatchewan, Canada
16. Shenandoah Valley, USA
17. Tantramar, Canada
18. Toronto, Canada
19. Western Jalisco, Mexico

8

1

9

14
3

20

13

4

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CONTINENTAL SESSIONS

Asia-Pacific

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30

24

3

26

18

43

41 9

35 23
27

40
8
11

12
31

1
19

21
29

16

32
38

25
15
7

2
28

17

39

6
5

42

37. Penang, Malaysia
38. Pune, India
39. Southern Vietnam
40. Srinagar, India
41. Tongyeong, Republic of Korea
42. Trang, Thailand
43. Ulju, Republic of Korea
44. Waikato, New Zealand
45. Western Australia
46. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
47. Yokohama, Japan
48. Central Semenanjung, Malaysia(acknowledged in November 2014)
49. Iskandar, Malaysia(acknowledged in November 2014)

34
37

10

47

1. Anji, China
2. Bangalore, India
3. Beijing, China
4. Bogor, Indonesia
5. Bohol, Philippines
6. Cebu, Philippines
7. Cha-am, Thailand
8. Chandigarh, India
9. Changwon, Republic of Korea
10. Chubu, Japan
11. Delhi, India
12. Arunachal Pradesh, India
13. East Kalimantan, Indonesia
14. Gippsland, Australia
15. Goa, India
16. Greater Dhaka, Bangladesh
17. Greater Phnom Penh, Cambodia
18. Greater Sendai, Japan
19. Shangri-la, China
20. Greater Western Sydney, Australia
21. Guwahati, India
22. Hohhot, China
23. Hyogo-Kobe, Japan
24. Inje, Korea
25. Ilocos, Philippines
26. Incheon, Republic of Korea
27. Kitakyushu, Japan
28. Kodagu, India
29. Kunming, China
30. Kyrgyzstan
31. Lucknow, India
32. Mumbai, India
33. Murray-Darling, Australia
34. Northern Mindanao, Philippines
35. Okayama, Japan
36. Pacific Island Countries

RCEs in Action
Over 100 RCE members from 29 of the 49 AsiaPacific RCEs met in Okayama to reflect on recent
developments in the community and discuss a more
dynamic collaboration and the post-2014 strategic
direction. One of the highlights of the meeting was the
adoption of the Asia-Pacific Strategic Paper ‘Advancing
ESD beyond 2014: Strategy for Asia-Pacific RCEs’ which
encapsulated the aspirations of the Asia-Pacific RCEcommunity and served as input to the RCE Global
Conference. The category of issues were aligned with,
but not limited to, the priority action areas of GAP.
The participants raised several key issues, such as how
to engage more stakeholders including youth, local
governments, and the private sector as well as those

who are not yet familiar with ESD and/or RCEs; how to
upscale the programmes and diversify ESD models, andhow to better coordinate and facilitate the network of
Asia-Pacific RCEs in a more structured manner.
The delegates agreed that many of these issues could
be overcome by a more dynamic collaboration amongst
the Asia-Pacific RCEs. Key actions that emerged fromthe discussion were to build capacities of various
stakeholders at all levels on issues relevant to the
local context; to make use of webinars, videoconferencing and action-oriented research for inter-RCE
collaboration; and to develop general guidelines for amore structured Organizing/Coordinating Committee
for Asia-Pacific RCEs.

13
36

4

46

45
44
33

20

14

22

23

CONTINENTAL SESSIONS

Europe

21

35

10

32

RCEs in Action

19
28

15

8

7

30

20
13 37
36 9
29
16 31

23
25

34
27

14

26
22

3

18

33
12

11

24
1

2

17

Different collaborative initiatives that had either beenongoing or planned were discussed such as the
OPEDUCA project, ACE Wild, the CASE Project, METESD,
Global Learning Cities and other. With EU funding
available, RCEs demonstrated significant ability incollective fundraising around jointly identified issues.

