This year, Global Schools is thrilled to be participating in or organizing many events at COP28. Links will be updated to this page periodically. For a full list of SDSN events, please reference the COP28 resource hub.
Bridging Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) & Global Citizenship in the Age of Climate Crisis
December 1, 2:30pm – 3:30pm (Gulf Standard Time)
Host: Mission 4.7
Location: UNESCO Greening Education Pavilion
The session objective is to actively engage COP attendees to think critically and creatively about the knowledge, values, skills, attitudes as well as stakeholders necessary for comprehensive and meaningful education that leads to climate action, a sustainable future, and a better world. The session aims to illustrate concrete examples of implementation strategies, considerations and solutions involving global citizenship, ethics-driven education, greening partnerships and skilling that can support COP attendees to adopt in their lines of transformative education and sustainable development work.
Winning Solutions on Greening Education: The Global Schools Program and Action on Climate Empowerment (ACE) in Classroom Settings
December 2, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. (Gulf Standard Time)
Host: Global Schools Program and Uccellis College
Location: UNESCO Greening Education Pavilion in the Green Zone, Expo City, Dubai
In-person only
The purpose of this session is to showcase best practices and research-backed resources for championing climate education in classrooms. This includes the work of the Global Schools Program, which provides free training to school leaders and educators at the primary and secondary levels, as well as the outcomes of Global School’s research projects in Morocco in partnership with the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection and Al-Akhawayn University. In addition, the event will feature the Teaching Module “Education for Action on Climate” from Uccellis College. This session aims to attract a diverse audience encompassing policy makers, development partners, teachers and school leaders, national delegations, government representatives, NGOs, civil society groups, ministries working in the climate and education sectors, youth activists and practitioners, and a broad spectrum of societal stakeholders.
Bridging Youth Leadership and Sustainable Education
December 5, 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (Gulf Standard Time)
Hosted by: Global Schools Program
Location: Climate Action Stage at the Climate Action Innovation Zone at the Madinat Jumeirah Conference Center, Dubai
In the evolving educational and environmental spheres, young leaders are championing the integration of sustainability into learning. While traditional education systems may resist change and sustainable business practices can face barriers, the potential benefits to integrating sustainable development into education are significant. Intergenerational leadership fosters knowledge sharing, and youth-led climate advocacy introduces innovative solutions. Join us for a progressive dialogue on the fusion of climate action and education and learn firsthand how dynamic young leaders are sculpting the educational landscape, paving the way for students to emerge as future sustainability champions.
RewirEd Summit with Dubai Cares: Youth Have the Potential to Green-Skill Adults and Higher Education Institutions
Date: December 8, 12:00 - 12:45 p.m. (Gulf Standard Time)
Host: Mission 4.7 and SDGs Today
Location: RewirEd Summit
More than 15 universities in Mexico, the United States, and Canada have combined forces to find innovative ways to Foster Youth-Led Innovation for the SDGs. The Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Center for Sustainable Development, Climate School, Columbia University lead this group. The group has organized 3 workshops and is planning 3 leading up to COP28. The webinars, held from June to October, will cover topics such as sustainability curriculum design, scaling and commercializing sustainable ventures, climate communications, and much more. Designed to be inclusive in its content delivery and relevancy, the consortium also conducted youth workshops during UNGA 2023. The session will discuss the report drafted for policy makers which summarizes the key lessons from the webinars and the workshops. The report titled- Fostering Youth-led Innovations to Accelerate Progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, will be released at the RewirEd Summit 2023 at COP28, and a panel discussion on the report will take place.
Nurturing Roots: The Importance of Integrating Land Restoration in Schools
Date: Dec 8, 2-3pm
Location: UNCCD Land and Drought Pavilion in the Blue Zone
Summary: With escalating environmental challenges like deforestation, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss, it is imperative that the younger generation is aware of, and actively engaged in, land restoration. Schools can play a pivotal role in promoting these initiatives through their curricula, thus ensuring an environmentally conscious and equipped future generation. By integrating this topic into educational curricula, we can equip the next generation with the knowledge, values, and skills needed to address these challenges. Land restoration is inherently interdisciplinary, encompassing biology, ecology, geography, social studies, economics, and more. Incorporating it into the curriculum can provide students with a holistic perspective on how different disciplines interrelate and contribute to problem-solving. Exposure to land restoration topics can also inspire students to pursue careers in environmental science, conservation, ecology, and related fields.
Education for a Sustainable Future: Empowering Youth and Children as Environmental Ambassadors
Date: Dec 9th, time TBD
Host: Mohammed VI Foundation Representatives
Location: UNESCO Greening Education Pavilion
Summary: The side event highlights the core concept of "green education", focusing on shaping environmentally conscious individuals from an early age. By focusing on youth and children, we aim to underline the pivotal impact of education in nurturing the emergence of environmental leaders. The event will embark participants on an immersive journey through the world of "eco- schools" and "young reporters for the environment", celebrating their achievements and encouraging greater participation. The proposed side event has the potential to catalyze a multi-faceted impact by inspiring and engaging young people, educators, policymakers and the general public in a collective effort to integrate environmental education and awareness within educational systems worldwide.
