Streams

Environment is a new area in the education, training and skills development landscape, however no strong structures exist for dealing with environment as a cross-cutting concern in the education and training landscape. This session explores technical and vocational education and the enabling conditions to support the greening of TVET through policies, funding and other support mechanisms drawing on international examples. The session also shares work done by the National Environmental Skills Planning Forum on a suite of resources on environmental careers to support understandings of learning pathways into green occupations.

Join UNESCO UNEVOC (Bonn), Dr Presha Ramsarup and Dr Glenda Raven.

You can view the presentations for this session here.

Communities should be made aware of the impacts of their actions on the environment and should play an active role in environmental decision-making. Join

Dr Million Belay who will speak about "African communities and the narrative of industrial agriculture" . The session will explain how the narratives of industrial agriculture: communities knowledge is backward, and it has to be replaced with modern understanding of farming; the yield gap in the production of food can not be covered without the use of agrochemicals; land under farmers hand is not productive, and it has to be given to those who can use it correctly; the seed that farmers have is tired and is not productive, and it has to give way to high yielding varieties, etc. The presentation will give an alternative narrative, which is agroecology. Agroecology will be presented as a mode of transition to healthy, productive, nutritious, environmentally sustainable, culturally appropriate and based on the right to food principle. Examples will be presented from all over Africa, and a meta-level analysis will be given to support the narrative.

Mr Isaac Gcina Dladla who will speak about "Towards a Circular Economy Imperative for Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa" . The biggest challenge facing ordinary communities and humanity in general in the era of the fourth industrial revolution is how we can give all the material we use to manufacture products and goods a second life in order to keep our natural resources where they serve us most- in nature! This talk will seek to expound the concept of circular economy, which is premised on the idea of eliminating the concept of waste. It will seek to emphasize a proposition that all materials must ultimately re-enter the economy at end of use as defined, valuable technical or biological nutrients.

Dr Jim Taylor will lead us into discussion on “Action learning, community mobilization and indigenous knowledge in COVID times”. Action Learning, in various forms, is becoming a popular where environmental education seeks to be inclusive, practical and engaging, rather than top-down and message-centred. This session will briefly share the 5 T’s of action learning before addressing how such community-based approaches are mobilising communities in remarkable and inspiring ways. By linking to indigenous knowledge processes the learning and social change is becoming much more relevant to communities rather than a form of awareness raising from the outside, as it were. A number of innovations will also be described in the session such as Citizen Science; teaching in COVID times using What’s App group chat. In places where unemployment is high and poverty is rife, and yet people are still volunteering for the common-good, the decentralised uBuntu Payments for Sustainability Practices is also being explored.

To view presentations for this session click here.

Digital education and ICTs are an essential component of the implementation of ESD, both in terms of strategic innovation, pedagogy renewal, teacher training, inclusive school development and partnership with other actors of sustainable development. Join

Shafika Isaacs as she discusses "Emerging Approaches to Remote and Digital Learning in Africa".

Wilma Van Staden who will speak about "Online Course Development: transitioning from conceptual to contextual".

Crispen Dirwai & Caroline Chirume who will take us into "The leap into digital learning for ESD and quality education-Zimbabwean experience".

To listen to presentations for this session click here.

The key outcomes of this session is to support multi-actor dialogue on Climate Change education to share and highlight opportunities and possibilities for the enhancing and creating greater coherence and progression of Climate Change adaptation and mitigation strategies into education policies, practice and professional development in teacher education and schooling.

Join our knowledgable panelists Distinguished Professor Heila Lotz Sisitka, Elke Vanwildemeersch, Mapula Tshangela, Kanthan Naidoo and Dr. Justine Lupele as they deliberate,

How do we bridge the science, policy and education interface in Climate Change education?
What are important elements for policy in terms of teachers, teacher educators, learner’s curriculum? Schools?
What key ideas should frame CCE to help knit the patchiness together?
How do we balance the science and pedagogies of hope, agency and adaptation approaches?

To view presentations for this session click here.

Climate change poses a huge challenge for humanity and requires “a revolution of the heart, mind and urgent action”. The recent Covid 19 pandemic has highlighted the need to rethink education to enable greater resilience during times of crisis. However, it also highlighted the need to relook at what we are valuing, what we are teaching, how we are teaching and assessing and how we support the solutionist and innovative thinking in helping to address real matters of concern in society.

Education has a critical role to play in inspiring volitional action for agency-based approaches to climate change. By raising awareness and engaging in critical dialogues and skills development, education becomes an important catalyst for engaging and responding to Climate change.

Teachers particularly are change agents and have an important role to play in the fight against climate change.

Join Distinguished Prof. Coleen Vogel, Assoc. Prof Ingrid Schudel, Loran Piek and Dr. Charles Chikunda as they examine the Transformative approchaes to climate change.

To view presentations for this session click here.

Education is considered an important element for raising awareness and skills development for climate change. The recent events of COVID 19 have highlighted the vulnerability of the schooling system to stresses and risks. Schools and the learners they serve are often most affected by either natural or man-made disasters with learners’ opportunities for learning disrupted. It is important to develop resilient institutions that will be able to withstand the stresses and vulnerability that Climate Change creates.

The session highlights some examples of practice-based approaches to Climate Change education. It explores the good practices and highlights key lessons and approaches that can be drawn on to support whole institution approaches and learner’s agency.

Join Dr David Monk, Ms Cindy lee Cloete, Mike Irvine, Caleb Mandikonza and Veronique De Grave as they deliberate "What approaches would support the engagement of whole school and institution involvement in developing climate resilience"?

To view presentations for this session click here.

Working on ESD as a matter of concern in the SADC region has been grounded strongly over the past 38 years. Many of the practitioners, environmental educators and researchers in the region have worked tirelessly through processes of co-engaged, generative learning to create a system of knowledge and practice which can be drawn upon to help inform future pathways to Climate Change education and to inform future practices and research linked to education across the system.

Join Prof. Rob o' Donoghue ,Prof. Overson Shumba, Dr. Sheperd Urenje, Preven Chetty and Kgomotso Thomas as they deliberate:

What are some of the key learnings focussed on teacher education, learners, schooling institutions, youth, community across the system of formal and informal learning?

What do we still need to do?

How can we do things better for more systemic impact at all levels of the system

To view the presentations for this session click here .