4

5

6

1. Açores, Portugal
2. Barcelona, Spain
3. Brittany, France
4. Central Macedonia, Greece
5. Creias-Oeste, Portugal
6. Crete, Greece
7. Denmark
8. Dublin
9. East Midlands, UK
10. Espoo, Finland
11. Euroregion Tyrol, Italy
12. Graz-Styria, Austria
13. Greater Manchester, UK
14. Hamburg, Germany
15. Ireland
16. London, UK
17. Middle Albania
18. Munich, Germany
19. Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
20. North East, UK
21. North Sweden

More than half of the European RCEs were represented
during the meeting as well as one RCE Candidate.
With 37 RCEs in 16 countries, and four RCE Candidates,
this region is one of the largest in terms of numbers of
RCEs in the overall RCE network. Updates on the four
national and cross-national meetings (UK, Germany,
German-speaking RCEs and Northern Europe) were
given, and the idea of a European RCE facebook
page launched.

Additional areas where RCEs in Europe could advancethe sustainability agenda were identified as follows:

To fulfill capacity development needs and strategies
for individual RCEs and the community, to engage with
policy processes in the respective regions and on a
global scale, and to assess RCE practices.
Several major action points emerged from the discussion:
1. Engage RCEs locally, nationally and globally andenhance capacity development in the different
regions
2. Strengthen the collaboration and support in theregion, i.e. share objectives and ideas within thecommunity and use the support of the UNU
system including existing communication channels
3. Increase the transparency within the European
network and formulate ethical guidelines for the
implementation of the Global Action Programmeon ESD.

22. Nümberg, Germany
23. Oldenburger Münsterland, Germany
24. Porto Metropolitan Area, Portugal
25. Rhine-Meuse
26. Ruhr, Germany
27. Samara, Russia
28. Scotland, UK
29. Severn, UK
30. Skåne, Sweden
31. Southern North Sea
32. Uppsala, Sweden
33. Vienna, Austria
34. Vilnius, Lithuania
35. West Sweden
36. Wales, UK
37. Yorkshire & Humberside, UK
38. Paris Seine, France(acknowledged November 2014)*
39. Southern Black Forest, Germany(acknowledged November 2014)* Originally acknowledged under the name		 RCE Greater Western Paris

24

25

THEMATIC SESSIONS

Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity

Climate Change

In Okayama, the session on Traditional Knowledge andBiodiversity focused mainly on engaging with and feeding
into the international sustainability policy processes suchas the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and theIntergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES). There were also suggestions to link with
the Intergovernmental Committee of World Intellectual
Property Organization and FAO programmes like ‘Globally
Important Agricultural Heritage Sites (GIAHS)’. RCEs Lima
and Guatemala made presentations on their recently
developed university level courses on biocultural diversity
and their community level initiatives.

In their role as learning communities and networks, RCEs
are addressing the challenges of climate change using athree-pronged strategy of awareness building, capacity
development, and collaboration among stakeholders. In
Okayama, RCEs discussed the necessity to increase thecollective impact as a network in tackling climate change
via teacher education programmes and communitybased research projects, thereby combining formal,
informal and non-formal education. During the session,
participants highlighted the importance of how to shape
the communication on climate change issues. These may
well have to be addressed via conversations that involve
common interests such as food, water, energy, healthcare and indigenous knowledge systems. Finally theimportance of capacity development of policymakers andthe RCEs own ability to engage in climate change relevant
policy initiatives were discussed, particularly in the area ofleveraging resources and mobilizing these into action.

The overall objective of cooperations with international
programmes would be to provide policy relevant
knowledge to inform decision makers and influence
the policy making process. RCEs’ competence would beparticularly relevant in terms of capacity building andproviding data and knowledge during these processes.
Initial talks with UNU-IAS on a potential collaboration withIPBES had already included discussing capacity building
on policy support tools and methodologies developed andpresented by IPBES.
Participants discussed the idea of global commons andhow various multistakeholder processes have helped tolink with different international policies. It was necessary
to create policy informing capacity building programmes
for universities on the national level. There was also a brief
discussion on the Global Common Action Caucus whichlooks at inter-convention linkages. Creation of a databaseon various policy initiatives of the RCEs in the area of
biocultural diversity was suggested.

The following action items were identified:
1. Do not work in isolation, build on the RCE network
instead and deepen the dialogue on regional andinternational issues, across sectors and RCEs, including
marginalized groups.
2. Take advantage of funding opportunities, for example
the Climate Change Adaptation Fund, a financial
instrument under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where every
developing country can receive $10 million or the Green
Climate Fund.
3. Engage in advocacy for the implementation of Climate
Action Plans
4. Invest in climate change projects that address uniqueregional needs and meet local aspirations.

