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Catch up on what’s happening in the world of global citizenship education.
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To Transform Education We Need a Copernican Revolution on How We Work Together 2022-10-23 The United Nations General Assembly 2022 was a historic moment for the global education community: this was the first ever UN-convened Heads of State summit focused on the sector. New York’s midtown was full of education policymakers, activists, implementers, researchers and funders, whose calls to recognise a global education crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic felt heard. Yet, when categories of education stakeholders are listed out, philanthropy is not often made distinct and is usually bucketed under ‘funders’, or ‘private sector’, or – more broadly, since the 2021 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report – ‘non-state actors’. Philanthropy’s presence at global summits or in country-level system change is not often prominent, for various reasons. The education philanthropy community is diverse, in terms of what it funds, how it funds and who it funds. This year, at the Transforming Education Summit, the global education philanthropy community spoke with one voice for the first time. More than fifty five philanthropic organisations signed a Statement, facilitated by the OECD’s network of Foundations working on Development (netFWD) and the International Education Funders’ Group (private philanthropy may still sign this through to 30th October). Sixty-seven actors then came together at a high-level event in New York during the TES to reiterate the perspective and intent of the text. The community expressed that they are: Concerned, about the global education crisis, which underpins so many of the world’s other crises too. Philanthropy applauds the TES as an effort to spotlight this. Committed to respond and to harness the diversity of the philanthropy community around the world to take action, and to support their partners through whom they are seeing real change. There is a strong case for investing in education and the philanthropy community urges others to join this work. Convinced that collaboration is a way to drive the greatest possible impact. This was not an explicit call to action to other groups of actors, but to themselves. These foundations committed to listen and learn better, to align with national priorities, to further enable an evidence-driven approach, and to fund and engage in partnership in support of SDG4. Beyond these commitments, what emerged was the need and desire across this community for a collective rethink of the ‘how’. The wider education community (and beyond) would do well to reflect upon the conclusions of the philanthropy community on what it will take to ‘transform’ education: Education goals will not be met by amplifying current siloes and channelling more money into broken pipes. Denis Mizne of the Lemann Foundation warned about ‘status quoism’ as a powerful force in education. We cannot go back to how things have always been, as it would institutionalise learning losses. Working within education across debates, and working outside of education across sectors will be necessary to achieve education – and other – goals. While we see some success, we should not get complacent. As Denis Minze reminded the audience, ‘the future is already here, but it’s not evenly distributed’ (William Golding). We know enough about ‘what works’; now we need to focus – together – on the challenges of bringing these to scale. We must harness our diversity in working together and think collectively. To quote Simon Sommer of the Jacobs Foundation: ‘transforming education is not about 1000 pilots’. Denis Mizne urged ‘let’s be problem, not project, driven’. This community committed to bring foundations from the global South more systematically into the debate, to partner with local actors, and to work to drive up learning outcomes for the most vulnerable children. These three challenges echoed in our ears as we navigated the rest of UNGA week: we heard too little in wider debate about the need to work across siloes, to collaborate more effectively towards bigger picture goals, and to act with urgency. However, the momentum within the philanthropy community will be quick to pass if we do not walk that talk. As HE Hang Chuan Naron, Minister of Education in Cambodia, put it to the philanthropy community: ‘it is a long way from policy to school’. If we do not want to look back a year from now and lament missing a turning point, we have to roll up our sleeves and take practical action. How many of us emerged from the TES knowing how we are going to work differently, what we are going to do? OECD’s netFWD and the IEFG will be working with the education philanthropy community to translate these commitments into action. We will help to broker dialogue, codify knowledge and build bridges to policymakers to ensure that philanthropy delivers on its promises: not only those of the Statement but those that we make to ourselves to leave this world a better place for future generations. URL: https://world-education-blog.org/2022/10/07/to-transform-education-we-need-a-copernican-revolution-on-how-we-work-together/ 
