UN CC:Learn Annual Meeting Promotes Knowledge and Experience Sharing among UN CC:Learn Partners
15 March 2016, Geneva, Switzerland - The 6th UN CC:Learn Annual Meeting took place from 23rd to 25th February 2016, in Geneva, Switzerland. It brought together representatives of 8 partner countries and 16 UN agencies. Participating agencies included: the CEB Secretariat, FAO, ILO, IMO, UNDP, UNECA, UNEP, UNESCO, the UNFCCC Secretariat, UN-Habitat, UNICEF, UNITAR, UNSSC, WHO, WMO, and the World Bank. The meeting comprised three different events.
Country Exchange Workshop
The Country Exchange Workshop, held on 23 February 2016 and specifically dedicated to UN CC:Learn partner countries, was attended by representatives of Benin, Burkina Faso, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi and Uganda. The event aimed at providing a space for countries to share their knowledge and experiences in the promotion of climate change learning. As part of the programme, participants were involved in two group exercises to identify challenges and new opportunities for the development and implementation of National Climate Change Learning Strategies, as well as to reflect on effective approaches for resource mobilization. Participants also discussed multiple activities to strengthen South-South exchange and collaboration.
Partner Exchange Workshop
On 24 February 2016, representatives of global partners joined the representatives of partner countries for a further exchange on climate change learning. The workshop was opened by welcome remarks from Mr. Nikhil Seth, UN Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Director, UNITAR; Ms. Elena Manaenkova, Assistant Secretary General, WMO and Chair of the HLCP Working Group on Climate Change; Mr. Daniel Maselli, Senior Policy Advisor and Focal Point, Climate Change and Environment Network, Global Programme Climate Change, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; and Mr. Angus Mackay, Head, UN CC:Learn Secretariat. Mr. Theofanis Karayannis, Technical Officer, IMO, made a statement on behalf of IMO as new partner joining UN CC:Learn. Ms. Emanauela Varini, professor at the Liceo Cantonale Lugano 1 participated as a guest speaker and presented her experience with the Youth Climate Dialogues initiative.
Key achievements and next steps of the UN CC:Learn partner countries were then highlighted and discussed. The afternoon was dedicated to exploring opportunities for further work in partner countries. Skills for the conceptualization of new activities were practiced through a group exercise. Space was also reserved for bilateral discussions between global and national partners on specific projects and ideas.
UN CC:Learn Steering Group Meeting
The Steering Group Meeting of UN CC:Learn partners took place on 25 February 2016. Representatives of the global partners reviewed the implementation of UN CC:Learn activities so far as discussed next steps as well as innovative approaches for a new phase, reflecting in particular on the Paris Agreement and lessons learned from the evolution of UN CC:Learn during the years.
Highlights from UN CC:Learn activities presented during the meeting include:
- Launch of REDD+ e-Academy
- Launch of two new Introductory Learning Modules on Climate Change and Human Health and on Cities and Climate Change
- Over 40,000 registrations reached on the UN CC:e-Learn platform
- 4 Youth Climate Dialogues organized
- Development of UN CC:Learn Ambassadors' Network
- UN CC:Learn promotion of climate change education at COP21
About UN CC:Learn
UN CC:Learn is a partnership of more than 30 multilateral organizations supporting countries to design and implement systematic, recurrent and results-oriented climate change learning. At the global level, the partnership supports knowledge-sharing, promotes the development of common climate change learning materials, and coordinates learning interventions through a collaboration of UN agencies and other partners. At the national level, UN CC:Learn supports countries in developing and implementing national climate change learning strategies. Through its engagement at the national and global levels, UN CC:Learn contributes to the implementation of Article 6 of the UNFCCC on training, education and public awareness-raising, and the 2012-2020 Doha Work Programme. Funding for UN CC:Learn is provided by the Swiss Government and UN partners. The Secretariat for UN CC:Learn is hosted by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
Picture 1: Group Photo of UN CC:Learn Annual Meeting
Picture 2: Country exchange workshop
Picture 3: Partner exchange workshop
Picture 4: Group exercise