EarthAction

Exemplary Education Practices Show How Children and Youth Can Shape a Sustainable Future

World Future Council releases new handbook: exemplary education practices show how children and youth can shape a sustainable future
The publication demonstrates how educational approaches are helping learners develop the skills to create more resilient, skilled, low-carbon societies.

Hamburg, 26th February 2019. – The World Future Council (WFC) has just released a pioneering new policy handbook, compiling the most exemplary policies and practices to advance Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). After working with 16 Environment and Education Ministries, the Rights of Children and Youth Commission of the WFC has gathered together evidence that shows ESD can play a central role in empowering learners of all ages to positively respond to the pressing global challenges facing us, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and inequality.

Given the huge challenges the world faces, it is clear that we need to teach, learn and live in a fundamentally different manner. The evidence shows Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is already helping to realise this transition. The new policy handbook explores some of the central features of policy, process and practice in some of the pioneering countries embracing these educational approaches. It examines some of the major trends and opportunities in introducing this more holistic, progressive, transformational education.

Education for Sustainable Development embraces hands-on and outdoor learning pedagogies counteracting the trends of indoor living and lack of contact with the natural world that has been shown to have real costs for the health and wellbeing of our children. It creates the conditions for an environmentally literate generation of problem solvers.

“As the growing school strike movements across Europe show, we need young learners with the knowledge, values and conviction to act in a just, inclusive manner and make sustainable development a reality”, says Alexandra Wandel, Executive Director of the World Future Council.

Dr. Auma Obama, Chair of the WFC Child Rights Commission and Founder and Director of the ‘Sauti Kuu Foundation’, says “Education systems need to be reformed to allow our young people to leave school motivated, creative and able to be self-reliant – mentally, socially and financially. As this comprehensive policy handbook shows Education for Sustainable Development encourages this transformation, empowering learners with the key skills, knowledge and self-belief to grow into their best selves. There is no time to lose!”

Jane Goodall, Honorary Councillor of the World Future Council and UN Messenger of Peace, says "Empowering young people to care for the world they inherit is the responsibility of every generation. Education for Sustainable Development is a powerful tool that gives young people, their peers and communities the knowledge and confidence to act on their beliefs, be part of something bigger and make a real difference.”

This handbook offers insights from around the world on how sustainable education can be implemented successfully in policy, in the curriculum and at the level of schools, universities and other places of learning, to build a better future for all. Countries like Scotland are making an explicit link between ESD and the skills needed to prepare young people for a sustainable economy based on renewable energy and more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Similarly Costa Rica’s policy to decarbonise its economy by 2021 specifically identifies ESD as part of a wider programme for public awareness raising, education and cultural change. Ultimately, ESD asks us assume active roles in creating a world we’d be proud to pass on to our grandchildren.

The handbook was supported by the Michael Otto Foundation, Janina Özen-Otto/Jua- Foundation and Ismail Özen.

DOWNLOAD HANDBOOK

Learn more at World Future Council

Want to be Part of the International Children's Peace Prize?

Nominate a young changemaker for the Children's Peace Prize 2019!

The International Children's Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who fights courageously for children's rights. Winning the International Children's Peace Prize puts your changemaker in news headlines around the world. Last year, the winners' message reached more than 1.2 billion people!

Nominate your changemaking candidate now! Last year we received 121 nominations from 45 countries around the world. We are looking for young changemakers between 12 and 17 around the world. The nomination process is simple, but please make sure to check the requirements beforehand.

Download the nomination form here (Download 2019-nomination-form-en-1)), upload it on the website or send to nominations@childrenspeaceprize.org. The deadline for entries is March 15th 2019. 

We encourage you to share this message with your network!

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out here.

Children's Peace Prize Winner Selected to Address UN High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament

On September 26, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, world leaders will participate in a High Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament.

'The United Nations and its member countries should focus more on disarmament for sustainable development' says 2016 Children's Peace Prize winner Kehkashan Basu, who was last week selected by the President of the UN General Assembly to address the UN High-Level Meeting as one of the two speakers from global civil society.

'The nuclear arms race, in particular, should be halted and the $100 billion global nuclear weapons budget be redirected towards ending poverty, reversing climate change, protecting the oceans, building a sustainable economy and providing basic education and health care for all humanity,' says Ms Basu, who was also named last week as one of Canada's Top 25 Women of Influence for 2018.