UN General Assembly Discusses Progress on Early Childhood Care and Education 2022-10-23 New York, 18 October 2022: International community discussed the need to advance progress on early care and education as a basic human right during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education at the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly. Mrs. Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education, presented the report (A/77/324) on early childhood care and education (ECCE) and engaged in interactive dialogue with member states on the need to strengthen the realization of the right to education. The report examines ECCE from a human-rights perspective, reflecting the multisectoral needs of children and their caregivers followed by key recommendations to States on addressing the imperative of ECCE. In her presentation, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the benefits of ECCE as an effective tool for reducing educational disparities as well as improving lifelong learning outcomes and earnings. Yet, young children worldwide continue to face an extremely challenging educational environment, and ECCE participation rates are still low globally. In contrast to Europe and North America, where pre-primary education is practically widespread, only 50% of children in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia have access to it. Turning to the report’s conclusion and recommendations, she called on countries to integrate national lifelong learning frameworks into their education systems to uphold the right to education and ensure the establishment of a level playing field for the youngest of learners worldwide. Most importantly, all actors, including governments, citizens, international and national organizations, parents, and children, are encouraged to collectively engage in consultations to identify and codify a rights‑based approach to early childhood care and education, therefore advancing a new international instrument to guarantee that every child has the right and equal access to participate in ECCE. At the interactive dialogue, Mrs Lily Gray, Liaison Officer at UNESCO New York Office, reiterated the critical role of early childhood care and education in addressing the learning crisis as underlined during the Transforming Education Summit held in September. As such, UNESCO is actively collaborating with Member States and other key stakeholders to advance global commitment on ECCE. In particular, she highlighted the upcoming World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education co-organized by UNESCO in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 14 to 16 November 2022. The event will mobilize over 1000 participants, including representatives from governments, UN agencies, civil society and private sector, aiming to galvanize collective actions in developing effective ECCE policies and systems, as well as enhancing investments to achieve lifelong learning and sustainable development. On behalf of the Group of Friends for Education and Lifelong Learning, Mr Rene Zeleny, Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic, recalled the Transforming Education Summit where Member States agreed on the value of investing in early childhood care and education as well as foundational education as the first step toward lifelong learning. In response to the inadequate and uneven distribution of ECCE services, the Group backs the Special Rapporteur’s call on intensifying advocacy and taking tangible steps to safeguard every child’s right to ECCE. In addition, he envisioned meaningful outcomes from the approaching World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, which will contribute to the achievement of SDG 4.2 and other early childhood-related SDGs. Watch the meeting here. URL:https://en.unesco.org/news/general-assembly-discusses-progress-early-childhood-care-and-education 
First Meeting of UNESCO Chairs Relating to Global Citizenship Education 2022-10-23 On 30 September 2022, APCEIU and UNESCO co-organized the First Meeting of UNESCO Chairs Relating to Global Citizenship Education. The meeting has gathered 30 participants from 19 countries, including UNESCO Chairs from areas relating to global citizenship and representatives from UNESCO and APCEIU. The meeting was held with the main objective of gathering UNESCO Chairs from GCED-related fields to discuss the need for a platform for information sharing and knowledge exchanges. In addition, ideas of how UNESCO Chairs could collaborate with each other through joint projects were also explored. The meeting began with the opening remarks of Mr Hyun Mook Lim, Director of APCEIU. In his remarks, Mr Lim highlighted the urgency of transforming education to tackle various challenges that we are currently facing. Therefore, collaboration and cooperation among all stakeholders, including the UNESCO Chairs, are critical to ensure synergy in ensuring meaningful impacts. Furthermore, Ms Cecilia Barbieri, Chief of Section of Global Citizenship and Peace Education at UNESCO, extended her appreciation to all UNESCO Chairs on their collective efforts on transforming education and encouraged their ongoing support to ensure the flame to transform education keeps burning as envisioned by the United Nations Secretary General, Mr António Guterres, during his concluding vision statement of the UN Transformative Education Summit held in mid-September 2022. Following the remarks, Ms Maggie Yang from APCEIU shared several joint collaborations between the UNESCO Category II Centre in Education with UNESCO Chairs, including UNESCO Chairs’ participation as resource persons in APCEIU’s programmes and activities and contributors in numerous APCEIU publications. Future programmes to which UNESCO Chairs could contribute were also shared. Mr Hyun Mook Lim then led the discussion session to gather the participants’ opinions on three issues, including 1) the necessity for regular