26

27

THEMATIC SESSIONS

Higher Education

During the UN Decade of Educationfor Sustainable Development (DESD
2005-2014), Higher Education
Institutions (HEI) have played a central
role in fostering regional action
learning and research projects andproductive community engagement
focused on key regional social,
cultural, economic and environmental
sustainability challenges in many
parts of the world. Much researchhas been undertaken on how
best to transform HEIs to support
the education for sustainability
agenda. This includes international
studies of turnaround leadership forsustainability in higher education
and books documenting effective
practice in assuring the quality of ESD
in such institutions.
RCEs have emerged as key
coordinating agencies fostering
this agenda, and have been used tolink and leverage action supportedby the resources, research, project
management and teachingcapabilities of their host HEI.
During the session, key lessons learnt
on the transformation of HEIs to
support sustainable development andto work in a productive partnershipwith the respective RCEs, werediscussed. The following action points
at the interface of education, research,
policy and practice, for sustaining
what had been achieved in the
HE-RCE interface, were highlighted:

28

Sustainable Consumption and Production

1. Identify a framework to classify
RCE-university opportunities
for collaboration, actions,research and learning
2. Undertake a stocktake ofeffective practice using
this framework
3. Sharpen RCE’s role andcapabilities to influence policyin partnership with HEIs
4. Investigate the potential todevelop a searchable website ona. what works
b. ensuring success of
RCE-university collaborationc. how to measure success of
the initiative
5. Link strategy with the UNESCO
Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on ESD inorder to foster a coherent, powerfulchange strategy.

Sustainable Livelihoods (SL), and Sustainable
Consumption and Production (SCP) are key to making
sustainability a reality. RCEs, as unique multistakeholder
initiatives, can contribute in different ways to creating
more sustainable consumption, production andlivelihoods and therefore improving overall well-being.
During the session on SCP in Okayama, participants
reviewed the research and development session they
had at the previous 8th Global RCE Conference in Nairobi.
Short and long-term aspirations of RCEs in SCP were alsoelaborated, together with opportunities participants
saw for RCE engagement with global processes, including
the 10-Year Framework Programme on SCP, the EU Switch
Programme and USAID.
RCEs, as locally organized communities, could helptranslate relevant global programmes down to thecommunity level. UNU-IAS could help identify andcommunicate these opportunities for resource
mobilization and policy engagement. It was important tofind common trends in different RCEs to create synergies;
engagements with the private, cooperative, and voluntary
sector and also to create value. The idea of cluster
conferences and the publication of a policy paper werealso discussed.
Other areas of discussion included:
1. Research methodologies – developing an RCE
guidebook on research methods on how to build
capacity for sustainable livelihoods in a region.
2. Development and implementation of appropriate anddisruptive/transformative technologies to advance theinterests of the disadvantaged.
3. Research roles of RCEs in relation to traditional
knowledge and livelihood
The group spent some time discussing SCP and
Sustainable Vocational Schools; it listened to apresentation on the 10-Year Framework of Programmes
on SCP, a global framework adopted by heads of state
at Rio+20 to promote international cooperation to
shift towards SCP. UNU-IAS is actively engaged in thedevelopment of the programme with RCEs helping deliver
ESD to local and regional communities.

29

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL SESSIONSTHEMATIC SESSIONSYouthCapacity Development

Engagement with Policies

Being active agents of change, Youthcan fit into, or cut across, all five GAPpriority action areas, in spite of there
being one GAP on ESD priority action
area fully dedicated to them. A recent
report indicated that there are 1.5
billion youth around the world, a large
number of them from developing
countries, born into a consumerdriven, unsustainable world.

Capacity Development in RCEs is about fostering skills,
awareness, and attitudes to execute actions throughmultistakeholder platforms in sustainable ways, whichmeans building structures, processes, and systems
to enable governance, coordination, leadership andcontinuous assessment of progress. It also involves
creating networks of opportunities for training, building
leadership, professional development, and curriculum
development, especially for university-led RCEs.

