Event
The 15th Asia-Pacific RCE Regional Meeting
Foto: © RCE Tongyeong
The 15th Asia-Pacific RCE Regional Meeting on Empowering Sustainable Community through Education for Sustainable Development was held at the RCE Tongyeong from September 14 to 16, 2023. The meeting was attended by staff from the Hanns Seidel Foundation Zhejiang, Shanghai, Mongolia, and Korea, along with experts from RCE Hangzhou and RCE Suzhou and the Environmental Education Centers in Mongolia. This meeting was aimed at sharing experiences and ideas with 130 experts from 33 RCEs in 14 countries, and further sought ways to collaborate in the future.
In 2003, the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) launched the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Project in response to the UN resolution on the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD). The project focuses on research and development through two main initiatives: a global multi-stakeholder network of Regional Centres of Expertise on ESD (RCEs) and a network of higher education institutions called the Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research Network (ProSPER.Net). Currently, 190 RCEs are in operation around the world, and Tongyeong City was designated as the world's eighth RCE and the first RCE city in Korea in 2005.
Foto: © RCE Tongyeong
On the 14th, the first day of the meeting, the participants were divided into two groups and had the opportunity to learn about Tongyeong's ESD. One group visited a village called Seonchon, located in front of RCE Tongyeong, and learned about how residents collaborated to make efforts for a sustainable environment for the next generation, such as creating a sea forest using Jalpi (Sea grass), conserving the sea through the gathering waste on the sea side, and systematic recycling waste. Additionally, the other group visited Byeokbang Elementary School located in Tongyeong City and had the opportunity to learn about the site of ESD through cooperation among principal, teachers, and students. On the 15th, the participants had a chance to learn about the current development of ESD in the Asia-Pacific region as well as in Korea through keynote speeches and workshops. They discussed the kinds of collaboration RCEs in the Asia-Pacific region can engage in the future. On the 16th, the last day of the meeting, the participants visited Golli Island, which is a Korean language education site for the local elderly supported by RCE Tongyeong, and listened to the stories of a volunteer Korean language teacher and senior students.
Foto: © RCE Tongyeong
The three-day meeting was a time to plan for effective collaboration among RCEs in the near future and to empower sustainable communities through ESD. The Hanns Seidel Foundation, with its Zhejiang and Mongolian offices, remains committed to offering steadfast support to the RCEs in the Asia-Pacific region. This dedication is aimed at bolstering ESD initiatives, aligning with global efforts to achieve the SDGs. Through this support, HSF endeavors to contribute meaningfully to the promotion of sustainability, environmental consciousness, and societal progress within the region and beyond.