meetings of UNESCO Chairs relating to GCED, 2) types of joint collaborations expected by them, and 3) what kind of contribution that UNESCO and APCEIU can provide. The participating UNESCO Chairs collectively agreed on the need for regular meetings to update each other on the latest research activities and programmes they conduct. The participants also shared various initial ideas for joint collaboration, including the necessity for the availability of non-English materials to support the education process, inclusive of GCED. Some other concerns shared over the meeting were the representation of UNESCO Chairs on the global level as currently there is no UNESCO Chair relating to GCED in every UNESCO Member State. Initial ideas on how to ensure updated information sharing among UNESCO Chairs, including through UNESCO and APCEIU’s platforms, were also shared. In the second session, the participants listened to Ms Lydia Ruprecht of UNESCO regarding the latest development of the revision of the 1974 UNESCO Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which is an instrumental document related to the global efforts on GCED. UNESCO is currently under the last phase of the revision process where they are awaiting the Member States’ feedback on the revised draft prepared by the International Expert Group. During the meeting, methods on how the UNESCO Chairs could contribute to the revision process were discussed. Through the implementation of the First Meeting of UNESCO Chairs Relating to GCED, the invited UNESCO Chairs had agreed on the importance of sustainable communication channels among the Chairs to ensure ongoing sharing of information that may influence meaningful cooperation that can contribute to the implementation of education goals within Sustainable Development Goals. URL:http://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/4591 
UNESCO Launches the Findings of the Artificial Intelligence Needs Assessment Survey in Africa 2022-10-23 Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications continue to expand opportunities for humankind’s progress and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UNESCO is working to harness these opportunities in its fields of competence and has been leading reflections around pressing concerns related to AI’s rapid development, from a Human Rights and ethics perspective. These range from AI’s role in the futures of education to the omnipresent challenges of disinformation and hate speech online. In this context, UNESCO publishes the results of a survey intended to establish the priorities and capacity building needs of African countries concerning AI. The potential benefits and risks of the technology are not equally distributed across regions of the world. In 2019, as part of UNESCO’s reflections on AI in Africa, the publication Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies highlighted that there is a significant gap in terms of access to knowledge, data, education, training and human resources required for the development and use of AI on the continent. The key findings of the survey in Africa are: Policy initiatives for AI governance need strengthening Legal and regulatory frameworks for AI governance need to be fostered Need for enhancing capacities for AI Governance is widely recognized AI priorities for countries in Africa are varied but offer an opportunity for cooperation. These priorities include the need for attention to: Personal data protection and data governance Leveraging AI for economic growth, development and digital transformation Updating education, skills and training systems Facilitating AI research and development The survey calls for steps to address: Ethical implications of AI systems: Implications of AI for cultural diversity Gender biases in the development and use of AI systems The 32 Member States in Africa who responded to the survey have underlined the importance of UNESCO’s work concerning AI in the fields of education, sciences, culture and communication and information. They requested UNESCO’s support for standard-setting, policy advise, capacity building, network development and for addressing gender equality related concerns in the development and use of AI. As UNESCO develops its programmes to support the Member States to harness the potential of innovation and the digital transformation, it invites international, regional and national development partners to join hands with UNESCO in addressing the challenges and leveraging the opportunities for the development and use of AI in Africa as highlighted in this report. URL:https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-launches-findings-artificial-intelligence-needs-assessment-survey-africa 
Enabling Policy Makers to Become Digital Transformation Leaders 2022-10-23 The digital revolution requires governments to invest in new skills and capabilities to enable digital transformation in societies and enhance digital governance. However not all public institutions are equally well prepared and often have critical gaps in digital skills. That is why UNESCO, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (GIZ) organized a workshop on digital capacity building at the International Conference on the Theory and Practice of Electronic Government and Digital Capacity Building (ICEGOV) in Portugal on 7 October 2022. With researchers and development practitioners worldwide, the workshop identified pathways to digital capacity building in government and discussed the Digital Capacity Building Navigator tool being jointly developed by the four partner organizations in line with the UN Secretary