'Instead, the nuclear armed States are squandering resources and keeping their nuclear weapons poised to strike. One mistake would cause a humanitarian disaster, robbing children and youth of their health and future, and maybe even ending civilization as we know it.'

The High Level Meeting on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Abolition Day) will involve Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and UN ambassadors presenting either their hopes and aspirations for nuclear disarmament or their excuses for keeping the nuclear arms race going. It falls on the anniversary of the incident in 1983 when a nuclear war was almost fought by accident.

When an incoming US ballistic missile attack was detected at the Serpukhov-15 nuclear warning centre, duty officer Stanislav Petrov, defied protocol and reported a false alarm. He was right. The satellites were wrong. And his action, which is chronicled in the award winning movie The Man Who Saved the World, prevented a potential nuclear calamity the life of which we have never experienced and hope never to see.

The lesson of the 1983 incident, and the 15-20 other times we have nearly had a nuclear exchange, is that nuclear deterrence could fail - and that failure would mean game over,' says Jakob von Uexkull, Founder of the World Future Council. 'As such, the nuclear armed States have to replace nuclear deterrence with better ways to achieve security, just as the overwhelming majority of other countries have already done.'

'Regardless of what the governments do at the UN, civil society will step up its action for nuclear disarmament,' says Ms Basu. 'The most powerful lobby for the nuclear arms race is the nuclear weapons industry.'

'From Oct 24-30, in locations around New York, we will count the $1 trillion nuclear weapons budget for the next 10 years and demonstrate how this money can be reallocated from the nuclear weapons industry into the Sustainable Development Goals and other areas of human and environmental need. This includes direct cuts to nuclear weapons budgets, and divestment from the industry, and is part of the global campaign Move the Nuclear Weapons Money.'

From Basel Peace Office. Learn more here

Retiring One Trident Missile Could Ensure UN Does Not Run Out of Cash

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week warned member states and UN staff that the United Nations is $140 million short of its budget and could run out of cash, due to late and non-payment of UN dues by member states.

In a letter sent to UN members, Guterres said that the UN had "never faced such a difficult cash flow situation this early in the calendar year. An organization such as ours should not have to suffer repeated brushes with bankruptcy. But surely, the greater pain is felt by those we serve when we cannot, for want of modest funds, answer their call for help." 

Move the Nuclear Weapons Money has called for re-allocation of a portion of nuclear weapons budgets to assist the UN cash crisis. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the cost to extend the lifetime of each US Trident nuclear missile is $140 million, the same amount as the UN shortfall.

Trident II nuclear missile

"if the US retires just one Trident nuclear missile from their arsenal, the money saved could be used to meet the UN deficit," says Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) and Co-founder of Move the Nuclear Weapons Money.

"Better yet, if all the nuclear armed States abandoned their plans to upgrade their nuclear arsenal, nearly $100 billion could be saved. This could then re-directed into the economy for job creation, climate protection, education, health, peace, diplomacy and sustainable security."

PNND Co-President Senator Ed Markey has introduced the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act into the U.S. Senate to cut redundant and destabilizing nuclear programs and curtail nuclear modernization. "It is time we inserted some desperately needed sanity into America's budget priorities,"  says Senator Markey.

Senator Markey introducing the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditure (SANE) Act

"Unfortunately, Senator Markey is unable to move a majority of the US Senate to support his act due to the lobbying power of the companies which are manufacturing the nuclear weapons systems" says Mr. Ware. "We can reduce this pro-nuclear lobbying power, and encourage the companies to get out of the nuclear weapons business, by nuclear weapons divestment."

The Move the Nuclear Weapons Money campaign shows how you can be involved, by moving your government, city, religious institution, university, bank and/or pension fund to divest (See Take Action). The campaign also lists examples of divestment policies adopted at these different levels.

"Next week parliamentarians, faith communities and peace organizations will commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," says Vanda Proskova, PNND Research Officer, "Amongst the many actions around the world will be calls for further divestment from nuclear weapons corporations." 

In order to highlight the issue, the World Future Council along with PNND and other partners, will hold Count the Nuclear Weapons Money, an action during UN Disarmament Week (October 24-30) to "count out" the $1 trillion budgeted for nuclear weapons for the next ten years, and reallocate this money to better areas.

