Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development Gippsland.
Gippsland consists of the six Shires – Bass Coast,South Gippsland, Baw Baw, Latrobe, Wellington and East Gippsland. It is in the state of Victoria, Australia and east of that state’s capital of Melbourne.
On December 13th 2011 RCE Gippsland was notified that Accreditation had been granted at the 6th Meeting of the Ubuntu Committee of Peers for RCEs making us now part of the world wide community of United Nations endorsed RCEs. It was the second in Australia. Further general information about RCEs can be found at the web site below.
http://ias.unu.edu/en/
RCE VISION AND OBJECTIVES VISION – Our vision is to advance Gippsland as a region of interconnected and diverse sustainable communities which are empowered and resilient in the face of environmental challenges.
OBJECTIVES – We will provide leadership that promotes and supports Education for Sustainable Development throughout rural and regional Gippsland communities. We will do this by:
Leading advocacy for education for sustainable development
•Promoting practices that educate for sustainability within formal and informal contexts
Enhancing the long term goals of environmental stewardship and social justice in conjunction with economic realities
Advancing cultural sensitivity that respects the knowledge of Gippsland’s past and present generations so that this knowledge can be passed to future generations in a respectful and valuable way
Encouraging local story telling that reflects intergenerational knowledge in and across all Gippsland communities
Short term objectives:
To promote information sharing
To provide mutual support e.g. across sectors
To engage in collaborative planning
To promote system and community growth
To build links between sectors
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When we integrate our beliefs, ideas and values into our behaviour, we bring them alive and give them the power to influence our world.If we see ourselves as separate from the world, it is easy to dismiss our actions as irrelevant or unlikely to make any difference. Yet , we are part of the world and every choice we make will have ripples that extend beyond us. What may seem tiny and insignificant by itself always adds to a larger context, so that every time we act for life, we put our weight behind the shift towards a life-sustaining culture.
Terms of reference for RCE:
General fact sheet:
RCE general factsheet eng 2010[1]
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Sustainability Principles
Transformation and change
Education for sustainability is not simply about providing information but involves equipping people with the skills, capacity and motivation to plan and manage change towards sustainability within an organisation, industry or community.
Education for all and lifelong learning
Education for sustainability is driven by a broad understanding of education and learning that includes people of all ages and backgrounds and at all stages of life and takes place within all possible learning spaces, formal and informal, in schools, workplaces, homes and communities.
Systems thinking
Education for sustainability aims to equip people to understand connections between
environmental, economic, social and political systems.
Envisioning a better future
Education for sustainability engages people in developing a shared vision for
a sustainable future.
Critical thinking and reflection
Education for sustainability values the capacity of individuals and groups to reflect on
personal experiences and world views and to challenge accepted ways of interpreting and engaging with the world.
Participation
Education for sustainability recognises participation as critical for engaging groups and individuals in sustainability.
Partnerships for change
Education for sustainability focuses on the use of genuine partnerships to build networks and relationships, and improve communication between different sectors of society.
rce gippsland 