General's Roadmap on Digital Cooperation. This Joint Facility for Global Digital Capacity Development arises in support of the Secretary General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, which launches a broad multi-stakeholder network to promote holistic, inclusive approaches to digital capacity-building for sustainable development. In addition to supporting the broad Multi-Stakeholder Network, the Joint Facility partners work together on curating a resource base of existing digital skills trainings and have convened a multi-stakeholder network promoting a more holistic and inclusive approach to digital capacity development. This Joint Facility led by UNDP, UNESCO, ITU and GIZ, brings together partners and expertise in order to improve the accessibility of digital capacity building opportunities. Jacqueline TsumaDigital Ecosystem Capacity Development Specialist at UNDP What is the Digital Capacity Building Navigator?The Digital Capacity Building Navigator tool facilitates capacity-building efforts at scale. It helps policymakers, regulators, technical advisors and civil servants assess their digital transformation competencies and find relevant learning resources to support their needs. The Digital Capacity Building Navigator links to open educational resources, in form of openly licensed and openly accessible learning materials on AI and digital transformation from partners across the globe. The tool is directed at interested learners to support them in discovering the courses and training opportunities most relevant to their interests and needs. The mock-up of the Digital Capacity Building Navigator was presented to the workshop participants to gather feedback on its features and ways to incentivize its use by policymakers. The next phase of the navigator tool design will involve user testing of the self-assessment questions with policymakers, regulators, technical advisors and civil servants. Openly accessible competency definitions and frameworksThe Navigator is based on an openly accessible competency framework developed through a multistakeholder process led by UNESCO and Nokia at the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. Eric Shepherd, author of the book Talent Transformation, underlined that open competency definitions and frameworks can be leveraged to provide more transparency by aligning competencies individuals acquire through educational programmes and those found in job descriptions. Insights for digital capacity building Different approaches to digital capacity building are being implemented worldwide. Dr Gianluca Misuraca, Executive Director, AI4Gov underlined that the AI4GOV masters programme, funded by the European Commission, aims to bring advanced digital skills closer to non-technical people through networking and hands-on learning through use cases and projects. To develop AI foresight and awareness in the public sector, civil servants should be exposed to interdisciplinary and project-based learning as part of a structured educational curriculum or professional training. Gianluca MisuracaExecutive Director, AI4Gov GIZ’s project FAIR Forward – AI for All, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, aims to support localized AI development. Their approach to capacity building involved a four-month long peer-learning programme to enhance the capacities of policymakers from Africa and Asia to respond to AI. The learning modules from this programme are openly available in the form of a Handbook for Implementing a Capacity Building Programme for Policy Makers on AI, but also in the form of a self-paced learning programme hosted on the atingi learning platform. Both the handbook and the course are openly licensed as OER and can be replicated and adapted by other partners wishing to use the materials. Cross-country exchange on AI policies, data governance and institutional readiness strategies are an important part of our project. Together, we hope to create inclusive and sustainable approaches to AI policy that reflect the perspectives of the Global South and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Kim Sophie SchulteHead of AI Hub Rwanda at GIZ URL: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/enabling-policy-makers-become-digital-transformation-leaders 
Tchad : Un atelier renforce le dialogue régional sur les systèmes de savoirs autochtones et l’adaptation aux changements climatiques 2022-10-21 ⓒ UNESCO As part of the UNESCO’s approach to strengthen the cooperation or dialogue between indigenous peoples, scientists and policy makers, a regional workshop on indigenous knowledge systems and climate change adaptation was held from 8 to 9 October 2022 in N'Djamena, Chad. In an interactive dynamic, work carried out by UNESCO and the Association des Femmes Peules et Peuples Autochtones du Tchad (AFPAT) has outlined the first elements necessary for the conduct of a process of development of a framework for the protection and preservation of traditional knowledge systems, within the framework of the free, informed and prior consent (FPIC) process. As Mrs. Hindou Oumarou IBRAHIM, Coordinator of AFPAT, noted in her opening remarks, addressing these indigenous women and men holders of traditional knowledge in several disciplines: "Even if you do not speak French and English, be aware that all the knowledge you have makes you doctors and has as much value as the greatest diplomas" In addition, the workshop also provided an opportunity to present the results of a six-years community-based research undertaken within the framework of UNESCO project "Knowing our changing climate