PRESS RELEASE: Heading towards the General Assembly 2016

Contact: Rikke Florager, Administrative Director, E: rikke@fee.global

Nicole Andreou, Communications Assistant, E: nicole@fee.global

Copenhagen 8 September 2016 – The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is holding its biennial General Assembly on 15-16 September in Ahmedabad, India. At the assembly sessions, member organisations from 75 countries will be discussing the most recent developments in FEE and elect their new President and Board of Directors.

The General Assembly is arranged and hosted by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) India, FEE’s Associate Member in India. The first two assembly sessions will be addressing the latest developments and strategic planning for FEE and its five programmes, whilst at the Members’ Forum sessions, members will have the opportunity to join workshops on the implementation of programmes, projects and campaigns. 15 new organisations are to be confirmed as members of FEE.

The FEE President is elected every four years and the Board of Directors every two. Following the nomination procedure, a new President and Board of Directors will be elected for the period 2016-2020 and 2016-2018 respectively. The coming General Assembly will herald the end of an era with the retirement of Jan Eriksen. Current president and a member of FEE for over 26 years, Jan has steered the organisation through some its most demanding periods of transition and growth and is leaving it as the globally recognised and respected organisation that you know today: a fitting testament to his diligence and commitment to FEE over the years.

The assembly will be followed by the CEE Conference on ‘Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for Transforming Education for Children and Youth’, to take place on 16–18 September 2016. The Conference aims at bringing together global experience and expertise to highlight and strengthen the role of ESD.

About the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) www.fee.global

With members in 75 countries around the world, FEE’s programmes represent the cutting edge in Education for Sustainable Development and Environmental Education. It is the vision of the Foundation for Environmental Education that its programmes empower people everywhere to live sustainably and in an environmentally conscious manner.

Download the PDF.

The Foundation for Environmental Education listed on the Harvard GEII website

The Global Education Innovation Initiative (GEII) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education is a multi-country research-policy-practice collaborative examining relevant, powerful, and effective education in the 21st century for all students, including marginalised youth.

GEII looks at education in the 21st century in the following ways:

• Competencies in the Intrapersonal Domain
• Competencies in the Interpersonal Domain
• Competencies in the Cognitive Domain
• Values and Attitudes
• Active, engaging, and empowering pedagogy

Having carefully assessed the role and global impact of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), GEII has seen fit to recognise us as one of the most competent organisations putting 21st century education into practice.

Check out the page dedicated to FEE and explore the Global Education Innovation Initiative here.

Daniel Schaffer's visit to South Korea

Last week, Daniel Schaffer, CEO of the Foundation for Environmental Education, visited South Korea to participate in the 2nd International Water Safety Symposium in Incheon organised by Lifesaving Society Korea (LSK). Daniel, attending as a keynote speaker representing both FEE and Blue Flag, took part in fruitful panel discussions and met with stakeholders in the fields of water safety and education. 

LSK has been member of FEE and implementing the Blue Flag programme in South Korea since November 2015.

YRE International Jury and Competition Winners 2016

The Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) International Jury meeting for the 2016 Competition successfully took place on 26 May at the Foundation for Environmental Education Head Office in Copenhagen, Denmark.

YRE International Jury

The Jury was composed by stakeholders in the fields of environmental journalism and Education for Sustainable Development. The members, as of May 2016, are Christopher Slaney, freelance journalist, Mari Nishimura, Associate Programme Officer, UNEP, Julie Saito, Programme Specialist of Communication, UNESCO, Clemens Bomsdorf, journalist and correspondent for the Nordic countries, Torvald Jacobsson, Founding Director of TheGoals.org, Amine Ahlafi, FEE Board of Directors member, responsible for YRE, and Anne Vela-Wagner, Executive Director of the Wrigley Company Foundation. You can find more information on their profiles here. 

The Jury went through and discussed the top national entries in the media categories of articles, photographs and videos, across the age categories 11-14, 15-18, 19-21, as well as the new category; International Collaboration. The Jury then decided on this year's YRE International Competition winners, who will be shortly receiving prizes and distinctions for their entries. All entries can be found on the competition's Exposure page.