One million mock notes, each of $1 million value, will be counted by people of all ages, nations, backgrounds; celebrities, activists, politicians, UN officials, diplomats, artists, religious leaders, sportspeople, refugees and others. The counting will take place in front of the United Nations and at other relevant locations in New York.

"Counting the money note-by-note, no-stop over seven days and nights, will demonstrate what an exorbitant amount of money is being wasted on nuclear weapons - money which is sorely needed to end poverty, protect the climate, provide adequate health care and basic education, fund the United Nations and achieve the sustainable development goals," says Holger Güssenfeld, Creative Director of Count the Nuclear Weapons Money.

"This event will reach millions of people, encouraging them to take action to end investments in nuclear weapons, and reinvest in peace and the planet."

READ MORE AT UNFOLD ZERO

The bruges whale

Near the statue of Jan Van Eyck, Skyscraper (the Bruges Whale) rises up from the Canal. Skyscraper is 5 tons of plastic waste pulled out of the ocean to create a 4 story tall whale: a powerful reminder of the 150,000,000 tons of plastic waste still swimming in our waters. Skyscraper is a physical example of why we need to change how we use and dispose of plastic in the world today.

The Installation

The gigantic sculpture is more than just a representation of a whale; the animal is made of waste, collected from the plastic soup that floats on the seas and oceans of the world. Working with volunteers from the Hawaii Wildlife Fund and the Surfrider Foundation, StudioKCA combed the beaches of Hawaii to gather up the waste. The installation was built out of those finds. StudioKCA seeks this way to draw attention to the universal problem of pollution that affects us all, and to make viewers aware that individual action is necessary.

About the Skyscraper Kickstarter Project

StudioKCA has started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Processing and transporting the waste on this scale is larger than expected. StudioKCA is still looking for $15,000 to complete the manufacturing of the steel and aluminium parts, to hire the cranes and tools, to transport everything to Bruges in time for the event and to assemble all 107 parts that Skyscraper consists of on location. Deposit your contribution to this project via the Kickstarter website and receive exclusive Skyscraper (the Bruges Whale) returns!

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IPHRDs Are Not Terrorists

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance in cooperation with the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club held a press conference last March 31st to condemn the DOJ's terrorist proscription of past and present CPA leaders, environment defenders, indigenous rights activists and human rights advocates.

Members of the Baguio City Council also presented the resolution expressing their support for the 7 Baguio activists saying that they are actually fighting for noble causes that benefit the people.

The CPA also announced the upcoming celebration of the 34th Cordillera Day in Baguio City that aims to spread awareness of issues that affect the region. Specifically, they aim to highlight the issue of government's tyranny against the people. #IPHRDsNotTerrorists

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7 Days in the Life of Avaaz...

Colombian Deputy Minister receives Avaaz petition delivery last week :)

We may have won our campaign to stop Colombia’s massive deforestation!

The team and members brought a million-strong petition (and several cute kids) to a key minister this week, and got 42 election candidates signed on to our 5-point forest pledge! After satellite pictures we obtained showed massive deforestation in Colombia, the President flew over the land we were campaigning for, and it looks like we’re going to win! Here's an update (in Spanish) from Ana Sofia.

Who wouldn't want to protect this?

We might help win the largest ocean reserve in the Atlantic!

Last week we met with the key official pushing this ocean-saving plan at the Ministry of Environment in Brazil. As we entered the room, they were looking at the final draft of the project and the official told us: “We need Avaaz to win this! When are you launching this campaign?!” The minister actually wanted our help to win over the rest of the Cabinet and the President! Video update from Diego (in Portuguese) here.

Our fake far-right leader on his fake tour of southern Italy got over 100 media hits!

We worked our hearts out to stop a far-right win in Italy!

With a fascist-led coalition close to winning the election on Sunday, we were flat-out for a month -- reaching millions of voters in close races over email, on Facebook, and in the media, asking them to cooperate across a splintered opposition, and vote for the candidate most likely to defeat the far-right. Our polling showed our impact, and Avaaz was constantly attacked in the right-wing press (e.g. here and here) and our Senior Campaigner Luca got threatening phone calls.

The election largely turned on the South, so last week we also staged a hilarious fake tour of the South by the far-right leader -- who once said Southerners smelled worse than dogs -- that generated over 100 media articles! Examples here, here and here, and here’s an update from Luca (in Italian). The media likes to hype the fascists, but the result was a clean sweep of the south and the far-right coalition is FAR short of the majority we feared!