in Africa " and to define the modalities for setting up an innovative system for storing data on indigenous peoples and their knowledge. Regional workshop on indigenous knowledge systems and climate change adaptation, October 2022, N'Djamena, Chad ⓒ UNESCO Organized by UNESCO's Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) Programme, in collaboration with AFPAT, this workshop, under the high patronage of the Minister of Livestock and Animal Production, His Excellency Abdelkerim AWAT ATTEIB, brought together 25 participants from indigenous communities, scientific and governmental institutions. Over the course of two days, these indigenous communities, traditional knowledge experts, scientific experts, lawyers and policy makers explored, in detail, the contours of the promotion, valorization and legal protection of traditional knowledge. At the end of the workshop, eight key recommendations were addressed to UNESCO, AFPAT and the Government of the Republic of Chad, including the establishment of a mechanism for the legal protection of indigenous peoples and their traditional knowledge, the popularization of this knowledge and the establishment of databases on traditional knowledge. In his closing speech, Mr. Abdelkerim AWAT ATTEIB highlighted the obvious scope of this workshop on the economy, education, the national adaptation plan, and the Socio-Cultural Dimension of Chad. More information Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) Indigenous knowledge of climate change URL:https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/chad-workshop-strengthens-regional-dialogue-indigenous-knowledge-systems-and-climate-change 
The Transforming Education Summit reaffirms the need for education for sustainable development 2022-10-20 © United Nations Education today is in crisis – a crisis of equity and inclusion, quality, and relevance. Education is not serving the purpose it is meant to serve, depriving hundreds of millions of children and young people of their right to quality education. Yet, it is not too late as the international community stands united in its aspiration to transform education – from young people speaking up to countries sharing good practices, and from education stakeholders collaborating to governments committing to greening education. The 2022 UN Transforming Education Summit has therefore reaffirmed the critical role that education plays in responding to these global challenges as over 130 countries heed the call to reimagine key transformative elements essential to ensuring that education contributes to building peaceful societies, a healthy planet, and shared progress that benefits all. "The Transforming Education Summit will seek to renew our collective commitment to education and lifelong learning as a pre-eminent public good." -- Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General On the occasion of the 3-day summit, world leaders highlighted the central role of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges during the parallel session, Greening Education Partnership: Getting Every Learner Climate-Ready, which took place on 17 September – Solutions Day; as well as the spotlight session, Transforming education to transform the world: Learning to live together sustainably, which took place on 19 September – Leaders Day. "The concept of ESD is indispensable to ensure today’s theme of greening in the education sector.*" -- Kazuo Yana, State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan © United Nations During the parallel session on 17 September, UNESCO launched the Greening Education Partnership which mobilizes commitment from Member States and key stakeholders to green schools, curriculum, teacher training, and communities. Taking a lifelong learning approach starting from pre-primary to adult education, Greening Education will equip all learners with critical competencies covering not only knowledge and awareness, but also socio-emotional skills, including critical thinking and collaboration. Learners will be enabled to understand the complexity of the climate and environmental crisis, how global sustainability challenges are interconnected, and to support problem-solving in their contexts. "We must review the curricula to include the knowledge of climate change into different projects. Not just a separate subject. We must also integrate project-based teaching so that the young people learn from real life examples of climate change." -- H.E. Naron Hangchuon, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Cambodia In line with the mission of Solutions Day, which calls on all stakeholders to transform education in order to respond to the global challenges, UNESCO Assistant Director-General of Education, Stefania Giannini opened the event by emphasizing how the Partnership sets goals on green school accreditation; integrates climate education in curricula; trains educators in this field; and reaches adult learners. The moderator, H.R.H. Princess Abze Djigma of Burkina Faso, Chair of the H.R.H. Princess Abze Djigma Foundation, then facilitated the discussion which gave panelists the opportunity to share good practices and visions to concretely green education. "What you invest in teachers, you invest in the future." -- Johanna Jaara Astrand, President of the Swedish Teachers’ Union, Lärarförbundet, and Vice President of the Global Union Federation, Education International Meanwhile, the spotlight session on 19 September offered a space for a high-level dialogue among heads of state, leaders, and influencers to exchange perspectives and determine the sort of transformation the