Here is a general comment from the Jury members; 

The members of YRE International Jury appreciated this year’s submissions for the YRE International Competition. The Jury members are especially impressed with the quality of submissions in younger age categories. Some of the submissions from younger age categories are well-made in terms of composition, structure, and technics. The Jury members also appreciated the submissions for the new category; International Collaboration. The Jury members hope to see more of this collaboration between students and youths in different countries.

The each first place winner will receive a prize of a laptop, camera or video camera according to the media category. The winning entries will also be published on Huffington Post kids as a prize. 

The winners for 2016 are:

Article

11-14 years old

1st Place
Title: Not to bee put aside
Author: Lovisa Kjell, Hildur Eriksson (Sweden)
"A very interesting approach. It is a wonderful piece with a great cover photo and a good ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) story. "

2nd Place
Title: Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Plastic Pollution Near and Far
Author: Sarah Goodstadt (Canada)

2nd Place
Title: Save Ksar El Kebir Gardens!
Author: Khadija Soussi, Omar El Bakri, Ghizlan Lanaya, Fatima Boudich, Khaoula Loumi and Zakaria Saydi (Morocco)

15-18 years old

1st Place
Title: Green Roofs – A new life to city’s monotony
Author: Angelina Grom’yak, Maria Cruz, Diogo Marques, Rodrigo Mateus, Pedro Barreira, Bárbara Machado (Portugal)
"It is well-researched and well-written with good amount of data."

2nd Place
Title: Coffee Pods - a Modern Trend or an Environmental Risk?
Author: Patrícia Beličková (Slovakia)

3rd Place
Title: Metempsychosis in a dustbin
Author: Marie Pouillaude (France)

19-21 years old

1st Place
Title: Clean water is the source of our lives
Author: Andrijana Arsić (Serbia)
"A good approach to the topic, and it shows the actual engagement. Interested in the implementation of actual actions."

2nd Place
Title: Impact of our railways
Author: Joana Pedro (Portugal)

3rd Place
Title: A Waste paper… a Lost Tree
Author: Ilham Derrez, Haitham Fathi, Ouiam Zeaimi, Wijdane Jouhari, Soukaina El Aouni, Diaeedine Dahmouch (Morocco)

Photograph

11-14 years old

1st Place
Title: Surprising and unexpected finding
Author: João Pedro Paour Carvalho (Portugal)
"It shows the effort to understand the problem, and the story is good and well-connected to the picture. The picture is beautiful. "

2nd Place
Title: Guilty Conscience
Author: Julia Scerri (Malta)

15-18 years old

1st Place
Title: "I live today hoping for a better tomorrow"
Author: Sonia Miheş (Romania)
"A great photo, horizon at an angle, smoke stack over shoulder, hands in pockets. It is a symbolic and eye-catching picture, and it delivers a strong message."

2nd Place
Title: Returned to sender by the waves!
Author: Kurt Micallef (Malta)

3rd Place
Title: We are Killiing Ourselves
Author: Lukáš Krnčok (Slovakia)

19-21 years old

1st Place
Title: Companionship
Author: Xue Fan (China)
"A nice and strong photo. Eye-catching. "

2nd Place
Title: The Last Call
Author: Ouijdane Chahdi, Mohamed Lwardi (Morocco)

3rd Place
Title: Gardens Bloom Once a Year…
Author: Irina Gavrilova (Kazakhstan)

Video

11-14 years old

1st Place
Title: Energy in water
Author: Ana Daniela Silva, Bruna Silva, Inês Rodrigues (Portugal)
"A great story and well-told. Reporters managed to view the issue objectively, particularly by pointing out what improvements are still lacking, while addressing the environmental benefit of this means of transportation."

