From Local to Global. For More Sustainable and Innovative ... · 3. Startegy workshop 4. Pilot hubs 5. Technical workshop for pilot hubs 6. Publication timeFrAme: 01 September 2015

International project “Local Research and Education Hubs- key for sustainability education” (No.CBSSPSF/SC 042015/4)

From Local to Global. For More Sustainable and Innovative Baltic Sea Region

Acknowledgement

This report is compiled by Inga Belousa and Inese Vaivare, LAPAS, on behalf of the network BSRESDN. Parts of report are developed based on information provided by project partners Susanne Zetterblom (Sweden), Sofia Savelava (Belarus), Rea Raus (Estonia), Sinikka Suomalainen (Finland), Paula Lindroos (Finland), Johanna Fredenberg (Finland), Ilga Salite (Latvia), Laima Galkute (Lithuania), Kestutis Navickas (Lithuania), Barbara Mazur (Poland), Olga Senova (Russia) and last but not least Tamara Malkova (Ukraine) and Olga Ignatenko (Ukraine). And others who contributed to the project as participants of events.

Riga, June 2016

This publication is produced within the project “Local Research and Education Hubs- key for sustainability education” (No.CBSSPSF/SC 042015/4) with financial support of CBSS Project Support Facility. LAPAS holds responsibility on the content of the publication and relevance to the project.

CONTENT

1. About the project .............................................................. 4

2. Context .............................................................................. 6

3. BSRESDN network ...........................................................11

4. Local Hubs for Sustainable Development ..................... 14

4.1. Local hub of graduates of Daugavpils University in Research and Education for Sustainability Education ................. 16

4.2. STATERA ESD HUB ................................................................ 20

4.3. Local Hub for Local Economy .................................................... 23

4.4. Local Hub in Berdychiv District ................................................. 26

4.5. Local Hub on Strengthening Cooperation for Implementing Sustainable Development Goals .......................... 30

4.6. St. Petersburg Hub for Sustainable Water and Coastal Development ................................................. 34

4.7. Local Hub “Students as Leaders of Change for Local Communities’ Sustainable Development” .................... 38

4

PArtners:

• SWEDESD (sweden),

• Charity Information Center

“Green Dossier” (Ukraine),

• Statera (estonia),

• Centre for Lifelong Learning

(Finland),

• UNESC chair at Daugavpils

University (Latvia),

• LAPAS (Latvia).

There have been many processes and activities that have served as a ground for wide range of educational developments. Different settings have been favorable to establish development education, global education, sustainable educa-tion, citizenship education, multi-cultural edu-cation and even more different types of learn-ing.

Change of paradigm on development, global SD processes with local impact and vice ver-sa – individuals having high impact on global agenda, target groups on global development and new players, change of networking from formal to fluid networks, new networking tools – all these perspectives require suitable response.

The project has been developed on the conclu-sions and challaenges defined in the first two phases of Baltic Sea Region Network on Sus-

1. ABOUT THE PROjECT

About the Project

5

Project Activities:

1. Research on systematization and needs assessment

2. Strategy of network3. Startegy workshop4. Pilot hubs5. Technical workshop for pilot hubs6. Publication

timeFrAme:

01 September 2015 – 01 July 2016

BUdget:

63131,71 EUR, co-financed by CBSS Project Facility and project partners

tainable Development and experience of Lat-vian Platform for Development Cooperation.

The vision of the project is a society were peo-ple collaborate and network globally and re-gionally to address local sustainable develop-ment challenges and are able to find the most appropriate solutions for them.

The main aim of the project is to promote ca-pacities of individuals in development by in-stitutionalizing suatsainable multi-stakeholder network by responding to changing develop-ment environment and capacity building needs of all stakeholders involved at all levels.

The main activities are analysis of institutional environment, needs assessment and develop-ment of strategy, introductory support phase for stakeholders to join institutional setting by establishment of local hubs and publication of best practice.

About the Project

6

2. CONTExT

Several global frameworks to guide the effort to solve global challenges have emerged dur-ing the past decade. Especially significant has been the UN Decade of Education for Sus-tainable Development (UNESD, 2005-2014) that produced relevant declarations, guidelines, recommendations, reports and resources. As a continuation of the UNDESD there is the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (GAP on ESD) that seeks to generate and scale-up actions for ESD

and to make a substantial contribution to the post-2015 development agenda. The process of arriving at the post 2015 development agenda was led by Member States with the broad par-ticipation of different civil society stakeholders. On 25 September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the uni-versal, integrated and transformative “Trans-forming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustain-able Development” that introduces a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

Context

7

These 17 goals are specified by the network of 169 targets. The goals and targets balance all three dimensions – social, environmental, economic – of sustainable development. The aim of the 17 SDGs including 169 targets is to make the goals more universal and seek to complete what has not been achieved within the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) frame. SDGs recognise that eradicating pov-erty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an urgent requirement for sustainable de-velopment. The SDGs is framing an action over the next 15 years in areas of substantial importance for humanity and the planet at both a global and local level. All stakeholders need to be engaged at all levels to be able to achieve all 17 goals including the 169 targets. Thus, the use of skills, knowledge and strength of each stakeholder is crucial in order to col-laboratively address the SDGs not only within informal and non-formal learning and educa-tion, but also at a local and regional level. These arguments clearly indicate that the concept of ESD can be applied as relevant framing of the educational part of achieving the new SDGs.

Over the past decades the field of education has changed significantly. With increased recogni-tion, besides its formal character we acknowl-edge equal importance of non-formal and informal education and lifelong learning that has introduced a wide scope of success stories shaped by cross-disciplinary and transdiscipli-nary education, networking and partnership building, multi-stakeholder approach, commu-nity based education, raising public awareness, digital and online learning, to mention but a few. It means that education has transferred its implementation from institutions of education to the context of everyday life.

In a world of global markets, internationalisa-tion has a profound effect on education. As ed-ucation is basically designed to respond to the continuously changing needs of a developing society, its greatest challenge in current times is to contribute to building a sustainable fu-ture. As a response to this challenge, education for sustainable development (ESD) has been implemented. ESD aims at ensuring every hu-man being acquires knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape hopeful or sus-tainable future that integrates social, economic or environmental development. Also, ESD is an overall global umbrella for all types of edu-cation – formal, non-formal and informal or everyday education. This umbrella has been designed by initiatives to deal with challenges that are shared globally and are related to key areas of sustainable development.

Context

8

GLOBALCHALLENGES

food securityand health

disaster and risk reduction

sustainable production and

consumption

people migration and local community

development

access to qualitative information and civic

engagement

inclusive dialog in a local community and global peace

climate change and personalresponsibility

preservationof biodiversity

Ways of solving these global challenges

are reflected in the education field as

different educational initiatives (called

dimensions or approaches).

EDUCATIONALINITIATIVES

globaleducation

consumerismeducation

climate change education

education for peace and justice

developmenteducation

interculturaleducation

human rights educationinclusive

education

global citizenship education

mediaeducation

Context

9

GLOBALCHALLENGES

food securityand health

disaster and risk reduction

sustainable production and

consumption

people migration and local community

development

access to qualitative information and civic

engagement

inclusive dialog in a local community and global peace

climate change and personalresponsibility

preservationof biodiversity

Ways of solving these global challenges

are reflected in the education field as

different educational initiatives (called

dimensions or approaches).

