Berlin Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development
The UNESCO Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, held virtually from 17-19 May 2021, underscored the urgency with which steps need to be taken, including strong leadership to transform education and to ensure ESD is embedded as a foundational element in education systems worldwide. The 2,800 participants from 161 countries adopted the Berlin Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development in order to make ESD foundational at all levels.
Over 230 participants from 35 countries gathered online for the Virtual Higher Education Summit 2020 (HES2020) from 31 August to 2 September 2020. People from various communities interacted with each other to achieve a more systemic and effective understanding of how to enable transformative learning for sustainable development while also assuring quality at higher education institutions. We asked some of the conference organizers and speakers to reflect on the event and selected a few snippets – take a look at the video report! In addition, material and session recordings continue to be available to registered participants on the conference website.
A multiplicity of educational experiences, programs, and approaches exist or are currently being designed in, on, or for mountains. This focus issue of Mountain Research and Development (Vol 40, No 4), offers some answers to the question of how education can contribute to sustainable development in mountain areas. Articles present examples and insights from around the world. Covering a wide range of formal and informal education at all levels, including practical training and lifelong learning opportunities, they provide a basis for future research, policy, and action.
A movement of French researchers invented "Camille Noûs", an imaginary scientific author intended to embody the collective dimension of scientific research. His creation seeks to underline that the sense of collective work has been devalued and forgotten during the last decades in academia, through various neoliberal research policies that prioritize competition over cooperation, and thereby favor individualism at all levels. Their manifesto points out important dimensions of research sustainability.
Frontiers in Sustainability opens a new research topic on "The Role of the Human Dimension in Promoting Education for Sustainable Development at the Regional Level". The theme is closely sociated with ESD and learning processes on regional level, where diverse actors are involved. Deadlines: Abstracts by June 2021 (not obligatory) and manuscripts by January 2022 via the Frontiers online system. 
The Center for Sustainability Transformation and Responsibility (STaR) at the Vienna University of Economics and Business is one of the organizers of the upcoming NBS workshop to be hosted in Vienna and online from 12-15 July 2021. The workshop goal is for leaders of sustainability centers to work collectively toward not just reacting to a "new normal", but proactively leading their business schools in shaping it. 
The book "Developing Sustainability Competences Through Pedagogical Approaches. Experiences from International Case Studies" edited by Prof. Rodrigo Lozano and Dr. Maria Barreiro-Gen (both University of Gävle) integrates practice-based original research on how sustainability is incorporated in curricula, the competences being developed, and the pedagogical approaches being used to develop the competences.
The face mask has become part of our daily attire and most likely will continue to be so for some time as the main measure of protection against COVID-19. Its use has led to a considerable increase consumption and production of plastic and other materials, with a serious negative impact on the environment. The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has joined forces with two Basque companies to give a second life to used masks.
The Sustainability Journal accepts contributions to a Special Issue on "Sustainable Development Goals in Tertiary Education for Sustainability". Higher education institutions are engaged, through education, research, and regional and international partnerships. Educators and researchers have taken innovative steps towards improving education regarding sustainability challenges by implementing ambitious transitions in higher education, developing pedagogical skills and experience, and gaining in-depth knowledge and expertise. However, there is a need for increased knowledge sharing, exchange, and reflection. The Special Issue aims to promote the exchange of research on education experience and insights in this important field of knowledge on a global scale. 
The 11th World Environmental Education Congress is dedicated to "Building Bridges in Times of Climate Urgency". The WEEC will take place from 14-18 March 2022, for the first time in its history, both on-site in Prague and online. One parallel section will focus on re-thinking environmental education from an arts & ethics perspective. Abstracts can be submitted until 31 August 2021.
“How can transformative learning for sustainable development foster the doughnut economy?” That is the question raised for the next CA Conference, which will be hosted by our new member Hasselt University. Taking into account current global circumstances, UHasselt and CA have decided to split the conference in two: On 9 December 2021, a virtual teaser event will be held and in the week from 5-9 September 2022, Hasselt University will welcome participants to a physical conference in Belgium. Please save the dates!
On 4 February 2021, the cross-faculty Institute for Sustainable Development and Learning at Leuphana University Lüneburg (ISDL) hosted Distinguished Professor of Education Heila Lotz-Sisitka from Rhodes University to speak at its inaugural dialogue series on ESD for 2030. The dialogue mobilized members from education and sustainability learning communities from around the world focusing on the theme "Building forward better through ESD for 2030: The next chapter for sustainability learning" to generate conversation on the role of the new framework in recovery and reconstruction from the pandemic.
As the first university in Austria the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna recently published a Sustainability Report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The report focuses on five areas: teaching, research, exchange with society as well as operations and organizational culture in the context of sustainability. The full sustainability report is available online (in German). 
The Global Universities and Colleges Climate Letter is now official partner to the UNFCCC Race to Zero. As a proud signatory of the Global Climate Letter the CA encourages its members and friends to sign up and be part of the Race to Zero. The aim is to get as many networks and institutions as possible on board in order to showcase the commitments towards the attainment of SDG 4 (Education) and 13 (Climate Change). 
Researchers at the Wuppertal Institute, Leuphana University of Lüneburg and Freie Universität of Berlin developed a handbook for the promotion of transformative and transdisciplinary competences within the framework of a new learning format called "Transformative Innovation Lab".
The University of Bern has set itself the goal of becoming a climate-neutral institution by 2025 in all areas in which it has direct influence. This ambitious goal is not only a necessity for the University of Bern due to continuing unchecked global warming, but also a question of credibility, as it is one of the world’s most acclaimed research institutions in climate change research. Furthermore, in its Strategy 2021, the University of Bern commits to integrating sustainability as an interdisciplinary issue in all areas of the university and promoting the respectful use of ecological, economic and social resources.
