The COPERNICUS Alliance has recently entered an important international partnership which aims to raise the profile of higher education at the Rio+20 Summit and propose recommendations on how the sector can contribute to the green economy. The international partnership is constituted by the following organisations:
the COPERNICUS Alliance in Europe
- the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in North America
- Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) in Australia and New Zealand
- Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi)
- Korean Association for Green Campus Initiative (KAGCI) in South Korea
- Promotion of Sustainability in Postgraduate Education and Research network (ProSPER.NET) in the Asia-Pacific
- Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) in the UK
- Fondaterra – Fondation Europeenne pour des Territoires Durables in France
- United Nations Environment Programme – Environmental Education and Training Unit (UNEP-EETU) in Kenya
The partnership is negotiating a collective vision regarding higher education and sustainability for the Earth Summit. This coordinated approach is critical to enhance the profile of higher education during the Rio+20 Conference. Formal plans for the side event will be submitted to Rio+20 organisers before 30 March 2012. We are aware that there are limited spaces for side events at the Conference and that the UN has already received many submissions from a wide range of organisations. We will know later in April as to whether our joint proposal has been accepted.