2nd Place
Title: “Tale of ant and elephant”
Author: MUSTAFA EMİR KAYA, OĞUZ TOPAL, BARKIN CANOĞULLARI, BATIN GÖRKEM ÇOLAK, AZRA PEKGÖZ, ELİF NİSA BOYRAZ, BUĞRA MACUNCU, BİYÇE KORKMAZ, GÜLÇİN DİNÇ, CEYLİN AKIN (Turkey)

3rd Place
Title: Trees in Nová Dubnica
Author: Mária Jánošíková, Tamara Eliášová, Michal Mazánik (Slovakia)

15-18 years old

1st Place
Title: Bready steady sort in Blaise Pascal High School
Author: Axel Heitz-Retamal, Emma Plisson, Clémence Borgard, Eglantine Meriau, Delphine Millard, Damien Mouveau (France)
"A great story, many different elements but all interconnected. Good approach and it works well. Nice camera work and unique ending which makes this piece original."

2nd Place
Title: Collect Cooking Oil and Make a Difference
Author: Matej Majerský, Patrik Štefík (Slovakia)

3rd Place
Title: Plastic Pollution
Author: Mymoon Bhuiyan (Canada)

3rd Place
Title: One day as an environmental crook
Author: David Norberg, Elias Vernersson, Maja Jonsson, Julia Portin (Sweden)

19-21 years old

 No winners

International Collaboration

Honourable mention
Title: Bicycle: the vehicle for sustainable mentality
Author: Maria Carreira, Sharad Poudel, Martim Teixeira, Rita Costa, Kyriaki Hadjichambi, Katerina Papamiltiadous (Cyprus and Portugal) 
"Good research and arguments from different perspectives are described."

The meeting was concluded by a fruitful conversation on the developments in Young Reporters for the Environment, and how the programme and the competition itself can evolve in the future.

FEE fully committed to the Sustainable Development Goals

As a global organisation, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) shapes and highlights its role as a stakeholder and trendsetter in the Sustainable Development process, particularly for environmental, educational and eco-tourism matters.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) define a relevant part of the context within which FEE operates, thus we strive to see our work reflected in the Goals.

FEE as an umbrella organisation aims at reaching objectives as indicated in the SDGs:

• Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages (SDG 3).
• Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all (SDG 4).
• Ensure availability and sustainable management of water (SDG 6).
• Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all (SDG 7).
• Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (SDG14).
• Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15).
• Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth (SDG 8), particularly to implement policies to promote sustainable tourism which creates jobs, and promotes local culture and products (SDG 8.9).
• Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SDG 11).
• Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG 12).
• Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG 13).
• Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development (SDG 16), particularly to build transparent institutions and promote non-discriminatory policies for sustainable development (SDGs 16.6, 16.b) with a positive, proactive, democratic modus operandi and a strong synergistic support to civil society and third sector.
• Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development (SDG 17) through a geographically spread, multi-stakeholder approach.

The programmes based on Education for Sustainable Development, such as Young Reporters for the Environment, Eco-Schools and Learning about Forests, show a strong direct link with the educational Goal (SDG 4) and the Goal on global partnership for sustainable development (SDG 17). FEE’s tourism eco-labels, Green Key and Blue Flag, on the other hand, have theirmain focus on making human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SDG 11), and on implementing tools for monitoring sustainable development impacts for tourism (SDG 12.b).

Recently, Green Key published a document in which it describes the ways in which the programme connects to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. 

Read the full document on FEE’s connections to the SDGs.

Launched today! Promotional video for YRE and the Global Action Days

Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) is happy to open the week of YRE Global Action Days with a brand new YRE promotional video. The video is to share the joy of the programme with everyone and especially with the Young Reporters and potential Young Reporters around the world. Watch below!

Global Action Days is a call for all students and teachers around the world to be active and share their actions on being more sustainable in our modern world. 

WHEN: 18-24 April 2016

Be creative and use your skills to deliver your opinions and thoughts in the best possible way! Please register yourself on Global Action Days website and share your action and stories on our Global Action Days Facebook page. 

Green Key National Operators' Meeting, Copenhagen 2016

Green Key National Operators from 35 countries gathered on 11-13 April 2016 to discuss the status and future development of the Green Key programme.