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The 99 Best Things That Happened in 2017

Photo Credit: Reuters/Kevin Coombs

If you’re feeling despair about the fate of humanity in the 21st century, you might want to reconsider.

In 2017, it felt like the global media picked up all of the problems, and none of the solutions. To fix that, here are 99 of the best stories from this year that you probably missed.

An incredible year for global health

1. This year, the World Health Organisation unveiled a new vaccine that’s cheap and effective enough to end cholera, one of humanity’s greatest ever killers. New York Times

2. Cancer deaths have dropped by 25% in the United States since 1991, saving more than 2 million lives. Breast cancer deaths have fallen by 39%, saving the lives of 322,600 women. Time

3. Zika all but disappeared in 2017. Cases plummeted in Latin America and the Caribbean, and most people in those places are now immune. Science Mag

4. A new report showed that the world’s assault on tropical diseases is working. A massive, five year international effort has saved millions of lives, and countries are now signing up for more. STAT

5. Soft drink sales in the United States dropped for the 12th year in a row, thanks to consumer education and new sugar taxes aimed at stemming obesity and diabetes. Reuters

6. Trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, was eliminated as a public health problem in Oman and Morocco, and Mexico became the first country in the Americas to eliminate it. NBC

7. Meet Sanduk Ruit and Geoff Tabin, two eye doctors responsible for helping restore sight to 4 million people in two dozen countries, including North Korea and Ethiopia. CBS

8. Premature deaths for the world’s four biggest noncommunicable diseases­ — cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory — have declined by 16% since 2000. World Bank

9. Global abortion rates have fallen from around 40 procedures per 1,000 women in the early 1990s, to 35 procedures per 1,000 women today. In the United States, abortion rates have reached their lowest level since 1973. Vox

10. In July, UNAIDS, revealed that for the first time in history, half of all people on the planet with HIV are now getting treatment, and that AIDS deaths have dropped by half since 2005. Science Mag

From Quartz.com

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How to Make Fun of Nazis

Counter-protesters at a K.K.K. Rally in Charlotte, N.C., in 2012. Credit: Yash Mori

For decades, Wunsiedel, a German town near the Czech border, has struggled with a parade of unwanted visitors. It was the original burial place of one of Adolf Hitler’s deputies, a man named Rudolf Hess. And every year, to residents’ chagrin, neo-Nazis marched to his grave site. The town had staged counter demonstrations to dissuade these pilgrims. In 2011 it had exhumed Hess’s body and even removed his grave stone. But undeterred, the neo-Nazis returned. So in 2014, the town tried a different tactic: humorous subversion

The campaign, called Rechts Gegen Rechts — the Right Against the Right — turned the march into Germany’s “most involuntary walkathon.” For every meter the neo-Nazis marched, local residents and businesses pledged to donate 10 euros (then equivalent to about $12.50) to a program that helps people leave right-wing extremist groups, called EXIT Deutschland.

READ MORE HERE

From The New York TImes, By Moises Velasquez-Manoff 

World Future Council Calls for Better Protection of Refugee Women and Children

Credit: World Future Council

On Monday, 19 September, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, Heads of States and Governments will address the large movements of refugees and migrants at a high-level summit during the General Assembly. The milestone event aims to strengthen governance of international migration and create a more humane and coordinated system.

More than 21 million people were forced to leave their countries in 2015, over half of whom are under the age of 18. In just five years, the number of child refugees has risen by 77 per cent, while the proportion of women refugees reached 47% in 2015.

María Fernanda Espinosa, Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva and Co-Chair of the Ending Violence against Women and Girls Commission, World Future Council, says: “Refugee women and children face various security risks at every stage of their journey. They are still not sufficiently protected and often do not even find adequate support, such as psychosocial assistance, in their destination countries. We therefore call on world leaders to tackle this serious challenge and take effective and binding measures to ensure the safety of refugee women and children.”

In an appeal to the governments and institutions of the world published in March 2016, the World Future Council called for rigorous measures to protect refugee women and children from violence. The WFC is currently putting together a report on best practices to protect refugee women and children against violence to promote existing and proven practices. The report is expected to be published at the end of the year.

Thanks to the World Future Council for this post. For more information, visit the WFC website. Contact your president or prime minister today and ask him or her to do everything possible to protect the lives of refugees, especially the lives of women and children.