COPERNICUS Alliance

A special collection of the Frontiers in Sustainability Journal was dedicated to the theme "The Role of the Human Dimension in Promoting Education for Sustainable Development at the Regional Level". It features ten articles by 32 authors in total. Members of the CA Team and CA Advisory Board have been involved as editors and reviewers. The aim of the research topic is to reflect on sustainability transitions on a regional level, the diverse actors and learning processes and how this impacts reaching a complex but common goal. The articles draw on experiences from the international network of Regional Centres of Expertise.

The Jena Declaration was launched in 2021 and currently counts almost 1,000 individual and institutional signatories. The CA is proud to support the declaration alongside many UNESCO Chairs, international organizations and academies of sciences, arts organizations and networks, business companies, and civil societies movements. The Jena declaration commits to the UN SDGs and follows six principles. It is a plat­form to coor­di­nate local com­mon actions glob­al­ly for a deep trans­for­ma­tion, which involves NGOs, schools, and others to encourage communities and governments to actively change in favor of sustainability. 

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Politics4Future is a project aimed at pre-service teachers towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.7 (ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development). It is an intercultural hybrid teacher education curriculum developed by a group of universities including Leuphana University Lüneburg. Politics4Future is implemented as part of an existing cooperation between the partners under the newly launched UNESCO Chair network on Education for Sustainable Development and Social Transformation.

The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is committed to environmental protection and a healthier and more active campus and lifestyle. For the tenth time in a row, the UPV/EHU has participated in the celebration of the European Mobility Week from 16-22 September 2023 under the slogan "Combine and Move!".

The 10^th edition of the Living Knowledge Conference will take place from 26-28 June 2024 at the University of Girona. Under the theme "Building and sustaining next generation engagement" it aims to bring together all involved in doing or supporting research with and for communities, including those newer to the field. If you are working with or supporting community-based research, engaged research, citizen science, science shops or similar, and are ready to favor interactive sessions over one-way presentations, you are welcome to submit your proposal by 23 December 2023.

Education and culture can play an important role towards social transformation. But, how can they promote this change? The summer course "Education and Culture for Sustainable Development" of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), which took place from 3-4 July 2023 in Bilbao and San Sebastian-Donostia, sought answers to this and other questions.

Urban Shift proudly presents seven green startups that resulted from the first round of this transdisciplinary and international education programme. Young creative professionals pave the way toward a sustainable future by developing green, out-of-the-box business ideas and prototypes. Shortly, there will be a second round, focusing on extreme weather events and mobility. Are you an expert in the field and happy to help green business ideas with insights from the field? 

A recent survey conducted by University of Maribor examined the status of CA member universities on their journey towards achieving sustainability goals on campus, with a focus on climate actions. The survey shows that there is progress towards sustainability goals, but there are still obstacles to overcome. Universities are interested in guidelines, best practice exchange, and expert advice. The detailed results are summarized in a report.

After 14 months of intensive work, the EU Erasmus+ project TRACCskills has published a draft compendium for educators entitled "Unlearning for a Thrivable Future". It supports educators in designing and delivering transformative adult education, both formal and non-formal, to convey competences that cover in a cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral way the behavioral aspects of sustainable development.

The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) teamed up with an NGO to address the problem of marine litter. In joint activities involving the entire university community they collected waste and contributed to water pollution awareness and research.

With the ESD-chair of Prof. Heike Molitor, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) sets impulses in research and practice of Education for Sustainable Development. The working group Sustainability at Brandenburg Universities, which is headed by Dr. Jennifer Krah under the professional direction of Prof. Dr. Heike Molitor, has released two publications to support the curricular integration of HESD and the capacity building of teaching staff and multipliers in this field.

To counteract the climate crisis, BOKU Vienna has set itself the goal of achieving net-zero-emissions by 2040! This means a 90 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and an offset only for the residual emissions (max. 10% from the base year). As a mid-term goal the university aims to reduce 2/3 of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, which is outlined in a roadmap. The baseline for the BOKU path to climate neutrality is the BOKU greenhouse gas balance of 2019 and it is in line with the science-based targets (SBTi).

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The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the Climateworks Centre, and Monash University have developed the Net Zero on Campus Initiative. It consists of a "how-to" guide and an accompanying online toolkit that will enable universities and colleges to accelerate the planning and implementation of net zero strategies, and act as living laboratories for testing solutions. The official presentation including the launch of a community of pactice will take place on 20 April alongside the Earth Day Celebrations. 

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United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR) have launched a free massive open online course (MOOC) on "Nature-based Solutions for Disaster and Climate Resilience" designed for everybody wanting to develop the theme of environment, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The course is available until August 2023 and can be completed with a certificate.

Urban Shift is an experimental, impact-based, and transdisciplinary education programme that focuses on creating lasting change by bringing together stakeholders from Higher Education Institutions, a Vocational Education Institution, urban experts, and business partners. Aspiring entrepreneurs will create green business solutions for tackling urban challenges.

For decades, scientists have been trying to draw attention to the threats of the climate and environmental crisis through classic science communication. Nevertheless, the long overdue transformation of society is a long time coming. Given the urgency of the situation and the slow pace of politics, it is time for scientists to step out of their ivory towers and engage in more direct forms of action to position themselves in the public discourse. Researchers at the BOKU Vienna took action.

The University of Graz aims to foster environmental measures at all levels. "Green Buddies" are departmental volunteers who promote activities related to energy, waste, procurement, resources and mobility in their departments and exchange with the environment and sustainability team of the university.

From 14-15 December 2022, the Ubuntu Committee of Peers for the Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs) met in Tokyo. The CA was represented by CA Advisory Board member Jana Dlouhá. The RCE network is an important partner of the CA and some CA members also coordinate an RCE.