Relevance and Concept

Relevance

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The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development has stimulated a great deal of activity related to educating people of all ages to create a more ustainable world. The Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs) are a good example of this increased activity. Where RCEs have been established, we see noticeable changes: awareness of sustainability has grown, curricula that incorporate sustainability have been developed and ESD programmes have been initiated. In these ways, RCEs have enhanced education’s contribution to a more sustainable society.

Concept

An RCE is a network of existing formal, non-formal and informal education organisations, mobilised to deliver education for sustainable development (ESD) to local and regional communities. It builds an innovative platform for multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary information-sharing, dialogue and collaboration for promoting ESD among regional/local stakeholders. Additionally it also creates a regional/local knowledge base to support ESD activities.

A network of currently 117 RCEs worldwide constitute the Global Learning Space for Sustainable Development. Together, these individual RCEs aspire to achieve the goals of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development by translating its global objectives into the context of the local communities in which they operate.

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