The 2016 Green Key National Operator Meeting took place on 11-13 April 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark, where Green Key National Operators from countries in Europe, Caribbean, Mexico, Africa, Middle East and Japan gathered to discuss the status and the future development of Green Key.

The main issues for discussion at the National Operator Meeting were the implementation of the new Green Key criteria, Green Key for the various categories, sharing of best practise examples from different countries, new Green Key developments as well as the monitoring, evaluation and promotion of the Green Key programme.

Green Key International would like to thank our corporate partners, SGS, Lucart Group and Semaphore as well as the Green Key National Operators for their support and active participation in the event.  

Green Key contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030

In September 2015, the United Nations approved the Sustainable Development Goals to frame the global development agenda for the coming 15 years. Green Key has just agreed on new criteria that will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

When approving the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations nominated 2015 as a landmark year for sustainability. The new agenda is transformative, people-centred and with bold and ambitious targets. 17 goals and 169 targets are set to frame the global development agenda for the coming 15 years. The economic, social and environmental dimensions of the goals seek to address poverty, hunger, disease, fear and violence, education, healthcare, social protection, sanitation, safety, sustainable habitats and energy.

Green Key has just agreed on new criteria for its six categories that will be in force from 1 July 2016. Through the new criteria, Green Key has the potential to contribute directly or indirectly to the achievement of all the 17 goals. Goal 4 – Quality Education, relates to Green Key’s criteria on information, education and training of staff, guests and suppliers. Goal 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, and Goal 13 – Climate Action, relate to the reduction of carbon emissions and lowering environmental footprint through a high level of environmental management of especially water, energy and waste, and are also central requirements in the Green Key programme.

The new Green Key criteria also focus on CSR related issues, such as job creation, local community engagement, equal opportunities for all (including vulnerable groups) etc. and many of these issues are included in the Sustainable Development Goals.

The full document describing Green Key’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals can be downloaded here.

New FEE member: Keep New Zealand Beautiful to run Blue Flag

In January, Daniel Schaffer visited New Zealand to meet our new FEE member : Keep New Zealand Beautiful. This organisation will very soon take over the Blue Flag programme, and is currently implementing processes in order to do so. During Daniel’s visit, he and Keep New Zealand Beautiful staff conducted control visits of two Blue Flag awarded marinas, Westhaven Marina and The Landing.
 

Currently New Zealand have two Auckland Marinas that hold Blue Flag status. Westhaven Marina is the largest marina in the southern hemisphere with more than 2000 boats of all kinds. The marina takes pride in upholding a clean environment and has successfully achieved international Blue Flag status for the tenth consecutive year! 
The Landing at Okahu Bay is a dedicated marine based site at the entrance to the Hauraki Gulf with facilities that include a public boat ramp and pontoon and boat hardstand, maintenance and storage. The Landing has held Blue Flag status for 5 years. 

 
Daniel was able to offer to Keep New Zealand Beautiful staff his vast experience and expertise in conducting a Blue Flag control visit and it was also a fantastic opportunity for the staff at both Marinas to meet with an international FEE representative.
 
With the support of Blue Flag International, Keep New Zealand Beautiful is aiming to grow the Blue Flag programme further to include Sustainable Boating Tourism Operators in New Zealand as well as increasing the number of marinas with Blue Flag status.

Global Forest Fund - Report 2015

For eight years, the Global Forest Fund has been investing in worthy tree planting events and environmental education activities around the world. The Foundation for Environmental Education invests 90% of the Global Forest Fund each year into worthy projects. Over the past eight years, 154 projects have been supported around the world.

In 2015, the Global Forest Fund received almost €7,000 from the Foundation for Environmental Education as CO2 compensation for flights in 2014. A welcome donation was also received from Semaphore Signs, The Netherlands, as CO2 compensation for the worldwide production of the Blue Flags.