EDUCATIONALINITIATIVES

globaleducation

consumerismeducation

climate change education

education for peace and justice

developmenteducation

interculturaleducation

human rights educationinclusive

education

global citizenship education

mediaeducation

Context

10

Social Innovation is the result of intentional work of people trying to make a positive change by addressing complex global challenges at their roots. Social innovation is also a process that creates changes, reduces the vulnerability of people and the environment.

There are very many initiatives, projects, plat-forms that support social innovation but main-ly they are focused on improving entrepreneur-ship and public services.

1 Read more on concept, policies and country profiles www.bsresdn.com

Social Innovation is an opportunity to boost development in the Baltic Sea Region - cit-ies, SMEs, also non-technological innovation, including research on innovations. Especially ESD, with its process of transformative learn-ing, can add to social innovation human devel-opment and the sustainability perspective.

In general, all these educational initiatives introduce a global dimension, shape

the content of ESD, and aim to address different sectors – social, environmental,

economic – of a sustainable society. Also, these initiatives imply a critical

approach to knowledge that questions the assumptions and beliefs on which

contemporary economic, social and environmental systems are based1 .

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMENTALDEVELOPMENT

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Context

11

Towards the end of 2012, an idea was born to establish a cross-border, cross-sectoral network on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), which is now referred to as BSRESDN. The aim of this idea was to encourage interac-tion, joint learning and joint actions among ESD practitioners in educational systems both within the formal and informal settings be-yond the country borders. The now established Baltic Sea Region Network on Education for Sustainable Development (BSRESDN) has in its first two phases, organised conferences, capacity building training and workshops. This brought together different stakeholders from different sectors and 12 different countries to discuss issues of sustainability through ESD. The ongoing phase 3 of the network is aimed at scaling up horizontally, while focusing on capacity building at a regional level. This re-gional scaling up is to address the new Sus-

tainable Development Goals (SDG) through the use of new global development frameworks that are adapted to the local contexts of the member countries and that will be applicable to all countries in the world.

vision oF eds in A region

ESD is a powerful instrument of change for ensuring sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region.

ESD ensures holistic transformation of attitudes and forms of behaviour - trans-sectoral, trans-border at all levels for all stakeholders.

3. BSRESDN NETWORk2

2 Find more on www.bsresdn.com

BSRESDN network

12

ESD in the Baltic Sea Region establishes links from global to regional, from re-gional to national, local and individual.

ESD is a tool for wellbeing, scaling-up and social innovation in a region, involv-ing people in secure relations towards sustainable growth.

goAL oF Bsresdn

Empowerment of multistakeholder collabora-tion at the Baltic Sea Region level to promote ESD - building key competences, developing system and critical thinking in sustainable de-velopment to change the future from the indi-vidual to global level.

vALUes oF Bsresdn

Diversity in unity - shared solidarity and openness, broadening the borders;

Complexity in simplicity - finding simple and feasible answers for complex questions from global to local;

Flexibility to context - considering ex-ternal and internal change for the effec-tive achievement of goals;

Zoom in - zoom out - uniting local to global and vice versa;

Partnership driven - shared responsi-bility of internal and external develop-ment;

Personal and professional involve-

ment - bringing inspiration and change;

Trust and security - respecting every-one.

FUnctions oF Bsresdn

1. Sharing for learning - sharing of re-search, methods, materials and all other tools for the promotion and implementa-tion of ESD.

2. Opening personal and professional

spaces - organising events for the ex-change of experiences and knowledge.

3. Advocacy - support for scaling EDS at a national and international level, monitor-ing and evaluation of indicators, financ-ing and policy priorities.

4. Bringing ESD to the local level - es-tablishment of local research and educa-tion hubs to ensure ESD a global link to the local level and vice versa.

5. Research for the sustainable social in-novation process.

BSRESDN network

13

memBers oF Bsresdn

Open membership of all stakeholders - indi-viduals and activists, civic organisations, gov-ernment institutions, private enterprises, in-ternational organisations acting for ESD and taking into account the values of the network.

Find more on network www.bsresdn.com

BSRESDN network

14

To ensure the sustainable development of a local or regional community, hubs as multi-stakeholder based structures are introduced. With the help of the hubs’ initiative, novel (more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just) solutions to urgent social problems are going to be facilitated. Thus, a hub would ensure added value bringing benefits primarily to the local community rather than to single institutions or private individuals. In this case, a hub can be considered as social innovation that aims to ensure structural and strategic changes of im-plementing ESD in a local community setting. Also, BSRESDN strategy defines local hubs as one of the activity areas of how regional co-operation is linked to local development for sustainability.

Local hub is a flexible and inclusive platform for the development of sustainability ideas and a regional multi-stakeholder group of key ac-

tors. Hub helps a local community to include perspectives of each individual and supports personal and community development as the local people are seen as agents of change. Due to its openness the local hub can help to in-volve people with low security.

Each hub has a research component. To imple-ment it successfully higher education institu-tions are involved in each hub. Their particular role among others is to give feedback on exist-ing research and to suggest new research ini-tiatives. Action research has been considered as the most applicable methods of research to ensure successful functioning of a hub.

Local hubs shape local partnerships that act as facilitators of locally relevant global challenges selected by the stakeholders who represent the hub. Geographical area of a local region where a hub has been established can be defined in

4. LOCAL HUBS fOR SUSTAINABLE DEvELOPmENT

Local Hubs for Sustainable Development

15

different ways depending on locally character-istic conditions: availability of stakeholders, is-sues chosen to solve, etc. Baltic Sea Region pri-orities are another way of how to understand and address regionality. Also, as the SDGs

have been defined as a national framework, hubs are going to address SDGs and highlight the definite SDGs they would deal with. That would ensure the hubs’ long-term sustainabil-ity after the end of the project.

THE HUBS THAT HAvE

BEEN ESTABLISHED

ARE:

The Local Hub

for the Local

Economy

Local Hub “Students

as Leaders of Change

for Local Communities’

Sustainable

Development”

Local Hub

of Graduates of

Daugavpils University

in Research and

Education for

Sustainability

Education

Local Hub

on Strengthening

Cooperation for

Implementing

Sustainable

Development

Goals

St .Petersburg

Hub on Sustainable

Water and Coastal

Development

STATERA

ESD HubLocal Hub

in Berdychiv

District


16

4.1. Local hub of graduates of Daugavpils University in Research and Education for Sustainability Education

Unesco/UnitWin chair at

daugavpils University

Prof. ilga salite,

+371 29257455, [email protected]

UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair Interplay of Tradition and Innovation for Sustainable de-velopment in lifelong learning at Daugavpils University (further – UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair at DU) has been established based on global experience in preparation for DESD (2000-2004) and the implementation of DESD (2005-2014). UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair at DU has joined SWEDESD since 2012 and BSRESDN from its establishment. UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair at DU was es-tablished on the platform of global experience of DU which was developed during participa-tion in the preparation stage (2000-2004) and realisation of the aims of DESD (2005-2014). In Nagoya (2014) the Chair, as an internation-ally recognised player, became an active partic-ipant in the implementation of the goals and objectives of the Global Action Programme (2015-2020) and joined the UNESCO Chairs’ Network focusing on ESD as a partner for the realisation of GAP and SDG’s.

Daugavpils University (hereinafter – DU) has an old tradition in research in Environmen-tal education, Global Citizenship Education

(GCE) and ESD in teacher education, High-er Education and Education for all as well as research for social innovations. In 2002 DU established the Baltic and Black Sea Circle Consortium in Educational Research (fur-ther – BBCC) with the focus being on teacher education reorientation towards sustainability. Now BBCC as an open network has 10 years’ experience and a perspective on the reorienta-tion of Higher Education and research in edu-cation for ESD. DU has a focus on research for ESD and BBCC experience that was exhibited in the World’s congress in Bonn (2009).

goAL And Aims oF the hUB:

The purpose of the hub is to create a just and sustainable world in which every person can realise their rights. The Specific aim of the hub is to promote social innovation for SD through education by SD tools.

