Category Archives: conference

Celebrating World Open Data Day

March 27, 2023climate change, conference, environment, Project News, teachingKarl Donert

Open Data Day (ODD) was celebrated by the Open Data Charter this year on March 23rd 2023 . Open Data Day is an annual celebration of open data all over the world, where groups and communities gather to reach out to new people and build new solutions using open data.

Creating awareness around open data and its benefits aims to encourage governments, businesses, and civil society initiatives worldwide to adopt open data policies and inspire others to do the same.

Since 2015, the Open Knowledge Foundation – in cooperation with other NGOs from the open data world – has offered mini-grants to support the facilitation of events around the globe. This year’s Open Data Day gave out mini-grants for communities that work on: environmental data, tracking public money flows, open mapping, data for equal development, and ocean data for a thriving planet.

ODD is a chance for people around the world to support and encourage the adoption of open data policies by local, regional and central governments.

The Open Data Charter is a collaboration between over 170 governments and other organisations working to open up data based on a shared set of principles. EUROGEO has been a signatory of the Charter since 2019. It promotes policies and practices that enable governments and CSOs to collect, share, and use well-governed data, to respond effectively and accountably to the following focus areas: anti-corruption, climate action and pay equity.

The Teaching the Future project was presented by the project coordinator Karl Donert at the Open Data Charter series of events. EUROGEO has been involved in promoting access to open data through its projects and publications. The Teaching the Future data dashboard takes open climate data and makes it accessible to teachers and learners. Try out our open data climate dashboard.

European Climate Pact meeting and education resources

January 4, 2023adaptation, conference, environment, mitigationKarl Donert

The European Climate Pact is celebrating two years of taking climate action together, in our worlds, for our planet.

On 1 February 2023, the European Commission is bringing together Climate Pact Ambassadors, experts and activists to take stock of the journey so far and discuss ways to build a more sustainable Europe for the future.

You can network with the people and organisations involved in the European Climate Pact, hear about their achievements, and learn how you can get involved.

Find out more and register here (EU login required) to attend physically in Brussels or virtually,

The European Climate Pact is an initiative of the European Commission supporting the implementation of the European Green Deal. It is a movement to build a greener Europe, providing a platform to work and learn together, develop solutions, and achieve real change.

The objectives of the Climate Pact are to:
– Raise awareness of climate issues and EU actions
– Encourage climate action and catalyse engagement
– Connect citizens and organisations that act on climate and help them to learn from each other.

The Pact provides opportunities for people,  communities, and organisations to participate in climate and environmental action across Europe.  By pledging to the Pact, European stakeholders commit to taking concrete climate and environmental actions in a way that can be measured and/or followed up.

The Climate Pact aims to help spread scientifically sound information about climate action and provide practical advice for everyday life choices. It will support local initiatives and encourage climate action pledges from both individuals or collectives, helping to mobilise support and participation.

Participating in the Pact is an opportunity for organisations to share their transition journey with their peers and collaborate with other actors towards common targets.

The Pact have created some educational tools and resources Find out more

Find out more about how to get involved

Visit the Climate Pact Web site

Key Takeaways Of COP 27

December 22, 2022adaptation, climate change, conference, environment, mitigationKarl Donert

COP27, or the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was held in November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

COP27 brought governments together to accelerate global efforts to confront the climate crisis. It was an important moment because the latest science shows that climate change is moving much faster than we are, pushing ecosystems and communities to their limits.

The main objective of COP27 was to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement, a global pact signed in 2015 with the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. The COP27 resulted in a number of important conclusions, including the launch of a five-year work programme to promote climate technology solutions in developing countries and a mitigation work programme aimed at scaling up mitigation ambition and implementation.

The conference also emphasised the need for increased cooperation and ambition from all countries, as well as the importance of involving non-party stakeholders, such as businesses and civil society, in the global effort to combat climate change. Additionally, COP27 established a “loss and damage” fund for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters and called for increased support for adaptation and resilience efforts. Overall, the COP27 reaffirmed the global community’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and the urgent need for action to address the climate crisis.

According to Forbes, the final COP 27 text also included a call for the “transformation of the financial system and its structures.”

They suggest momentum is building to reform the World Bank and other development finance institutions to meet the climate challenge.

The World Resources Institute have created a resource hub connected with COP 27 with latest news, articles, research, data and more.

Webinar: the Universalisation of Climate Education

October 11, 2022conference, environment, teachingKarl Donert

A webinar hosted by UNESCO was held on 10th October I 15:00-16:30 CEST to look at the importance of quality climate education.

In this webinar, participants heard from leading organisations and departments in the field of climate change education, including UN agencies, ministries, and global NGOs. You will learn about the many efforts already being taken to secure universal climate education – and the obstacles we still need to overcome.

Speakers

Pramod Kumar Sharma – Senior Director of Education, Foundation for Environmental Education
Deirdre Hodson – Policy Officer, School Education Policy, European Commission
Won Jung Byon – Programme Specialist, Section of Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO
Ewurasi Nnadozie – Head of International, Comms and Events, Sustainability and Climate Change Unit, UK Department of Education
Fleur Newman – Unit Lead, Action for Climate Empowerment, UNFCCC
Kathleen Rogers – President, Earthday.org

TTF presented at EUROGEO 2022

May 25, 2022conference, Project News, teaching, UncategorizedKarl Donert

Teaching the Future was presented at EUROGEO 2022, a conference held on Lesvos island, Island, Greece on 5-6 May 2022.

The event attracted more than 120 educators and researchers from over 35 countries. Over 90 presentations, 5 workshops and 6 posters were presented.

EUROGEO conference Lesvos 2022 took the theme “RE-VISIONING GEOGRAPHY FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE POST-COVID ERA”. The following were the Conference Strands:
– How do geographers, universities, companies and education respond to Sustainable Development Goals and complex challenges in the context of the COVID pandemic?
– What is the role of Geography in the landscape of spatial technologies and open data and how can these assist in achieving SDGs?
– How new eco-social challenges are positioned in the face of a post-pandemic Global Change?
– How can we explore novel educational contexts and resources to transform towards sustainability of socio-ecological systems?
– What conceptual frameworks and strategies can contribute to the construction of societies based on human welfare and the care of nature?
– What are the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals, international migrations and refugees?

See the Full conference programme

The Teaching the Future presentation can be viewed here or downloaded from Slideshare.