During the course of 2015, the Global Forest Fund supported twelve projects in seven countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. More specifically, the fund supported one project in Bangladesh, five in Bulgaria, one in D.R. Congo, two in Ghana, one in Guinea, one in Kenya and one in Zambia.   

In the report, you can read the inspiring stories from all the countries that received support from the FEE Global Forest Fund.   

Click here to download the Global Forest Fund Report 2015

Report and FEE Statement on the COP21 Agreement

On 4 December 2015 in the Climate Generations Area at COP21/CMP 11 in Paris, the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) hosted a conference entitled “Climate Change as part of the curriculum from kindergarten to university”. The conference aimed at creating a platform of discussion between civil society, high profile professionals in the field of environmental education and people with real hands-on experience, so that they could share their knowledge and involvement in environmental issues.

Moreover, as FEE representatives, Lesley Jones and Daniel Schaffer, were involved in activities at the Climate Generations Area, the Blue Zone and the UNESCO Headquarters, where they discussed further how FEE helps strengthen climate education through its programmes, its campaigns, and its impact at the international, national and local level. 

Read the full report

(Conference at COP21) Climate Change as part of the curriculum

FEE Statement on the COP21 Agreement

On the 12 December 2015, 195 nations reached a new global agreement in Paris for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change. The agreement’s main aims are to keep the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, to increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, and to make consistent financial flows with a pathway towards climate-resilient development.

The Paris agreement’s most evident value is to set a regular emissions’ cut review process together with the submission of new targets, thus facilitating the process from the civil society’s side of pushing governments to not only reach their goals, but also to keep aiming for higher ones.  The Agreement also takes into account the less developed countries’ financial support for climate change adaptation and mitigation, together with supporting developing countries in their transition to low carbon economies.

This agreement is a very positive step in the right direction and reflects the long needed global acceptance of the problem, its causes and the urgency in which we need to act if we are to start remedying the situation.        

Nevertheless and once again, the agreement seems to lack an enforceable non-compliance mechanism, which would ensure that countries fulfil the obligations they have committed to in this Paris Agreement.

The Foundation for Environmental Education as a representative of its members, who are civil society organisations from around the world, would like to recognise the important role civil society will need to continue to play to encourage governments to fulfil their obligations towards the reduction of green house gas emissions, and also the wellbeing of their citizens and that of humanity in general.

The Foundation for Environmental Education urges governments to recognise the great importance of Climate Change Education (CCE) as a key element to bring about the needed change, as presented in the Paris Agreement.  The recognition must come in the form of continuous and increased support for both the formal and non-formal education systems, including all age groups from kindergarten to adulthood.

- Daniel Schaffer, CEO of the Foundation for Environmental Education

Download the full report and statement on the COP21 Agreement

The more the merrier - New members joining FEE

As of November 2015, Colombia, Switzerland and South Korea are on board!

Colombia’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, whose mission is to support the entrepreneurial activity aimed at the production of goods, services and technology, as well as the touristic management of the country’s regions, is now an Affiliate Member, with the implementation of the Blue Flag programme. 

The Blue Flag programme will also be implemented in South Korea, under the Associate Membership of the Lifesaving Society Korea. The main objectives of the organisation are drowning prevention activities (public education, research, training, etc.), forming working groups to promote drowning prevention in South Korea and worldwide, to foster lifesaving sports, contribute international lifesaving movement, set lifesaving and lifeguarding standard in South Korea, and other drowning prevention related business.

 In Switzerland, the Association J’aime ma Planète, a non-profit organisation that is committed to protecting the environment and promoting a sustainable development, will be implementing the Eco-Schools programme. 

 You can find more information about the organisations in their respective websites:

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Colombia: http://www.mincit.gov.co/englishmin/

Lifesaving Society Korea: http://www.lskorea.org/spmain/spmain.php

Association J’aime ma Planète: http://www.jaimemaplanete.name

COP21 Klima March

In the build-up to this year’s COP21 in Paris, various events will be taking place in support of this mutual effort towards a political response to climate change. The Global Climate March  aims to mobilise people all over the world, call for climate justice, and help bring an end to carbon pollution.

Find an event near you: http://globalclimatemarch.org/en/join-an-event/

The Climate Action Denmark network, formed by a number of environmental NGOs across Denmark, has taken responsibility for the organisation of the Climate March here in Copenhagen on 29 November. This network is built upon four principles:

• producing 100% renewable energy
• a change towards sustainable green economy
• forward-looking policies on climate and the environment
• climate justice

The Foundation for Environmental Education would like to openly support this effort to bring people closer to the issue of combating climate change. Furthermore, we would like to express our true hope for a fruitful and constructive COP in Paris towards positive government actions, sustainable development, and a legally binding and universal agreement on climate.

Check the Facebook event for the programme of the demonstration on 29 November 2015: https://www.facebook.com/events/1632204977029248/

Conference at COP21: Climate change as part of the curriculum from kindergarten to university

During COP21/CMP 11, the Foundation for Environmental Education will be hosting a Conference titled “Climate change as part of the curriculum from kindergarten to university”, at the Climate Generations Area on 4 December 2015, from 15:00-16:30.

The conference is meant to provide debate rooms for civil society events accessible to the public. The civil society area is seen as an international space for debates and exchanges linked to the ecological transition on the one hand, and the discovery of solutions to address climate disruption, provided by civil society, on the other.

In accordance with the wishes expressed by the French presidency of COP21/CMP11, the Climate Generation Area will be open to the public, free of charge, from the 1 December until the 11 December, with the exception of Sunday the 6 December, from 10:30 to 19:00.

Full security will be ensured throughout the area.

The conference:

There is little or no doubt any more that Climate Change is the most important, urgent and complex challenge facing humanity. This challenge requires each and every one of us to act responsibly, make changes in our perception and behaviour and be willing to make sacrifices for the good of those who will follow us. Education is recognised as an essential part of any process that looks to inform and empower people to better understand any issue and to change their behaviour based on the understanding they have achieved. This behaviour change is far more likely to be achieved if the educated are truly involved and are taught through practical, hands-on and positive action-based methodology. Hence it is essential that climate change is embedded into educational systems, that it clearly becomes part of the official curriculum and that the methodology used is not only one that informs but rather a methodology that will increase positive change in people’s behaviour.

Students of all ages are powerful agents of change: their education can impact how people make use of natural resources to move towards more sustainable lifestyles, to increase the level of activism and help them to adapt to the consequences of climate change. We would like explore how this could be achieved at different educational levels, highlight some best practices, address the difficulties facing efforts to embed climate change in the curriculum and make suggestions on how to overcome these hurdles.

The Conference will be based on a presentation and panel format, where each one of the four panel members will represent experience and expertise focusing on one education age group: kindergarten, schools, higher education and informal education.

An open panel discussion and an interaction session with the public will follow.

The speakers:

Morgan Phillips, Programme developer

Insights on early years education

Education manager of Keep Britain Tidy, a leading environmental charity in the UK and the NGO responsible for delivering FEE programmes in England, particularly Eco-Schools. Dr. Phillips holds a PhD in Environmental Education and has worked as an environmental educator, community engagement manager and lecturer, representing expertise on how environmental education is embedded into the national curriculum.

Ugo Leenhardt, Secondary education professional

French science teacher at a public secondary school involved for years in the local implementation of the Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment programmes, creator of several projects on climate for students and of a growing network of teachers and persons in charge of economic and social development.

Hilligje van’t Land, Higher education expert

Director of the Membership and Programme Development at the International Association of Universities, Dr. van’t Land is in charge at IAU of thematic priorities as sustainable development and intercultural dialogue and runs the project on the Changing nature of the Doctoral programmes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Rizwan Jaffar, Representative for the informal education sector

Mr. Jaffar is the founder chairman of the Youth Parliament, National Commissioner for Youth Affairs at the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association and member of the program sub-committee Asia-Pacific Region of the World Organization of Scout Movement.