Activities And Achievements oF the hUB:

The main activities of the hub are the follow-ing:

Discussions about human resources and selection of the head of the hub,


17

Decisions about the development of the teachers’ network,

Hubs’ network workshops in Research and Education for sustainability educa-tion (e.g. organisational meeting, pilot workshop, practical seminar for the in-troduction of action research)

Elaboration of the concept of the hub,

Partner meetings.

tArget groUPs oF the hUB, strUctUre And coLLABorAtion:

Hub’s network is designed by diverse local teams of DU graduates (educators, representa-tives of other professions, local community leaders, etc.) who have an interest in maintain-ing cooperation with DU, participating in re-search, investigation experiences, collaborating with local stakeholders to promote social in-novations for flourishing sustainability in local relations and life.

The hub is established by UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair with the support of the fac-ulties of DU. Graduates from DU are included in the advisory board and invited to join the open network of the hub. In cooperation with the Faculty of Education and Management of DU the pilot network workshop for research and education has been organised. After the establishment of the hub such networks will be organised in other places if needed. During the

establishment of the hub its structure, process and network organisation, details in govern-ance, collaboration, research and development strategy and research including the planning of support and development, will be formu-lated during a series of meetings with the hub’s founders and network members.

Advisory board of regional stakeholders ap-proved by the DU UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair is responsible for decision making and coordination of the whole process of initiatives in the hub. For sustaining the initiatives and decisions of the advisory board at a national level, cooperation with UNESCO LNC and the Ministry of Science and Education will be developed. Main activities of the hub will be based on participative action research that gives possibilities to regional stakeholders to join the open network. Thus, the findings of the research will go from the bottom up and will provide a generalisation of the ideas to be implemented in regional development. This approach allows one to identify the effective social innovations for the region and to make decisions regarding sustainability. Research and development coordination will be imple-mented by the hub’s researchers and experts who participate in the process of the identi-fication of network research and development needs through involving network members in the so-called Hubs’ network workshops. These workshops will be organised according to the structure developed by the UNESCO Chair both at DU and in local communities that are members of the hub network.


18

LocAL, nAtionAL, gLoBAL And concePtUAL context oF the hUB:

The activities of the HUB are compatible with the current global priorities introduced by the Global Action Programme (GAP), post 2015 and SDGs, and with national priorities intro-duced by the Strategy of Sustainable Develop-ment and agenda in Latvia. The scope of ac-tivities organised by the hub is global in order to truly address the global challenges faced by people worldwide. The hub also focuses its ac-tivities on developing an inclusive, open and transparent process of partnership with mul-tiple stakeholders. SDGs will be the frame of reference for the hub in its research and social innovation activities.

Conceptual background of the activities or-ganised by the hub is based on the notion of social innovation and methodology of par-ticipative action research. Social innovation is understood as the introduction of new ideas in response to social needs and creating a new quality of life. To ensure this vision the activi-ties of the hub will advance and enable local stakeholders to reorient the development of education through social innovations, while at the same time meeting SDGs. Thus, effective innovations and decisions are authentic ideas and practices in the region, created by the par-ticipants of the hub’s network.

The hub will also provide participative action research that will invite researchers, stake-

holders from different levels and volunteers. Networking will open possibilities to explore findings from the bottom up and generalise ideas for implementation in education and educational research to reorient actions toward sustainability. Action research participants will be involved in

(a) identification of research and educational needs, such as social, environmental and economic needs,

(b) development of new solutions in response to these needs,

(c) evaluation of the effectiveness of the pro-posed solutions,

(d) scaling up of effective innovations and

(e) distribution of effective innovations in local conditions.

sUstAinABiLity oF the hUB:

The process initiated by the establishment of the hub will be sustained after the deadline of the project by integrating the principles of sustainable development into DU policies and Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral study pro-grammes and developing DU educators’ sus-tainability competencies. The hub is going to focus its activities on developing an inclusive and open partnership with multiple stakehold-ers for meeting regional and national needs for a just and sustainable world where every person can realise their potential and live free from poverty.


19

mULtiPLicAtion And PUBLicity oF the hUB’s initiAtives:

The hub as a network has the potential to be developed as an umbrella network of sev-eral other networks and new hubs. Pub-licity of the activities of the HUB may be found on the web pages http://du.lv/ and http://www.ise-lv.eu/. The stories of the suc-cess of the HUB will be disseminated in the Science Festivals of Daugavpils University, on the HUB’s partners’ home pages, in semi-nars with the students involved in Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctor’s level studies, and in international events and seminars where the UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair at Daugavpils University is represented.


20

4.2. STATERA ESD HUB

statera research and Practice

centre for sustainability and

regional development

Pargi, 44 90506 Haapsalu,

Läänemaa, Estonia

rea raus,

+372 50 72 383,

[email protected]

Statera has been an active member of BSRESDN since 2014 and works in the field of sustainable development, regional devel-opment and ESD. Statera belongs to several international and national, multi-stakeholder organisations and is actively involved in several initiatives, activities e.g. being responsible for the drafting of the national “Organic Estonia” strategy, belongs and is active in the local or-ganic farmers’ organisation, local community development networks and is responsible for the ESD conference series, organised in Esto-nia during 2016 (among other activities).


The hub is established to create broader dis-cussions on ESD among multiple stakehold-ers. As the understanding of SD is still limited to environment protection issues, broader dis-semination of global initiatives and discussions are needed to address multiple stakeholders.

Meeting target groups like organic farmers, municipality officials, other civil society organ-isations and unions, that are active in closely related fields, is essential to broaden the under-standing of sustainability as well as negotiate societal innovation as transformation process for more sustainable futures. Education, as a field itself, is in the middle of transforma-tion, so putting these changes into the context of sustainable development is urgent. Thus, the initial goal of the hub includes bringing together local levels of educators, teachers, non-formal education specialists, municipal-ity officials, parent organisations, organisations dealing with fields that are close to sustainable development etc., to initiate broad discussions on implementing GAP (includes SDG com-munication, overall discussion of global prob-lems focused on in Education for Sustainable Development). The main aim of the hub is to focus on quality and build a strong, sustainable national network of motivated participants.



Co-ordination of activities, profession-al presentations,

Multi-stakeholder seminar: cross-sec-toral two day seminar (2-3 April, 22 par-ticipants) with an aim to bring together the educators and entrepreneurs in order to initiate sustainable practices, imple-ment ideas, etc., that helped to clarify


21

ideas and topics to be discussed during the conference on 23 April;

Conference: thematic conference or-ganised in Haapsalu (23 April, 36 par-ticipants, guest speaker: Assoc. Professor Tiiu Kuurme (TLU)) and communicated through different media channels;

Meetings, seminars with different stakeholders locally and nationwide to provide information about SDG and GAP, to introduce the goals of the hub, to identify the core group of the hub, to negotiate and plan activities of the hub, to discuss possible cooperation;

PR, communication activities, media coverage activities: to ensure strategic and web-based communication, to make agreements with public media sources, to share information regarding the hub and its activities.

Since during the project a strong core group gathered to implement the activities, as an in-direct result of the project two more education conferences were held (in Pärnu and in Tal-linn), which fell outside the limits of the present project; however, the idea and topics were the same, as a need for and interest in such events all over Estonia was noticed. Statera Hub was also represented in the discussions on sustain-able rural development at the Commission of Rural affairs of the Estonian Parliament.


Educators, teachers, non-formal education specialists, municipality officials, parent or-ganisations, and organisations dealing with fields connected to sustainable development. The target groups were both (a) selected and invited to a 2 day seminar based on the cri-teria to represent different fields and different stakeholders (education, economy, teachers, trainers, entrepreneurs, etc.), (b) open choice, i.e. the conference was open to all interested participants.

The hub supports the organisation of events, communication between multiple stakeholder groups and dissemination of the information through different channels. It also co-ordinates activities in a more organized and targeted manner. ESTHUB complements the imple-mentation and monitoring of SDGs, especially in the field of education, economy and govern-ance.


Local context: In the case of sustainabil-ity transition, quality is more important than


22

quantity. This means it is important to ensure a deeper understanding and a holistic approach to activities rather than merely reaching the quantitative number of participants etc. As the concept of sustainability is not fully recognised in public, thorough discussions, individual mission and motivation are dimensions that need attention and time to provide the neces-sary, positive impact.

Link to the BSRESDN strategy: The BSRESDN network and hubs are closely linked, so the question of strengthening lies on both sides. Hubs make the network more integrated and the network helps to sustain the hubs. Since the hubs mostly target their activities at a local and national level, the overall network serves as a supporting expert group where different problems and questions are discussed, where professional assistance is gained. The hubs become active units for the network, strengthening the communica-tion and coherence of activities of and for the network. Hubs also become more organised centres for collecting relevant data, analysing, utilising research results and experience from Baltic Sea countries and ensuring the sustain-able implementation of GAP as a co-operative effort.

Link to SDGs: SDGs frame the context of the work of the network and are the link for local and global relationships.


The hub acts as a unit for and with BSRESDN, therefore the sustainability of the Hub and the

network are interlinked, supporting each other. Estonian hub mostly targets its activities at a local and national level, the overall network serves as a supporting expert group where dif-ferent problems and questions are discussed, where professional assistance is gained. The hub becomes an active unit for the network, strengthening the communication and coher-ence of activities of and for the network. Esto-nian Hub intends to become a more organised centre for collecting relevant data, analysing, utilising research results and experience from Estonia and ensuring sustainable implementa-tion of GAP as a co-operative effort.


The Hub activities have been discussed and strategically planned, due to the complex na-ture of “national innovation” that the initiative is aimed at. Thus, a PR agency is consulted to draft a strategic approach for the promotion of the topics and activities of the hub, to ensure the long-term sustainability effect of the hub’s activities. The results have been disseminated through network activities and different target groups, social media, webpages and connected networks. Statera’s webpage and FB page are used as platforms for communication but a PR agency’s support is used to reach a wider audi-ence and for public dissemination and promo-tion.


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4.3. Local Hub for Local Economy

centre for Lifelong Learning, Åbo

Akademi University

Fabriksgatan 2, FIN 20200 Turku

johanna Fredenberg,

+358 2 2154177,

[email protected]

The Centre for Lifelong Learning at AAU is running professional development courses, Open University courses and regional devel-opment projects where it functions as a bridge between the university and local community. Since 1996 the Centre has hosted the Archi-pelago Institute of AAU which, in cooperation with local stakeholders, runs projects in the is-land area and publishes the journal Skärgård. The Centre also hosts the Finnish national Baltic University Programme centre. The Cen-tre:

1) is an active member of BSRESDN activi-ties for at least two years; The Centre for Lifelong Learning has, as the host of the BUP-Fi Centre, actively participated in two previous BRESDN-projects.

2) works in ESD or related fields; The BUP network works with SD and ESD-related education and the production of learning materials in the whole Baltic Sea region. Furthermore, the centre participates in sev-eral national and international projects on ESD, and has coordinated local projects in the Archipelago (i.e. Future Scenarios, FLEX-ible working, Korpo 2040 (Leader)).

3) has experience in working with multi-stakeholder engagement at a local level; The above mentioned projects in the Archi-pelago area are always conducted in coop-eration with local stakeholders. Other ex-perience has been gained in projects such as for fish farmers, for the empowerment of women, the wider use of IT etc. in the Ar-chipelago area.


The Local Hub for Local Economy (LOHLE) aims at establishing a local hub for the support of a local, circular economy in the Archipelago region of SW Finland. This is the first step in creating a local hub on the local economy in the Archipelago of SW Finland. There is so far no similar hub or activity in Finland. The nearest similar activity is the village associations, but they do not focus on the holistic economy of the local societies. The activities organised by of the hub in the project have analysed money flow in and out of this specific region, and have looked for solutions to keep the money within the region (circular economy). We will bring the model to be used from Sweden. The learn-ing material/guide book model will also be taken from Sweden, but this material needs to be applied to Finnish circumstances, and using i.e. Finnish statistics.


24



Planning meeting represented by CLL and the three local associations, organ-ised in Nagu on 31 May, 2016,

Workshop represented by 28 participants of CLL, three local associations and in-terested public on the theme of the local economy, organised in Nagu on 6 June, 2016,

Meeting on local financing alterna-tives and projects, organised in Nagu on 7 June, 2016,

Preparation of a local economy intro-ductory guide for the further work of the hub, with outlines of the local economy analysis of this region elaborated by the coordinator of the hub and local associa-tions.


In general, the target groups of the hub are the local inhabitants, entrepreneurs and local au-thorities/municipality. Three local associations: Pro Nagu, Pro Korpo and Pro Houtskär are

the main actors of the hub, and they represent local inhabitants of three municipal areas. Sev-eral other stakeholders of the hub are: the mu-nicipality Pargas, local inhabitants who are not members of the associations mentioned above, the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Åbo Aka-demi University, and the Archipelago Institute.


Link to the BSRESDN strategy:

The hub supports the BSRESDN strategy in bringing in the local stakeholders – three lo-cal associations with a focus on issues of the utmost importance for sustainability in local scarcely populated areas.

Link to SDGs: SDGs is a link for local and global relationships. The hub will contribute to the following SDGs:

4. Education: the hub will contribute to in-formal learning, with the aim at transform-ative, change action;

8. Decent work and economic growth: the hub will contribute to a prospering local economy;

11. Sustainable cities and communities: the hub supports the wellbeing of local inhab-itants in scarcely populated areas;

12. Responsible consumption and produc-tion: the hub supports the use of local pro-duction and the consumption of food and other utilities.


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The establishment of the hub has been planned as the first phase of local economy activities that will be followed by projects in the coming years. There are already plans to apply for fur-ther financing (Leader) for the next step, dur-ing which the guide-book will be finalised and used in the hub. In the third phase the hub will concentrate on certain themes of the economy, such as energy, food production and logistics. Representatives of the local associations and municipality will further be involved in a work-ing group doing part of the work of analysis of the local economy and applying the results in a development plan for the local community.

Localising the economy is inevitable

from a sustainability point of view

and vital local economies make fu-

ture living and working in the ru-

ral, scarcely populated areas both

possible and attractive. Changing

people’s minds regarding the con-

nectedness and responsibility of the

local community will make them

prioritise local goods and services.

If the people of a community come

together creating a sense of family

and are willing to work for the com-

mon good, it might have huge im-

plications for the sustainability and

resilience of that local community.