Key points in engaging with policies were (1) setting
the agenda (2) formulation (3) implementation and (4)evaluation. The global RCE network was already involved inpromoting international ESD processes, but there were still
opportunities, where RCEs could engage with internationalsustainability processes. The conference participants
discussed during the session how RCE engagement canbe enhanced even further in the global arena. A key
question that emerged during the discussion was how to
mainstream the RCE concept and all agreed that closer
relationships to politicians were crucial to contribute to theinternational sustainability agenda.

Youth should be viewed as driversof change and active participants in
ESD, green growth, green economy
and other global initiatives. They
ought to be involved in bringing
marginalized groups in developing
countries into the fold of sustainable
development debates, planning andimplementation. Young people must
therefore be part of the decision
making process through RCEs,
universities, schools, civil societies,
and community initiatives – at the
local, national and global level.
Youth groups must collaborate withother youth organizations, thereby
involving RCEs that address pertinent
sustainable development issues, suchas climate change, biodiversity andecosystems services, disaster risk
reduction, sustainable consumption
and production, gender equality andothers including the development ofentrepreneurship skills. The global
RCE Youth network should be further
strengthened and empowered totake action, bring about change andhave an impact on the world aroundthem, thereby taking forward thevision of the GAP, leading to a moresustainable world.

30

In the post ESD decade phase, the RCE network plansto engage in a focused and active manner with theinternational sustainability processes which necessitates
specific capacities of local – global mediation as well as
research and innovation.
During the discussion, the major challenges identified
were resource mobilization for capacity development
initiatives and intra as well as inter RCE communication
to ensure viability and success of these programmes.
The following three action points emerged from thediscussions:
1. Enhance interdisciplinary activities, thereby shareresources, expertise, best practices, show cases,
and social capital between RCEs to enhance trust
and relationships within the network and to build
network knowledge.
2. Develop projects and common learning tools tocultivate talents and increase competencies of youth
and children.

A bottom-up approach to engagement with policies was
suggested, where good practices of RCEs influencing
policymaking at the local level take place; many RCEs are
already having these activities including RCE Okayama.
Local community good practices could then serve asmodels for other communities and regions for local/
regional governments and other RCE stakeholders toemulate. At the national level, it would be advisable for thenational government to mandate a national government
agency to take a lead in promoting and coordinating RCE
and ESD actions for the whole country. Thus the bottomup approach – local, regional, national, and global levels– renders policy engagement and policymaking influence
more effective. In describing the bottom-up, level-wise, as
well as process-wise policy engagements of RCEs, someparticipants shared real examples.

3. Assess and report on performance so that it can lead tocollective impact.

31

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL SESSIONSRCE Assessment

Networked Governance

RCE Movement Beyond 2014

The midterm of the DESD came with imperatives tostrengthen the monitoring and evaluation work in RCEs
into the end of the Decade. RCE evaluation has been
emerging through an unfolding succession of approaches,
initiated in various regions of the world. These initiatives
have recently formed a hybrid evaluation tool that waspiloted in the Southern African Development Community(SADC). The approach was centered on the adaptive useof a framework tool for co-engaged evaluation of RCEs,
and the value adding outcomes of their ESD initiatives
in a local context.

RCEs, as networked communities, apply governanceand coordination mechanisms to capture decentralized
decision making processes and allow the participationof all stakeholders. In Okayama, participants discussed
processes on how to manage RCEs and to best make use of
the resources available to each RCE.

All participants agreed that awareness was not growing
as fast as sustainability needs. To upscale activities andto expand the ESD concept, values had to be fosteredand knowledge skills developed, linking these to ethics.
Solidarity and support in the RCE network as well as thevalue of trust were key factors.

The complexity of RCE governance and RCE community
collaboration can take inspiration from the African Ubuntu
Philosophy of community bonding and empowerment,using all the collective community knowledge, while
recognizing individual competencies. Several elements ofgood network governance were highlighted during thesession. These included to enable a more flexible and lessrigid interpretation of a governance system that works
well for each RCE individually, and to put emphasis on
systems rather than on structures, thereby placing value
on processes, contents and people involved. Governancemust be inclusive, transparent, and participatory to beable to keep multiple stakeholders working together andshare resources for the common good. It should also berecognized that no one governance model fits all. Local
values, cultures and the pertinent needs of the region,
where the RCE is located, influence the kind of governancesystem suitable to the respective RCE.