The Conference will be facilitated by Daniel Schaffer, CEO of the Foundation for Environmental Education, and will be held in Conference room number 3. Please note that the room capacity is limited to 100 people.

Full Guide

Programme - The FEE Conference is listed on page 32

COP21 / CMP11 Host country website: http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en/ 

Please help us tweet this news using the hashtags #FEECOP21 #FEEClimateEducation

For any further information about FEE’s Conference, don’t hesitate to contact us at elisabetta@fee.global

'Replant the Planet' Denmark

In November, 15,000 students from 200 schools all over Denmark planted 33,000 trees for a better climate. Together with foresters, the students planted trees in their schools and in the forests in the hope that these trees will grow into school forests and green schoolyards. 

Rachel Boyle, International LEAF Director, was thrilled to attend the launch of 'Replant the Planet' at the Naturcenter Herstedhoje Albertslund, Denmark. Replant the Planet is an annual event, organised by our Danish LEAF National Operator, Malene Bendix and LEAF member organisation in Denmark, Skoven i Skolen. 

Replant the Planet was launched, in the finest possible way! The Danish Crown Princess Mary planted the first tree of the campaign, an Oak tree, the first tree in the new forest “The Forest of the Princess”. After planting the Oak, the Crown Princess continued planting a long row of beech trees together with many proud students. Click here to watch a short movie of the Crown Princess Mary planting and speaking about Replant the Planet. 
 
120 students, 4 Mayors and many other guests planted trees and engaged in four different workshops. They learned about photosynthesis, sketched climate drawings, carved nameplates for their trees in wood, planted young trees in pots they made from newspaper and pressed apples into juice.
 
As a part of Replant the Planet, new teaching material about forest, wood and climate was developed, a booklet and poster called “Replant the Planet: The Tree Circle – and the Climate”. Participating schools were given 50 trees and the new teaching material. 

Green Key Hotels in Madeira support reforestation initiative

The Four Views Hotels Group and the Madeira Natural Park together with students from Caniço School joined hands and set up a reforestation project.

3 November 2015 was marked by an Environmental initiative, the Reforestation in Cais do Sardinha, an area set in the protected zone of the Natural Park in Ponta de São Lourenço, the area more to the east of our island of Madeira, Portugal.

It was a joint activity between the Four Views Hotels Group and the Madeira Natural Park, with the partnership of students of Caniço School and with the special support of Hotel Quinta do Lorde, which provided an area to organise a barbecue offered to those involved in this initiative.  The Travel agency Mbtravel, provide the entire transportation logistics to the site of Reforestation.

This was undoubtedly an activity marked by noble sentiment of everyone wanting to contribute with something positive to the ecosystem of the Island and it engaged young people to take responsibility to protect what belongs to us and what surrounds us ... Nature!

The success of this activity increased the desire between the organisations involved, to engage in more initiatives for the sake of the good ecological health and nature of the Island.

International Conference 'Education as a Driver for Sustainable Development Goals'

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) has demonstrated that education can play a vital role leading to sustainable development. The UN DESD closed with an International Conference in Nagoya, Japan in November 2014 with the declaration of the Global Action Programme (GAP). The GAP has identified five priority areas to advance the Education for Sustainable Development agenda and enable strategic focus and foster stakeholder commitment. CEE is a key GAP partner to the priority area ‘Advancing Policy’. Every country and region would need to develop their own GAP agenda bringing in local perspectives and initiative.  

In September 2015, the UN also launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an outcome of global consultative processes. It is important for ESD communities to look specifically at each goal and determine how education can play an effective role in helping achieve this.  

An international conference entitled 'Education as a Driver for Sustainable Development Goals' is being organised by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), in partnership with UNESCO, UNEP and the Government of India. 
The Conference will be organised from January 11-13, 2016. It aims at bringing together global experience and expertise to highlight and strengthen the role of education in realising the SDGs. It will be an opportunity to build upon the learning from the UN DESD and recognise Education as a key enabler.

