FEE and ATTA announce partnership to promote sustainable travel practices

ATTA and FEE have created a Memorandum of Understanding with the goal of jointly promoting sustainability awareness, fostering practical implementation, encouraging community engagement, and activating market participation among the members of both organisations. This collaboration will benefit the members of ATTA and FEE (Green Key and Blue Flag programmes), while aiming to build more sustainable destinations and companies.

““The collaboration between ATTA and FEE will lead to the development of more resilient and eco-friendly travel destinations and continue setting a high standard for the industry.””

— Daniel Schaffer, Chief Executive Officer of FEE

By leveraging each other's strengths and resources, this partnership will enhance the visibility and impact of sustainability initiatives. It will provide a robust framework for members to adopt and showcase best practices in environmental stewardship. Additionally, it will facilitate deeper community involvement, encouraging local populations to actively participate in sustainability efforts. This concerted approach is expected to drive market activation, creating a competitive edge for businesses that prioritise sustainable practices. 

According to Shannon Stowell, CEO of ATTA, "Sustainability is no longer an option; it is a necessity for the future of travel. This partnership between ATTA and FEE represents a significant step toward equipping more destinations and businesses with the tools and knowledge to implement meaningful change. By working together, we can create a more responsible and resilient tourism industry that benefits communities, protects our planet, and enhances the traveler experience."

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About Foundation for Environmental Education

The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) is one of the world’s largest Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) organisations, with over 100 member organisations in 81 countries. With a network of over 50,000 educational institutions, the Eco-Schools, Learning About Ecosystems and Forests and Young Reporters for the Environment programmes empower young people to create an environmentally conscious world through experiential, project-based learning. The Green Key and Blue Flag programmes are globally recognised for promoting sustainable business practices and the protection of natural resources. With over 40 years of impactful experience in ESD, FEE’s strategic plan, GAIA 20:30, prioritises impactful action across all five programmes to address the threats of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. 

About the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)

The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), established in 1990, is the largest global network of adventure travel leaders with around 30,000 individual guides, tour operators, lodges, travel advisors, tourism boards, destination marketing and management organisations, outdoor educators, gear companies and travel media who share a belief and commitment to sustainable tourism. ATTA’s mission is to empower the global travel community to protect natural and cultural capital while creating economic value that benefits both trade members and destinations. ATTA offers a portfolio of strategic solutions and a robust ecosystem of events around the world. ATTA has specialised expertise in research, education, media, and promotion.

Environmental education congress for a sustainable future

Article written by Foundation for Environmental Education in Turkiye (TÜRÇEV)

The Environmental Education Congress for a Sustainable Future organised by the Foundation for Environmental Education in Turkiye (TÜRÇEV) and Ankara University Water Management Institute (ENSTİTÜSU) took place at Antalya-Kemer Crystal De Luxe Hotel between February 10-12, 2025.

In the first comprehensive congress organised in the field of environmental education in Turkiye, 15 universities, 19 municipalities, numerous primary, secondary and high schools, public and private sector representatives and civil society organizations came together to address important issues in line with environmental awareness and sustainable development goals.

Topics such as environmental education, climate change adaptation, sustainable water management, zero waste practices, responsibilities of local governments, the role of the media in environmental awareness, the role of youth and women for the recovery of environmental depletion were highlighted in the congress.

Contribution to Turkiye’s environmental education roadmap

The Environmental Education Congress for a Sustainable Future offers an important platform that strengthens cooperation and information sharing among participants on environmental education and awareness studies. Expert speakers in the field share their views on how environmental sustainability can be better integrated into the education system. TