14 October, Bonn: Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) President Lesley Jones, Senior Director for Education, Pramod Kumar Sharma and International Coordinator for Education, Kristina Madsen personally delivered the Running Out of Time relay baton to Ina Parvanova, Director of Communications and Engagement at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Headquarters in Bonn, Germany.
After four exciting days during which the relay baton travelled from France to Belgium and through the Netherlands, it crossed into Germany on Thursday night (October 13th) around 8 pm. From there it was carried by runners through the night to reach the UNFCCC headquarters for a short stop before continuing on its journey to COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Carried by Kristina Madsen, International Coordinator for Education at FEE, the relay baton arrived at UNFCCC headquarters in Bonn at around 11:30 on Friday morning. The arrival of the baton was celebrated by representatives of UNFCCC, FEE and its German member organisation the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Umwelterziehung, Germanwatch, and several runners.
Central to the relay is the message in the baton that will be delivered to world leaders at COP27, a call for universal quality climate education, recognizing that education is key to a sustainable future. The relay also serves to highlight people-led climate education initiatives and the work done by local climate education organisations, such as FEE’s member, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Umwelterziehung.
Jens Hepper, teacher and Board Member of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Umwelterziehung succinctly captured the challenges our world faces, saying, “The problems of our time are that we consume too much heat, live in badly insulated houses, burning too much fuel. We throw broken stuff away instead of repairing it. We do not realize that we are living in a global community, depending on each other – every nation, every country.”
FEE has been delivering climate education and Education for Sustainable Development for over 25 years through its three educational programmes, Eco-Schools, Young Reporters for the Environment and Learning about Forests. With member organisations in 81 countries around the world, FEE’s programmes have supported the efforts of thousands of climate education practitioners around the world and the message in the baton is of utmost importance for this work to expand.
Lesley Jones, President of the Foundation for Environmental Education said, “The message is all about the reason why education for climate action is critical for young people, but also for all of us. To understand the issues, to understand what we can do to take climate action and turn the tide on climate change.”
Collaboration between policymakers, international organisations, local civil society organisations and the practitioners on the ground serves to better support the call for universal, quality climate education, lending significance to the message in the baton that will be delivered to world leaders at COP25.
“This relay showcases the power of sport and civic action to drive greater awareness and engagement in villages, towns, capital cities and tourist locations along the relay route, no doubt inspiring local climate action. This is a critical decade for climate action. Governments must implement their pledges and commitments and raise ambition to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees and provide effective response to the global challenge. But to achieve the transformational change that is needed, everyone must be on board. Governments, businesses, investors, non-governmental organisations, and all members of society. We need everyone to know about the drivers and impacts of climate change and how to contribute to achieving a climate resilient and just world,” said Ina Parvanova, Director of Communications and Engagement at UNFCCC.
Ms. Parvanova also shared her thoughts on the message in the relay baton, saying, “On climate education, the message is clear. Climate change needs to be integrated across the full scope of the education curriculum. Climate change is an issue that affects all aspects of our economies and societies, so our education systems need to be preparing children, young people and lifelong learners by delivering quality climate education. And high-quality climate education informed by the best available science as well as, where available, traditional and Indigenous knowledge, is not an option, but an imperative to strengthen human capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
From Bonn, the relay baton will continue being carried by runners and cyclists through Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Greece. In Greece, the baton will be received by Nikos Petrou, Vice President of FEE and President of FEE’s national member, HSPN. FEE CEO Daniel Shaffer will escort it during its sail to Cyprus and Israel.