The model created in the hub has been ap-plied to other local societies. This is a unique chance and opportunity, as this kind of activ-ity does not yet exist in Finland. The hub is presented on the website www.abo.fi/cll with a link to the other hubs and the BSRESDN pro-ject, and also on the BUP website www.bup.fi. The activities organised by the hub have been presented in the newsletters of the Centre for Lifelong Learning and the BUP.


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4.4. Local Hub in Berdychiv District

international charitable

organisation information centre

“green dossier”

12 Melnikova St., Kiev, 04050,

Ukraine

olga ignatenko

(project coordinator),

[email protected],

tamara malkova (director),

[email protected]

International Charitable Organisation In-formation Centre “Green Dossier” has been an active member of BSRESDN since its es-tablishment. The activities of the organisation are connected to the field of ESD and sus-tainable production and consumption starting from 90s. Information Centre “Green Dossier” is a member of ANPED - Northern Alliance for Sustainability, participant of the Pan-Eu-ropean Eco Forum, Carpathian coalitions for SD and ESD. The centre provides a number of related projects at national and international level, including research, campaigning, public discussions, training, a lot of publications and documentaries. Information Centre “Green Dossier” has more than 20 years of experience in working with multiple stakeholder projects at the local level.


The situation in the region selected as a pilot (3 municipalities of Berdychiv District of Zhy-tomyr oblast, Ukraine) is quite usual for many rural regions in the Ukraina: depressive rural area with poor infrastructure, poorly developed industry, and with the main income from pri-vate agriculture and small businesses. Young people do not want to stay in the region; they see their future in cities. Ukrainian govern-ment has declared a course of decentralisation that means that all municipalities are looking for new ways of developing now, and thus are ready to listen to innovators and follow SD principles among other new approaches. It is very important and now it is a good time to introduce a tool for SD and engage them in the global movement for a better common future. Having a clear vision about local peo-ple’s needs (research part of the project), about possible ways for cooperation and solving the problems (analysing and discussion part of the project) worked out by national and local ex-perts with the involvement of all stakeholders, the local community and authority, will be able to change their policy and life standards. The goal of the hub is to assist the development of a local sustainable developing strategy through education of local stakeholders and to create a team of local innovators that acts as a local ESD centre and cooperates with ESD hubs’ international network.


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Research of the situation that requires agreement with the local partner, distri-bution of tasks, development of a ques-tionnaire, organisation of a survey in the selected areas, analysis of the obtained data;

Working out of methodology and plan-ning of stakeholder discussions that in-volves defining stakeholders, developing approaches of stakeholders engagement, planning timing and sharing of informa-tion, involving relevant experts, preparing necessary materials;

Stakeholder round table for distribution of information, inviting participants, ar-ranging logistics, organising a one day meeting in the selected venue. The agen-da of the meeting includes the presen-tation of the research results, discussion about SD principles and real local needs, finding solutions together with experts, defining the most critical or conflicting points, and working out the main outline for further SD strategy;

Creation of a local team of innovators who are the promoters of SD principles;

Developing of recommendations and a road map for the regional SD strategy/ planning that involves presenting of the results of the stakeholder discussion to

the community, and developing recom-mendations and a road map;

Promotional campaign that is based on presentation of the pilot results to the public through a press event and social media, study visit for active participants, and linkage of the local team with inter-national ESD networks.

As a result, the hub initiates the formation of a team of SD innovators and a team of young innovators ready to develop their region and mainstream of SD goals. One of the significant achievements is the development of recom-mendations and a road map for SD regional strategy to be included into regional develop-ment plans.

The research demonstrated that there

is a huge need to provide an internet

service in the villages, so, we invited

an IT person (business) who devel-

ops internet and radio connection in

the region, and he explained how to

arrange it. Also, the research high-

lighted unemployment as a significant

problem, while at the same time there

is trouble with waste collection; no-

body wants to collect it, and nobody

is responsible for it. From one side we

invited the municipality authority, and

from the other side, the director of the

district employment service. It was

found that the new governmental de-

centralisation policy allows money to

be allocated for such needs from both

the municipality and the employment

service, hiring unemployed people for

particular tasks.


28


Target groups are representatives of the local community, administration and authority. The main stakeholders are local NGOs, district/village authorities, local businesses, educa-tors/teachers in the pilot area, young people/students, houseowners. They were selected in accordance with the needs defined by the re-search. Some of them were interviewed at the research stage; some were invited to the round table discussions. Young people were selected because it is fundamental to focus on the fu-ture. Regional media were also involved. With the help of the hub the local team is linked with international networks, and the team of young people develops cooperation with their colleges in other Baltic countries, establishing links between their region/schools and colleges from similar regions of other countries and/or university programmes.


Link to social innovation:

Such common work will assist in finding wise solutions at the local level in close cooperation with all stakeholders. For example, issues such

We arranged research of the situa-

tion in two steps: (1) desk research

and (2) survey of local people.

Desk research included collect-

ing and investigating official data

of the developing district (district

passport – official data), research-

ing of regional publications in open

sources, and comments/discus-

sions with local experts. The survey

questions were worked out based

on that research. We invited about

15 – 16 years young people to join

the project survey, go to their vil-

lages and ask the questions. The

questionnaire’s aim was to describe

the actual life of local people and

their main problems (Environment,

House holding, Studying, Working,

Mobility, Health, Security and Ad-

ministration, Leisure, Sources of In-

formation), and also how they would

like to see this in 20 years. The young

researchers interviewed 58 people.

The data collected was analysed by

both young researchers and Green

Dossier experts. Young researchers

prepared their own vision and made

a presentation at the stakeholders

meeting. Also, together with a local

partner NGO, they recorded the final

pitch and audio-clip with their opin-

ion about the discussion and promis-

es from the responsible participants

of the round table.


29

as a lack of clean water or waste management may become issues of developing new jobs and increasing social standards.


The local team in Berdychiv builds their work with the assistance of Green Dossier experts, national experts are involved and cooperation has been developed internationally. The local team is connected with colleges from other countries in the form of “twin municipalities\villages”, where cooperation and learning from each other is developed at several levels – ad-ministrations, businesses, and most important-ly – youth.


The initiative group of main stakeholders has created recommendations for local develop-ment that have been taken into account by the administration. The initiative group will con-tinue to assist in the local planning process, as well as in the monitoring of implementation.


Activities organised by the hub have been pro-moted on the regional TV, radio and in news-papers, on the relevant websites of partners in Ukraine and other countries, the organisation’s FB page and YouTube. Also, the team of in-novators has shared the experience with other regions and partner networks.

The young researchers were so in-

terested in activities that they cre-

ated an SD Centre called Heksada

(as there are 6 villages involved),

which started to work and were

ready to learn more and cooperate

with colleges from other regions and

countries. We also arranged a study

tour for the most active participants

to two well-developed villages in a

neighbouring Ukrainian region. The

SD Centre “Hegsada” has become

well known in the region thanks to

the regional mass media, video and

audio clips recorded and broadcast-

ing. It gives a good opportunity for

young people to state their willing-

ness to participate in the decision

making process, to learn from other

countries’ experience.


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4.5. Local Hub on Strengthening Cooperation for Implementing Sustainable Development Goals

Baltic environmental Forum (BeF)

Lithuania

9/2-17 Uzupio St., LT-01202

Vilnius, Lithuania

Kestutis navickas;

+370 5 255 9146;

[email protected]

Baltic Environmental Forum Lithuania, a non-governmental organisation, consists of a team of experts that carry out activities in en-vironmental policy-making and stakeholder involvement, projects in education, the man-agement of natural resources, climate change, energy efficiency, sustainable rural develop-ment as well as promoting voluntary public initiatives. Since 2003 BEF Lithuania has be-longed to an international BEF Group with offices in Latvia, Estonia, Germany and Rus-sia. The BEF Group is a network around the Eastern Baltic Sea Region of five independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisations. Offices in Hamburg, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and St. Petersburg cooperate and engage in joint activities from the international to local level.