Three main points were identified during the session:

Various RCEs outside of SADC had experienced different
forms of evaluation such as in the form of appreciativeenquiry, self evaluation or strategic evaluation. The RCEs
had identified several points of interest during theirrespective processes of evaluation, such as for example theneed for more documentation of activities, the importanceto create systems of value to increase the recognition
value of the RCE, the need for clear objectives as well as
identifying achievements. All participants agreed that RCE
assessment was a forward movement, endorsed by all
RCE members, and that the evaluation process had to be
implemented from a learning perspective.

32

1) The necessary consolidation of RCEs into bigger
clusters, thereby enhancing collaboration acrosscountries and translate RCE expertise into a meaningful
global contribution
2) The targeted input of the RCE network to policy change
for example to GAP and other international agreements
3) The important contribution of RCEs to the global
learning space

33

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL SESSIONSOkayama Declaration on RCEs and ESD Beyond 2014

Afterword

The global network of Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs)
on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), having
met in Okayama, Japan for the 9th Global RCE Conference,
reaffirm the Tongyeong Declaration and hereby declare arenewed commitment to support relevant international
ESD frameworks, including the Global Action Programmeon ESD, beyond the UN Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development.

The 9th Global RCE Conference indeed provided
an effective platform to share learning experiences
within the global RCE community. It is our sincere
hope, that members follow the recommendations
given and share from lessons learned, to implement
strategies appropriate to their locality or region.
RCEs are effective vehicles to effectuatetransformative changes in local communities as
manifested in many RCE initiatives and projects.
RCEs have the potential to make contributions; but
to harness such potential, RCEs must remain active
in mobilizing multi stakeholders. Through RCEs, local
communities can be empowered to find sustainable
solutions to local problems.

community positions itself to further commit to theimplementation of the Global Action Programmeon ESD and contribute to the integration of ESD into
various development and education agendas.

The Okayama Declaration on RCEs and ESD Beyond
2014, an important outcome document of the
9th Global RCE Conference, sums it all up for moving
forward. RCEs can be systemic transformers at
the interface of education, research, policy andpractice for sustainable development. Capitalizing
on its ten years of experience and on the gains
and advances of the UN Decade of ESD, the RCE

UNU-IAS

RCEs are designed to achieve systemic transformationby contributing to the realization of socially inclusive
and equitable economies within the renewable capacityof earth and planetary systems. Seeking change at theinterface of education, research, policy and practice,
RCEs commit to the strategies within the priority action
areas of the Global Action Programme on ESD, namely
actions for advancing policy, transforming learning andtraining environments, building capacities of educatorsand trainers, empowering and mobilizing youth, andaccelerating sustainable solutions at the local and regional
levels, to create sustainable societies.
During the ten years of the global network, RCEs havebeen navigating a pathway for collective action on
ESD. This approach is based on the RCE vision andimplementation of contextual programmes for ESD, as
well as mutual respect and support within and acrosscontinents. RCEs commit to advancing ESD throughrecognition and respect for indigenous and traditional
knowledge. In recognition of global interdependence,
RCEs will share responsibility for advancing ESD beyond
borders in time and space, mindful of the Sustainable
Development Goals.

34

The global network of RCEs acknowledges the increasingrole of formal and non-formal education in ESD and thetransformative contributions of RCEs during the UN DESD
and beyond, and commits to accelerate, mainstream andscale up actions that empower communities and diverse
stakeholders for societal change in multicultural, social,political and economic environments, with compassion
and care for individuals as collective members of society.
The RCEs will accomplish their mission by building up
multi stakeholder networks with distinctive capacities
for research and development, and having innovativeand continuously evolving democratic, participatory
governance systems.
In adopting this Okayama Declaration, each and every
member of the global RCE community aspires to upholdthe mission and ambitions of the RCE movement, andcommits to contribute through operational and strategicclusters and actions to address sustainability issues at the
local and continental levels, which are aimed at achieving
the long-term goals of ESD, including environmental
stewardship, social justice, and safeguarding the quality of
all dimensions of life.

After every global RCE conference, the challenge
lies in the implementation, in following throughthe various recommendations and suggestions.
It is therefore important that members of the RCEcommunity do their part and only then can theseactions collectively become significant and impactful
contributions to creating sustainable societies.

The Global RCE Service Centre

35

NOTES36