This year’s conference was special as it marks 20 years of the Global RCE Network, a world-wide initiative founded by the United Nations University Institute for Advanced Study on Sustainability (UNU-IAS) to advance education for sustainable development (ESD).
The 14th RCE Global Conference "Rethinking Learning for a Sustainable Future: 20 Years of RCE Action and Innovation” provides an inspiring space for RCE members to reflect on their collective journey - past, present, and future, sharing knowledge, celebrating achievements and collectively shaping the future of ESD.
The conference featured inspiring keynote speeches, dynamic plenary and breakout sessions, and many workshops to demonstrate the 20 years of RCE’s impact and innovation in the field of ESD around the world. The topics such as supporting youth participation, capacity building of educators, transforming learning environment, and fostering innovation in ESD with emerging technologies were discussed. The anniversary publication was launched, which showcased RCE’s 20-year history, detailing the network’s growth and accomplishments, and an award ceremonie was held for projects that have empowered local communities to advance progress on the SDGs.
The highlight of the conference was the adoption of the Okayama Declaration 2025 for a sustainable future. The declaration reflects and calls for the global RCE network to create a sustainable future together through education - the shared vision of the RCE network.
The conference was co-organized by the UNU-IAS, RCE Okayama, and the Okayama City Government and supported by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan and the Okayama University.
The Hanns Seidel Foundation Mongolia supported the activities of RCE Mongolia by inviting representatives of the Environmental Education Center of the National University of Mongolia to the conference, providing an opportunity to learn, collaborate, and connect with global RCE Network around the world.