Educational/capacity building components in-cluding the preparation of publications, hand-books, training materials are integrated into project activities and voluntary initiatives; spe-

cial public education and awareness raising is also on the agenda of BEF Lithuania. In the projects BEF brings the right actors together – from public authorities, science, business, industry or civil society by organising round tables, seminars, workshops, conferences and study visits to discuss different interests, to broaden the perspectives of relevant stakehold-ers in order to increase knowledge and bring forward sustainable solutions.

Since 2013, BEF Lithuania has been involved in RCE Lithuania, a certified member of the global network of Regional Centres of Exper-tise (RCEs), including RCEs in the BSR, that represents the global initiative in ESD of the United Nations University at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), Japan.

The main long-term objectives of REC-Lith-uania are to: (1) develop methodology and implement activities to mainstream ESD at different levels of the education system in-cluding formal and non-formal education; and (2) contribute to the sustainable development of specific territories by mobilising local re-sources as well as capacity building and inno-vation for a better quality of life.


SDGs are challenging, particularly for re-searchers and educators, in translating global targets to local contexts including policy, or-ganisational and personal capacity levels. Thus,


31

the goal of the hub is to initiate a dialogue on the role of higher education institutions and schools and the specific activities to be im-plemented in promoting and implementing SDGs.



Round table discussion that provided discussions for 52 stakeholders about the role of formal education promoting SDGs, organised on 26 May, 2016.

Consultations with representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, Education Development Centre, Na-tional Agency of School evaluation and Centre for Quality Assessment in High-er Education. The main focus was the 1st objective of the Global Action Pro-gramme for ESD, i.e. Reorienting educa-tion and learning so that everyone has the opportunity to acquire the values, skills and knowledge that empower them to contribute to sustainable development.

Preparation of recommendations for policy makers and practitioners for pro-moting SDGs within the formal educa-tion system based on desk analysis and conclusions of the round table discussion. Analysis of the strategic documents and

regulatory frameworks for secondary ed-ucation and higher education in relation to SDG 4 (to ensure inclusive and equita-ble education and promote lifelong learn-ing opportunities for all) has been worked out based on this round table discussion. Recommendations have been developed for translating global targets to the na-tional level including policy, organisa-tional (whole-of-institution approach) and personal capacity levels. An informative letter with recommendations has been disseminated to the main stakeholders of the formal education system. All partici-pants have been encouraged to present and discuss the recommendations in their institutions according to their interests. Recommendations have been sent to the Committee for Education, Science and Culture of the Lithuanian Seimas (the Parliament). A comprehensive discus-sion on SDGs is planned in the Seimas in September 2016.

The main achievement is that the network of organisations and individual actors has been identified at the national level in order to pro-mote education for sustainable development and citizenship education. They are to be in-vited to take part in future activities according to their interests in the activities of the Baltic Sea region. The three priorities of the Global Action Programme are to focus on promot-ing education for sustainable development in Lithuania, i.e. “Advancing policy”, “Building the capacity of educators” and the “whole-of-institution approach” (including quality assur-ance)” involving both secondary and higher education.


32


Three target groups representing formal edu-cation were identified as the most important: (1) representatives of the expert institutions of the formal education system that supports decision-making processes; (2) representa-tives of secondary schools; (3) representatives of higher education institutions (universities and colleges). Representatives of these target groups were to a different extent involved in all stages of the project, i.e. consultations, round table discussions and the development of Rec-ommendations. Representatives of the Minis-try of Education and Science were involved in the stage of consultations.

The activities of the hub are organised to-gether with partners: National Commission for UNESCO and Lithuanian Children and Youth Centre, providing a continuation of the networking projects implemented by the partners dedicated to sustainable universities and sustainable schools. Activities of the hub strengthen stakeholder cooperation coordinat-ed by RCE Lithuania.


Link to SDGs:

Currently, activities on the translation of SDGs into national strategies are initiated by the Prime Minister’s office, involving all Min-istries. Developed Recommendations will be immediately presented to the Governmental working group via representatives of the Min-istry of Education and Science; a comprehen-sive discussion is planned in Parliament in September 2016. Recommendations will also be implemented in the networks of sustainable universities and sustainable schools.


RCE Lithuania (therein represented by BEF Lithuania) will share experiences within BSR compatible with GAP on ESD priority areas, particularly local sustainable decisions, ‘whole-of-institution approach in ESD’ and develop-ing competences of educators.

Being involved in international ESD/SD net-works as well as coordinating several thematic networks at the national level, RCE Lithu-ania will contribute to BSRESDN by sharing information and experiences and promoting dialogue among regional/local stakeholders for ESD.


33


RCE Lithuania and BEF Lithuania in par-ticular are rather sustainable. RCE partners have different expertise and may join efforts for more complex initiatives and objectives to-wards sustainable development as well as es-tablish multiple partnerships based on differ-ent networks.

As the follow-up of the project two working groups have been planned: (1) at the Minis-try of Education and Science for developing guidelines for the integration of education for sustainable development and citizenship edu-cation into the National Curriculum, and (2) at the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education for updating Methodology for the Assessment of Higher Education Institutions.


Members of RCE Lithuania are going to be active actors within BSRESDN and contrib-ute to common strategy and specific activities. Publicity of the project outputs will be ensured by several sources and means:

Announcement about the event and main summaries of the round table discussion will be published through BEF Lithuania and relevant stakeholder’s websites, social media (Facebook, Linkedin).

Announcement about the event will be directly distributed to relevant stakehold-ers.

As the topic is relevant to current strate-gic trends, the main outputs will be sent to several thematic media.


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4.6. St. Petersburg Hub for Sustainable Water and Coastal Development

Friends of the Baltic (st.

Petersburg non-Profit, non-

governmental environmental

organisation)

12-101 Razvodnaya Street,

Petergof, St. Petersburg, 198516,

Russia

olga senova,

+7-921-9117986,

[email protected]

Friends of the Baltic (FB) is a regional NGO, working since 1996 in environmental educa-tion/public information and the promotion of small-scale sustainable solutions that are ac-cessible for everyone, thus empowering local environmental action. FB maintains a network of over 300 activists: teachers, active citizens, scientists and university staff, municipals, me-dia, and also works internationally within the Coalition Clean Baltic, CAN (Climate Ac-tion network), INFORSE-Europe, Baltic Sea Challenge, international SPARE. Main direc-tions of the work:

Rivers and the Baltic Sea – River Watch (public river monitoring), promotion of sustainable river basin management, pro-motion of solutions to reduce the human impact on the river environment, and sustainable coastal development.

Climate and Energy – SPARE (school project for the application of resources

and energy) combines education for schoolchildren and mobilisation of kids and teachers to run practical projects for improving energy efficiency in schools; Climate Ambassador’s project, where we train volunteers (regardless of age or edu-cation) to talk to various target groups about climate change and solutions.

Environmental solutions/lifestyle - Ecosupport project for schools, where “eco-advisors” (teachers and/or supply managers) are trained to choose envi-ronmentally friendly options for their schools (energy, resources, water, waste, public procurements).

