International Seminar on Climate Change Education
Managing Director and Spokesperson of the Board at Siemens Stiftung Dr. Nina Smidt and Senior Project Manager Badin Borde joined the Office for Climate Education’s (OCE) 2nd International seminar on climate change education in Paris and Villarceaux from September 12-15, 2023. The seminar brought together international development organizations, philanthropic leaders, ministries and grassroots NGOs from across the globe, creating a conducive atmosphere to enable a collective endeavor to advance climate change education (CCE).
The opening day of the seminar saw various roundtables highlighting the role of national and international institutions in the implementation of CCE. Dr. Nina Smidt joined Vivian Puerta Guerra from Fundación EPM – Fundación Empresas Públicas de Medellín Foundation in Colombia and Dr. Deb L. Morrison from CLEAR Environmental, Canada on the panel: 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. The session was moderated by journalist Dorothée MOISAN where the panelists unpacked some key aspects of climate change education. Dr. Smidtexplained Siemens Stiftung‘s hands-on “STEM + Climate” approach, the collaboration with OCE and local partners to implement teacher training workshops, co-creating Open Education Resources and advocating for policies that integrate climate change education into school curricula. Their insights underlined the critical role of philanthropic partners in accelerating the implementation of climate change education.
The seminar was followed by three days of intensive workshops at La Bergerie de Villarceaux. Badin Borde joined representatives from foundations, universities (climate science and pedagogy), science centers, and teachers. Together they delved into the core principles of climate change education and exchanged practical insights into a wide range of topics: From understanding inquiry-based science pedagogy approaches, exploring human and social sciences within the context of CCE to crafting positive narratives for climate action and defining quality CCE by exploring effective evaluation methods.
Siemens Stiftung will also participate in the International Conference on Climate Change Education on 27 November 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. Organized by the International Science, Technology, and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation under the auspices of UNESCO together with the OCE and Kenya Organization for Environmental Education, it aims to provide key elements on the current impacts of climate change in the region and Kenya. At the conference, a new international initiative to promote CCE in Kenya and other African countries under the African Resilience African Regional Resilience Initiative for Climate Education project will be announced.