IGF 2021 WS #136
Environmental education for informed and engaged society

Organizer 1: Paulina Pakszys, Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences
Organizer 2: Tymon Zielinski, Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences
Organizer 3: Aleksandra Koroza, Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences

Speaker 1: Marcin Wichorowski, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 2: Lidia Stepinska-Ustasiak, Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Reyna Ubeda, Intergovernmental Organization, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 4: Karen Evans, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 5: Anastasia Strati , Government, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Moderator

Tymon Zielinski, Technical Community, Eastern European Group

Online Moderator

Paulina Pakszys, Civil Society, Eastern European Group

Rapporteur

Aleksandra Koroza, Civil Society, Eastern European Group

Format

Break-out Group Discussions - Flexible Seating - 90 Min

Policy Question(s)

Increasing awareness and proactiveness among policymakers and developers: How do we ensure that technology developers, digital corporations, policy makers and policy processes consistently consider the impact of the Internet and digitalisation on sustainability and climate change?
Environmental education: How can policymakers leverage the Internet and Internet governance processes for expanding and strengthening environmental education? Should computer science curricula, Internet governance capacity development and digital literacy programmes include awareness of environmental sustainability?
Additional Policy Questions Information: -

Understanding of climate and ocean changes and their interactions is fundamental factor in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 13 and 14). The ocean-atmosphere studies and knowledge originated from this studies are essential for predictions of the consequences of climate change, which are crucial to design appropriate actions, both in mitigation and adaptation, as well as in the creation and modification of climatic processes at policy levels.
So, widely understood communication and educational activities should be involved in the process of realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Ocean Decade. Many broadly available modern tools could be used in the process of knowledge transfer, but are currently not in use. The educational system, e.g. should shift its priority from transferring explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge.
In order to facilitate such shift in the approach, more project-oriented activities should be promoted, allowing for the transfer of knowledge through experiential learning. Internet seems to be the ideal tool of effective proper knowledge sharing.

SDGs

13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water


Targets: The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a global vision that provides the framework for the actions needed to tackle the major challenges of mankind, including Climate Change (SDG-13) and Ocean Life sustainability (SDG-14). This international Agenda is set in a context of a climate emergency and global environmental change. There is an urgent need to provide the data, information and knowledge to society to monitor, understand and mitigate against these changes, and to empower citizens to understand, feel connected, and to change their behavior and transform their lifestyles towards sustainable living. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) is the mechanism for inter- and multidisciplinary studies of the ocean that provides the knowledge to increase the awareness about the changes, and to build the capacity to realize effective adaptation to the changes.

Description:

Sound scientific understanding of climate and ocean processes, their interactions and observed rapid changes is fundamental for fostering sustainable development. Climate and ocean studies and the knowledge created in the association are crucial for predictions of the consequences of climate change, that are then necessary to design appropriate mitigation and adaptation actions. However, there is still an obvious gap between research and environmental awareness in society resulting from a number of different factors.
The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a global vision that provides the framework for the actions needed to tackle the major challenges of mankind, including Climate
Change (SDG-13) and Ocean sustainability (SDG-14). But it is getting clear, that successful implementation of the Agenda requires understanding of environmental challenges, dependencies between technology and advancements of environmental sustainability.
There is an urgent need to develop and put in practice policies, that enable the sharing and re-use of environmental data by policy makers, entrepreneurs and citizens and
provide all stakeholders with the data, information and knowledge to monitor, understand and mitigate climate change. New paradigms of knowledge sharing that combine modern approaches to education and the sharing and use of environmental data will increase awareness on environmental sustainability. It will equip decision makers with the knowledge and skills necessary for evidence based policy making that supports the attainment of the SDGs at national and regional scales. It will also empower citizens to feel connected to their environment, to change their behavior, make informed consumer choices and transform their lifestyles towards sustainable living.
The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) provides a mechanism for inter- and multidisciplinary studies of the ocean that can provide the knowledge needed to increase awareness about climate and ocean changes, and build the capacity to realize effective adaptation to these changes.

Expected Outcomes

The session will explore possible ways of expanding and strengthening environmental education that will support the process of realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Many broadly available modern tools could be used in the process of transfer of scientific knowledge to society, but are currently not in use. Participants in the session will discuss the application of such tools and necessary changes to knowledge accessibility, interpretation and transfer including transferring of systems to providing explicit knowledge to providing tacit knowledge.

In order to facilitate such shift in the transfer of knowledge, the session will explore what might be needed to promote the project-oriented activities, allowing for the transfer of knowledge through experiential learning, including what role the internet might play in this promotion.

Outputs from of the session will include a list of potential area, topics and/or guidelines of such activities created in dialog with an audience of the session and potential pathways for their application by decision/policy makers.

All the speakers will have 4 min interventions focused around key topic areas aligned with the policy questions to generate some thinking around the topics from the audience (on-site and online). Then we use the remaining time to divide the audience into six groups (led by the speakers) in identifying activities that could be implemented in each of the six areas and potential pathways for implementation. We would need the venue to be able to provide six spaces with A/V facilities so that you can have people both online and in person interacting. Both audiences will be moderated to ensure that online participants are included into conversations and can freely interact with the face to face attendees.

Online Participation



Usage of IGF Official Tool. Additional Tools proposed: ZOOM, Padlet (the session organisers can provide these platforms)