We run Ecocentrum, a public informa-tion/demonstration centre for green so-lutions, established in 2007 in coopera-tion with Geteborg Ekocentrum.


Since 1994 FB has de-facto played the role of the proto-hub on the local level, bringing together stakeholders in order to protect local rivers and streams, reduce the human impact on the Gulf of Finland/Baltic Sea. The goal is to establish the St. Petersburg hub on sustain-able water and coastal development on the ba-sis of the Ecocentrum public information and demonstration centre. The hub aims to boost our joint activities and increase the capacity of our members and provide them with new ma-


35

terials and ideas for growth. In the short term the hub supports and strengthens the ongoing cooperation and enables collaboration between all the parties involved, in the long term it will help us to steer water protection and coastal conservation policy and practice in our region to be more sustainable.



Communication to select and recruit participants of the hub, and disseminate information on the project results;

Seminar for the stakeholders to discuss the key challenges and possible solutions, to plan opportunities for collaboration and joint activities (18 May, 2016). It has been organised as a field trip and helped to kick-start the multi-stakeholder pro-cess almost from scratch, focusing on the introduction of different views on the coastal development of St. Petersburg, and was an important step in facilitating the virtually non-existent conversation in this area;

Training of River Watch leaders on the public water and coastal monitoring and public involvement in sustainable solu-tions. This training was organised for 20 participants on 4 June, 2016 and pro-vided methodology/tools for summer in-

vestigations/expeditions and to enhance the capacity of RW teachers and improve their level of public monitoring activities. Also, it gave a boost to the local network of public monitoring nodes and provided reinforcement to the network – in the form of new techniques and materials;

Seminar for educators (both school and NGO) on how to introduce sustainable development issues into their educational activities. This seminar was organised on 9 June, 2016 with the participation of Estonian and Finnish partners and ex-perts - Russian scientists, and provided exchange of experience for teachers, find and discuss ways to incorporate SD is-sues into their work;

Produce printed materials that are a translation of the key principles of the BS region network for ESD, publication of the local hub experience.

As a result of these activities, a hub that pro-vides a meeting place for stakeholders to col-laborate and an information point with new materials to support the hub’s activities, is es-tablished.


Educators (both school teachers and NGOs): school teachers who are already involved in RW activities (both teach-ing specific subjects as well as additional


36

education), as well as educators from the Academy of Post-Diploma Pedagogical Education and fellow NGOs who work on similar topics;

Scientists: Russian Hydrometeorological State University and St. Petersburg State University, who will help to improve pub-lications, give advice and provide data;

Municipal authorities: Sennoy Okrug Municipality (where Ecocentrum is lo-cated), and coastal municipalities Peter-gof and Lomonosov (south shore of the Gulf of Finland);

Water related officials: Neva-ladoga ba-sin department, City Committee for na-ture use, environmental protection and ecological safety, Russian federal nature

inspection (Rosprirodnadzor of NW Russia);

Journalists: St. Petersburg association of Environmental Journalists, the organisa-tion’s network of friendly media;

Deputies of the St. Petersurg Legisla-tive Assembly.

Activities have been organised in cooperation with other NGOs - ECOM helped us to de-velop and conduct the first stakeholder semi-nar and future participants were free to suggest parts of the itinerary. The River Watch training has been organised with help from Peterhof house of children’s creativity (state institution) and Biotop (an NGO based at a state institu-tion). The last seminar involved working tightly with our Finnish colleagues from the Finnish Institute of Environment and Vodokanal of St. Petersburg.


The implemented activities focused mainly on the local hub in St. Petersburg, yet it worked from both local (regional) and international perspectives. An example of local work would be the River Watch training, which focused on strengthening the network of local public monitoring of water bodies. The final seminar showed a clear trans-boundary perspective.

Link to SDGs:

3. Good health and well-being; 4. Inclusive

Although relationships between

NGOs and state authorities are go-

ing through a tough phase in Russia

these days, the project has given us

a good and constructive platform to

reach out to the authorities and indi-

cate our willingness to collaborate.

Representatives of the State have

largely failed to show up for our ac-

tivities, one of them showing up at

the end and explicitly refusing to be

registered as a participant. Even if

the formalities make it difficult for

state authorities to be active partici-

pants in public events like this, we

saw the willingness and the ability

of some to have a discussion, and it

is a milestone of sorts, on which to

build upon.


37

and equitable education; 5. Empowerment of women and girls; 6. Clean water and sanita-tion; 11. Sustainable cities and communities; 14. Conservation of marine resources; 17. Global partnership for SD.


The St. Petersburg Hub is the first Russian hub to join the network, thus it provides diversity and specific local experience for exchanging.


Since the hub is intended to upgrade the exist-ing network of stakeholders to the next level, the establishment of the hub is going to be a step towards strengthening collaboration on the local level, and the achieved results will be developed further. The hub activities have a wider impact; they will continue to work on the project issues after the project’s end, the

team will watch the environmental situation, look for solutions and interact with all of those who can improve the situation, provide infor-mation and education to the widest audience.


The results of the hub will be integrated with FB activities. FB is going to disseminate the hub method and results among partners in North-West Russia, via the all-Russian um-brella union (Russian Social Ecological Un-ion), at the thematically related events of our partners in Estonia and Finland. For publicity reasons the established means of communica-tions will be used: www.baltfriends.ru, Friends of the Baltic mailing list, Environmental North-West Line mailing list, FB VKontakte, VKontakte eco-communities, through the or-ganisation’s media contact base, by the munici-pal newspaper issued by Sennoy Okrug.


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4.7. Local Hub “Students as Leaders of Change for Local Communities’ Sustainable Development”

education for sustainable

development Association

18 – 3 – 233 Sovetskaya Street,

220050, Minsk, Belarus

sofia savelava,

+ 375 (17) 327-63-72,

[email protected]

Education for Sustainable Development As-sociation (ESD Association) is a non-profit organisation uniting the 34 members from all Belarus areas. ESD Association has been an active member of BSRESDN since 2014. All of our projects are resources for collabo-ration between multi-stakeholders who work together for SD with tools of ESD in com-munities. Comprehensive support of education initiatives for sustainable development is our mission.


Considering youth as the key agents of change for the sustainable development of local socie-ties, the ESD Association creates backgrounds for development of the competence to com-municate with the local population about sus-tainable development problems, using the lan-guage of media communication. Young people, the authors of initiatives for the sustainable development of local communities, create their media works: videos, posters, brochures, leaflets etc. in order to improve their communication with stakeholders, while delivering youth vi-sions about the overcoming of the actual prob-lems in the life of local and global communi-ties. The objectives of these media projects are the promotion of SD values, ideas and prin-ciples among various population groups. The aim of the hub is the organisation of the youth media festival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016” that provides a space for meetings, discussions of media projects’ authors, exchange of experi-ence, resources and initiatives of various stake-holders who participate in the SD processes of the local communities. The hub will become an assembly point for the network, strength-ening the communication and interconnection of network activities. The hub will become an organised centre for collecting relevant data, analysing, utilising research results and expe-rience from all SD activity participants and ESD agents.


39



Coordination meetings;

Consulting and expert work that aims to register the participants for the youth festival and to provide consultations and work in the jury committee; 50 video projects and 20 paper projects have been registered, and 25 consultations have been provided for youth project author teams;

Organising the youth media festival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016”: ‐ Distance (online) stage that involves

the creation of “Youth Voices for SD – 2016” Media Festival Web-page and ensures that all videos sent by participants are published and avail-able online on a special Youth Media-Festival`s playlist;

‐ Skype training/workshop with ex-perts of the media festival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016”;

‐ Off-line or on-site stage that includes• two day meeting in Minsk of

the youth media projects’ crea-tive groups and public discussions about SDGs by the media festival participants,

• artworksexhibition“Mystory:21”and discussions,

• workshops for young authors andtheir teachers.