world needs and wants to reimagine a just, peaceful, and sustainable world. During the session, speakers underscored that education systems (particularly education policies, curriculum, pedagogies, teacher capacities, and learning environments) must be transformed to enable learners to acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to act individually and collectively towards this aspiration. "Education should be geared towards equipping individuals with a critical mindset when engaging with information and digital technologies to build their resilience to disinformation, climate change denial, hate speech, violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and gender inequality and discrimination, through media and information literacy." -- H.E. Jan Lipavský, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay presented the Organization’s strategy to transform education: by reinventing schools into places of learning and models for sustainable living; and adapting the curriculum and teacher development so that every learner has the skills they need to navigate the world of social media, algorithms, artificial intelligence. In this regard, last year, UNESCO launched the “Green Every School” flagship project and is in the process of co-creating greening curriculum guidelines with young people. © United Nations Leaders Day brought a close to the UN Transforming Education Summit, which led to a slew of announcements containing new, tangible commitments made by Member States to transform education through holistic, inclusive, and forward-thinking policies and practices. As the UN specialized agency for education, UNESCO will carry this momentum forward to achieve the global objective of quality education for all by 2030. URL:https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/transforming-education-summit-reaffirms-need-education-sustainable-development 
7th Global Capacity-Building Workshop on GCED 2022-10-16 APCEIU held the 7th Global Capacity-Building Workshop on GCED with 51 teacher educators from 21 countries in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Arab and Latin America from August 30 to September 7, 2022. At the workshop, various lectures, presentations, and exemplars from all over the world were shared, focusing on this year's theme, Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Dr Toh Swee-Hin, Dr Jose Roberto Guevara, Dr Haelim Cho, Dr Jefferson Plantilla, Mr Dylan Wray, Ms Lea Espallardo, Ms Jennifer Geist, Ms Chen Yoke Pin participated as a facilitator to provide lectures and presentations. Alumni of APCEIU also shared their experiences and projects and requested the participants for alternative and innovative ideas and approaches. Despite the time zone difference, all participants enthusiastically participated in all real-time and non-real-time sessions and were willing to participate in small group meetings online even after the regular session, reviewing their learnings and sharing ideas. On September 7, 2022, the 7th Global Capacity-Building Workshop on GCED ended with the closing ceremony of Lim Hyun-mook, Director of UNESCO APCEIU. Participants who have successfully completed the 7th Global Capacity-Building Workshop on GCED are given the opportunity to apply for the mentorship by APCEIU’s experts group, where they will be provided with the advice on their project planning and implementation, along with the grant for project execution by APCEIU. Moreover, for those who wish to deepen their knowledge and gain practical skills on SEL(Social and Emotional Learning) in relation to GCED shall be provided another type of mentorship facilitated by an expert on SEL. This two-tracked mentorship system is designed to better reflect the needs of the participants so that it can help deepen and strengthen the capacities of them and maximize the ripple effects of the workshop in their local communities or countries. URL: http://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/4586 
Publication of EIU/GCED Best Practices 2022 2022-10-16 This year, submissions from many countries applied and among them, 3 monograph of awardees have published the genuine stories of the devotion as follows; Series No. 60: Constant Odounfa (Evaluation Expert in UNDP, Benin): Art for Peace and Environment Resources | Global Citizenship Education (GCED) Clearinghouse | UNESCO & APCEIU (gcedclearinghouse.org)Series No. 61: Santosh Kumar Biswa (Senior Teacher at Damphu Central School, Bhutan): Implementing Conduct of GCED ProgrammeResources | Global Citizenship Education (GCED) Clearinghouse | UNESCO & APCEIU (gcedclearinghouse.org)Series No. 62: Barbara Anna Zielonka (High school English Teacher at Nannestad High School, Norway): Sustainable Lifestyle ChallengeResources | Global Citizenship Education (GCED) Clearinghouse | UNESCO & APCEIU (gcedclearinghouse.org) The 2022 World Citizenship ElU/GCED Best Practices monograph is also available as an e-book on the website of APCEIU. The three best practices collection is expected to serve as a model for GCED practitioners around the world. URL: http://www.unescoapceiu.org/post/4588 