The SDGs are applicable to the world as a whole. Increasingly, the emphasis has moved away from a solely economic view of development to a larger view that includes the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social and economic. With this new emphasis comes also the recognition that policy instruments or technological solutions are not going to be enough and that behavioural change is crucial in achieving Sustainable Development. Thus the role of education in its broadest sense including training and capacity building, communication and creating public awareness, scientific research, sharing and access to information and networking; and partnerships become a key strategy for achieving the SDGs.

The objective of the Conference is to bring together the global experience and expertise of using Education as a way of achieving SDGs and showcasing the India experience in doing so.

Expected Outcomes

• To apply the learning of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development to develop programmes to achieve the SDGs

• To look at how the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD can play a major role in the SDG strategy

• To develop synergies and partnerships

For more details, contact Conference Secretariat at 
Email: esdgconference@ceeindia.org
Website: www.ceeindia.org/esdg

Green Key launched in South Africa

Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), FEE’s member organisation in South Africa, has decided to launch Green Key in South Africa.

Vincent Shacks, new Green Key operator for South Africa explains: “Building on the success of the Blue Flag and Eco-Schools programmes in South Africa, WESSA has been carefully evaluating the possibility for introducing Green Key in our country. Knowing the success of the programme globally, we have concluded that there is a good potential for Green Key here. I would therefore encourage any hotel, eco-lodge and other tourism establishment interested in pursuing the Green Key label to contact us in WESSA”

Finn Bolding Thomsen, International Green Key Director adds: “I am pleased that WESSA has decided to make the Green Key programme now also easily available to tourism establishments in South Africa, and with WESSA being in charge of the work, I am very confident that Green Key will become a success in South Africa.”

Global Action Days November 2015

It’s that time of the year again. Time to act and help the environment! The Global Action Days is a campaign by the Foundation for Environmental Education to activate students and teachers to lead the change for a more sustainable world by getting involved in fun-filled, informative, activities.

Participating in constructive, meaningful actions helps young people to see the point of being involved, and aids their understanding of what they can do themselves to help the environment.

It’s all very simple. Plan your action, document the action by taking pictures, making a video or writing an article, register your school online and SHARE with the rest of the world on our Global Action Days Facebook group in the week of 9-15 November 2015.

Remember to ask your schools to include your country name or some other code in their posts, so you can then find everything happening in your country when using the search field! 

The chosen theme for Global Days of Action 2015 is Climate Change because of the Climate Conference known as COP21 which takes place in Paris later this year. The conference is about all governments agreeing to a deal to significantly reduce man-made Climate Change. As Climate Change is such a huge topic, FEE believes it is the ideal theme to focus on in 2015. 

All information on how to join this action can be found at www.ecoschools.global/global-action-days

#globalactiondays

@FEEInt @EcoSchoolsInt

Slovenia launch the Learning about Forests programme September 2015

The Learning about Forests programme is going from strength to strength! Monday 28 September, our FEE member organisation, Društvo DOVES - FEE Slovenia, launched the Learning about Forests programme. 

Rachel Boyle, International LEAF Director, welcomed Slovenia on board and looks forward to watching the programme grow in Slovenia!

The programme was launched at the annual conference of the Eco-Schools programme . Over 450 eco-coordinators from 285 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and faculties participated at the Conference. Guests of honour at the conference were: Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Mr. Dejan Zidan, and Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mr. Bart Twaalfhoven.
 
Lek Pharmaceuticals will help support the programme in Slovenia. Ms. Katarina Klemenc, LEK/Sandoz group; director of Corporate Communications attended the launch.
 
The Learning about Forests (LEAF) programme, run by FEE International, was presented by Rachel Boyle, International Director of the programme. It is expected that kindergartens and schools will participate in the programme as forest is included as a topic within main themes of the Eco-Schools programme in Slovenia and many activities already related or even focus on forests. The main purpose of launching the LEAF programme in Slovenia is therefore to make the topic of forest systematically approached and consequently more visible and exposed.  This is important as 60 % of Slovenian territory is covered with forests which puts it on the third place in Europe.