After the youth media festival its participants will be able to enhance professional skills and as a result improve the quality of their works and build a media gallery of resources in or-der to promote SDGs, values and the core idea of sustainable development and to deliver support to ESD practices. These resources as a database would be able to provide essential support for ESD practices’ organisation for all generations in Belarus. Moreover, they would lend support to other participants of the re-gional SD processes, including participants of the youth contest “Think and Act SDGs!” that is usually held by the ESD Association by the beginning of the new school year (for instance, August through December 2016). In order to improve the quality of their work the young authors need expert support in the ar-eas of Media Communication, stage directors, designers etc., as well as direct feedback from the audience about their relation to the project and its impact on the audience. Youth media festival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016” in Minsk is a very useful tool for providing this kind of support.


Students of schools and higher educa-tional institutions, teachers, young people who are active in different initiatives of


40

the local communities and regions and searching to enlarge the impact on the cooperation of the NGOs, governmental structures and enterprises in the local ac-tion strategies;

Alumni of the Russian speaking distance learning course “Adobe Youth Voices” and participants of the various projects of the International Education and Re-source Network;

Representatives of the interdiscipli-nary professional expert community in the media communication of the youth NGOs interested in the promotion of the SD processes and ESD practices.

LocAL, nAtionAL, gLoBAL And concePtUAL context oF the hUB::

Link to BRESDN:

The Association as BSRESDN’s regional Hub is based on a Partnership Network of Sustain-able Development Schools that is a network of local Hubs which unites the activities of SD multi-stakeholders in local communi-ties. It means that the ESD Association and BSRESDN are closely linked, so the question of strengthening lies on both sides. ESD As-sociation and Partnership of SD Schools are providing resources for the broader network and BSRESDN helps to sustain the hub. Since the hub provides youth activities, as well as ac-tivities for all generations for the benefit of the sustainable development of the local commu-

nities with media, educational and other re-sources, mostly at the local and national level, the overall network serves as a supporting ex-pert group where different issues are discussed, and professional assistance is provided. As a member of the BSRESDN network the ESD Association will be pleased to join the broader network as a hub and invite other BSRESDN members to take part in the Youth Media-Fes-tival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016” in Minsk as experts and participants.

Link to SDGs:

SDGs, their purpose, concepts and pathways for the achievement of goals are the main con-tent of the youth media projects and the most important point for their discussion. Nowa-days the promotion of the SD ideas among various population groups has a direct connec-tion to the awareness that young authors show concerning their stand about SDGs. Therefore their media resources would be perfect tools for the implementation of youth initiatives, deliv-ered by the participants of the Contest “Think and Act SDGs!” (as well as the main ESD As-sociation media library, the local hub, which makes a big effort in order to engage Belaru-sians in the collective work on the achievement of SDGs).


The sustainability of the hub will be strength-ened by supporting youth initiatives that would be ensured by the post-project activities


41

in the framework of the ESD Association pro-gramme “Support of Youth Initiatives for Lo-cal Communities’ Sustainable Development”:

media gallery, created by the participants of the youth media festival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016”;

mobile exhibition of the youth media fes-tival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016” par-ticipants’ art works in local communities;

youth contest “Think and Act SDGs!” that will encourage its participants to use the media gallery resources for the im-plementation of youth initiatives to in-troduce ideas of sustainable development in local communities.


Activities of the hub will be disseminated through different target groups, social media, web pages and connected networks. The ESD Association provides project financing and pri-vate contributions that serve the aim of con-tributing to the sustainable transformation of societies and implementing SDGs on the local and national level, highlighting issues related to education, economics and governance. Sev-eral future projects that will be linked to ESD Hub activities will be developed. ESD Asso-ciation’s FB page and webpage of the media festival “Youth Voices for SD – 2016” are used as platforms for communication. PR agency’s

support is used for the purposes of reaching a wider audience, public dissemination and pro-motion.


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Local hub “students as Leaders of change

for Local communities’ sustainable development”

Local hub in Berdychiv district

Local hub of graduates of daugavpils University in

research and education for sustainability education

Local hub on strengthening cooperation for

implementing sustainable development goals

st.Petersburg hub on sustainable Water and coastal development

stAterA esd hub

the Local hub for Local economy

HUB NR

ORGANIZATION NAME

GOAL TARGET GROUPSCONCEPTS THAT ARE

LINKED TO SD

1

education for

sustainable

development

Association,

Belarus

Organization of the

youth media festival

“Youth voices for SD-

2016” as a space for

meetings, discussions,

exchange of experience,

resources and initiatives

students, teachers, young

people, alumni of the

russian speaking distance

learning course “Adobe

youth voices”, projects’

participants,

interdisciplinary expert

community in the media

communication of the

youth ngos

media

communication

2

international

charitable

organisation

information

center “green

dossier”,

Ukraine

Assisting development

of local sustainable

developing strategy

through education of

local stakeholders and

creating a team of

local innovators that

acts as a local ESD

center and cooperates

with esd hubs’ interna-

tional network

Local ngos, district/

village authorities,

local businesses, local

educators/ teachers,

young people/ students,

house-holders

Local

community

development

3

Unesco/

UnitWin chair

at daugavpils

University,

Latvia

Promotion of social in-

novation for SD through

education by the sd

tools

dU graduates (educators,

other professions, local

community leaders, etc.)

social

innovation,

participative

action research


43

HUB NR

ORGANIZATION NAME

GOAL TARGET GROUPSCONCEPTS THAT ARE

LINKED TO SD

4

Baltic

environmental

Forum, Lithuania

Initiation of a dialog

on the role and

specific activities

to be implemented

by higher education

institutions and

schools in promoting

and implementing sdgs

expert institutions of the

formal education system,

secondary schools,

a higher education

institutions

education for

sustainable

development,

citizenship

education,

policy making

5

st.Petersburg

non-Profit, non-

governmental

environmental

organization

“Friends of the

Baltic”, russia

Establishment of

the St.Petersburg

hub on sustainable

water and coastal

development on the

basis of the ecocentrum

public information and

demonstration center in

order to boost our joint

activities and increase

the capacity of our

members and provide

them with new materials

and ideas for growth

educators (school

teachers and ngos),

scientists from russian

hydrometeorological

state University and

st.Petersburg state

University, municipal

authorities, water related

officials, journalists,

deputies

sustainable

water and

coastal

development

6

statera

research

and Practice

center for

sustainability

and regional

development,

estonia

Bringing together

local educators,

teachers, non-formal

education specialists,

municipality officials,

parent organizations,

organizations

dealing with fields

close to SD to initiate

broad discussions on

implementing gAP

educators, teachers,

non-formal education

specialists, municipality

officials, parent

organizations,

organizations dealing with

fields connected to sd

rural

development,

local economy

7

centre for

Lifelong

Learning,

Åbo Akademi

University,

Finland

Establishing a local

hub for the support

of local, circular

economy in the

Archipelago region of

sW Finland

Local inhabitants,

entrepreneurs, and local

authorities/ municipality

Local economy

and circular

economy


Documents

From Local to Global. For More Sustainable and Innovative ... · 3. Startegy workshop 4. Pilot hubs 5. Technical workshop for pilot hubs 6. Publication timeFrAme: 01 September 2015