أربع طرق تؤثر بها أزمة الكوكب الثلاثية على الصحة النفسية 2022-10-13 Photo: Pixabay/Shiva Reddy As the world grapples with the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste, there is a growing concern about the impact these crises have on mental health. Recent studies from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners show that everything from a changing climate to noise, air and chemical pollution affects people’s mental well-being. “A healthy environment is not only a key ingredient for human health and well-being, but also a foundation for One Health since the health of humans, animals, plants, and the wider environment and ecosystems are closely linked and inter-dependent,” says Cristina Zucca, who coordinates work on pollution, environment and health at UNEP. “This calls for action at the individual and policy levels to create a healthy environment that promotes mental health.” Ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, we take a deep dive into four key issues impacting mental health and how we can turn to nature and climate action for solutions. Noise pollution Photo: Wikimedia UNEP’s Frontiers 2022 report found that as cities grow, prolonged exposure to high noise levels from roads, railways, airports, and industry is impairing people’s mental health by disrupting sleep. Estimates suggest that in Europe, 22 million people suffer from chronic noise annoyance, and 6.5 million are affected by sleep disturbance. The elderly, pregnant women and shift workers are most at risk. The study highlights natural ways to improve mental health and mitigate the adverse effects of noise pollution, such as planting vegetation in urban environments to absorb acoustic energy, diffuse noise and reduce street amplification. Tree belts, shrubs, green walls and green roofs can have positive visual effects and help amplify natural sounds by attracting urban wildlife. Some sounds, particularly those from nature, bring health benefits as they can signal a safe environment which reduces anxiety. Air pollution Photo: Unsplash/Chris LeBoutillier Ninety-nine per cent of the global population breathes air that exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, with an estimated seven million people dying prematurely due to air pollution. According to WHO, air quality is among the many environmental, social and economic determinants of mental health. Research also shows that high levels of fine inhalable particles (PM 2.5) can also hinder cognitive development in children. UNICEF’s Danger in the Air report shows that exposure to high levels of air pollution could result in psychological and behavioural problems later in childhood, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and depression. The BreatheLife action platform, a partnership of WHO, UNEP, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and the World Bank, presents several localized solutions that governments can use to beat air pollution and create healthier cities and healthier citizens. These focus on electric mobility, walking and cycling and other low-carbon options for countries and cities to reduce air pollution, mitigate climate change and create green spaces. The campaign also highlights the importance of tackling air pollution from industry, transport, waste management, households and agriculture and improving air quality management by adopting and meeting good air quality standards. While progress is being made, UNEP research shows that much remains to be done. Recognizing the importance of addressing air pollution, the UN General Assembly has declared 7 September, the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, as an opportunity to celebrate progress and generate momentum for global action. Chemical pollution Photo: Unsplash/Arjun MJ Chemicals in the environment are a global health issue. While chemicals and waste are major contributors to world economies, their sound management is essential to avoid risks to human health and ecosystems and substantial costs to national economies. Research shows that around one in three children has lead in their blood at levels that may be associated with decreased intelligence, behavioural difficulties and learning problems. UNEP is working closely with its partners to develop mainstream solutions for the sound management of chemicals and waste. Last month, Member States, industry representatives, academia, NGOs, and youth groups agreed on a vision for the Strategic Approach and sound management of chemicals and waste beyond 2020 to help protect human and planetary health. Climate change Photo: Pixabay/Cocoparisienne A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pointed to the expected rise in mental health impacts due to exposure to high temperatures, extreme weather events and climate-related economic and social losses, as well as anxiety and distress associated with concerns about the climate crisis. WHO has confirmed this trend, noting that climate change is having stronger and longer-lasting impacts on people’s mental well-being. A recent report shows that depression, anxiety and stress-related conditions have been reported following extreme weather events. The report calls for accelerated response to the climate crisis by governments, including efforts to address its impacts on mental health and psychosocial well-being. UNEP is at the front in support of the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2° C, and aiming - to be safe - for 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To do this, UNEP has developed a Six-Sector Solution roadmap to reducing emissions across sectors in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and in pursuit of climate stability. The six sectors are Energy; Industry; Agriculture and Food; Forests and Land Use; Transport, and Buildings and Cities. For COP27 focus will be on adaptation, finance and a just transition – and you can do your part by acting now on your own consumption and/or speaking up to voice your concern. URL:https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/four-ways-planetary-crisis-impacting-mental-health