Gaia Education 2018 Brochure

design

for sustainability

leading-edge education for sustainable design

gaia education www.gaiaeducation.org

overview Mission Gaia Education is a leading provider of sustainability education that promotes thriving communities within planetary boundaries.

Vision We work towards a world of safe and nutritious food; of clean drinking water; of universal access to sustainability education; of physical, mental and social well-being.

A world which uses energy and materials with greater efficiency, distributes wealth fairly and strives to eliminate the concept of waste.

How we do it For 13 years, Gaia Education has played a key role in the movement for sustainable education.

Our founding team of international sustainability experts created the ground-breaking 4D Whole Systems Design

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Framework, which forms the basis of our learning programmes and projects. p2 We have certified over 350 face-to-face and e-learning programmes, reaching 49 countries, 17,000 people and 109 nationalities, in every kind of setting imaginable. Our life-changing courses enjoy a 92% ‘excellent/good’ rating worldwide. p3&4

Emerging trends Gaia Education’s three main streams - face-to-face, e-learning, and project based learning - are all taking flight.

From social enterprise to regenerative agriculture, from SDGs blended-learning in Africa to Masters in Conservation Landscape, we are reinvigorating the field of collaboration in the fiery urgency of NOW. Join us!

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Globally-connected, forward-thinking individuals promoting locally adaptable, resource-conserving activities, carefully tailored to the biocultural uniqueness of each location.

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The Glocalisers

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methodology & target groups

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4-D Framework Gaia Education’s Whole Systems Framework lies at the heart of our courses and programmes. Its holistic approach supports participants to integrate social, ecological, economic and worldview concerns into integrated designs that makes both people and the rest of the natural world stronger, more vibrant, and more resilient.

The Empowered Climate-affected communities urgently adapting to changing environments, social breakdown and loss of productive soil, and becoming pioneers of community empowerment and regenerative practices.

The Changemakers High-consuming communities starting to transition to more sustainable life-styles, seeking innovative ways to live within planetary boundaries.

The framework draws from the expertise of some of the world’s most successful eco-communities and transition projects, and regenerative design practitioners.

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SWEDEN

CANADA

NORWAY

ESTONIA UNITED LATVIA KINGDOM DENMARK NETHERLANDS BELGIUM GERMANY SWITZERLAND

USA

PORTUGAL SPAIN

AZORES (PORTUGAL)

Host sites in the World

111 Programmes in the World

350

FINLAND

MEXICO

TURKEY ISRAEL PALESTINE

IRAN

CHINA

THAILAND

GHANA

BRAZIL

CHILE

JAPAN

NEPAL BANGLADESH MYANMAR

THE GAMBIA

COLOMBIA ECUADOR

SOUTH KOREA

INDIA

SENEGAL

NICARAGUA

BOLIVIA

ITALY

CAMEROON CONGO

PHILIPPINES

SRI LANKA

ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE

SOUTH AFRICA ARGENTINA

Students (Global)

17K

AUSTRALIA

face-to-face programmes The flagship programme, Ecovillage Design Education (EDE), uses the 4-D framework to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to design a society which uses energy and materials efficiently, distributes wealth fairly and eliminates the concept of waste.

We have supported the delivery of over 350 EDE programmes worldwide, in settings ranging from urban slums to tribal communities.

Gaia Schools is a pioneering programme designed to incorporate sustainable development into educational curricula.

Gaia Youth empowers young people to actively engage with the complexity of sustainability issues, to question business-as-usual, to determine their own responses and to design the world they want to see.

From migrant communities to social innovators the SDGs Training for Multipliers answers the global challenge of how to implement the Agenda 2030 at the local and regional scale. Our accompanying educational tool, SDGs Flashcards, supports facilitators to generate vitally important conversations on the goals’ implementation. #Flashcards have been adopted by UNESCO GAP and translated into five UN official languages.

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e-learning programmes Design for Sustainability fosters the ecological imagination of students to support the redesign of the human presence on Earth from degenerative to regenerative trends, one local community and bioregion at a time. It is offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Renewable Energies for Sustainable Development, in partnership with UNITAR and the University of Strathclyde, supports participants to make informed decisions on which technologies will meet the needs of their communities, neighbourhoods and regions. It offers insights into the management of renewable projects, from small scale through to major projects.

webinar series The Glocalisers Webinar Series provides a chance to be inspired by the knowledge of Gaia Education’s founding members and certified trainers, otherwise known as glocalisers, on diverse and challenging topics

Local Water Solutions for Global Challenges, in partnership with UNITAR, University of Strathclyde and Scottish Government, offers the opportunity to learn about the challenges and solutions associated with managing this precious resource and includes innovative technologies for increased water resilience.

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project based learning PBLs are a natural extension of our trainings, supporting indigenous and migrant communities and their traditions to survive in rapidly changing environments, while enhancing their skills to become the designers of their desired, regenerative future

Bangladesh

Zambia

Bangladesh is a highly-climate vulnerable, country with tidal surges regularly devastating agriculture and threatening the life support systems of communities.

In Central Province, 61% of people live in poverty. A youthful population faces a lack of livelihood opportunities, malnutrition and decreasing food security.

Gaia Education, WWF Zambia and the Young Emerging Farmers Initiative have launched a Scottish Government funded programme to empower 420 youth as change agents in conservation, agriculture and livelihoods action, reaching out to 150,000 provincial youth.

In partnership with BASD, our Scottish Government-funded programme has empowered 2,000 villagers, 75% female, from 42 communities in Bagerhat and Khulna districts to: • increase climate change resilience • lead communities in regenerative agriculture techniques which transform salinated soil into rich, productive land • set up 27 cooperatives, increasing household income by 23%.

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project based learning II Sicily

Senegal

Sicilia Integra supports the socio-economic integration of migrants arriving in Sicily through sustainable community and agroecology capacity-building activities.

On our 3-year, A+ DfID-scoring programme, 1,866 farmers, 80% female, learnt regenerative agriculture techniques, transforming land which was barren due to climate change and soil-depleting industrial agriculture trends, into rich, productive fields. By project end: • 100% used natural compost • 93% had increased food production and consume a more diverse diet • 91% reported an improvement their financial situation

The project fosters the professionalisation of migrants and local unemployed youth, and creates new job opportunities in regenerative agriculture.

We aim to develop an alternative trading platform for the commercialisation of Sicilian organic products in European markets, contributing to the development of a circular economy.

A transformative output of Sicilia Integra has been the creation of Grani Di Gaia – a range of organic pasta made by ancient grains, crafted by our graduates in partnership with Sicily’s finest bakery, Forno Santa Rita.

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global partnerships Gaia Education has a comprehensive track record of working with over 110 partners, intergovernmental agencies, academic institutions, ethical businesses and the United Nations in the creation of policy guidance for the implementation of major international sustainability conventions.

• an NGO associated with United Nations Department of Public Information • an active member of UNESCO’s Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) • a Chapter Lead in SDG4 for UK National SDGs Plan • a partner of UNITAR in conducting specialised e-learning and corporate trainings • in partnership with Tallin University and the University of Gothenberg in the development of academic courses and MSC

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Convinced that the SDGs should not be separated from the global community which forged them, Gaia Education, in partnership with UNESCO GAP Secretariat, has developed an educational tool – the SDGs Flashcards – and the associated Training for Multipliers to ensure their effective use.

The Training for Multipliers was designed to build the capacity of facilitators to hold the vitally important conversations on how to implement the 17 SDGsat the local and regional scale, in ways that are carefully adapted to the biocultural uniqueness of each location.

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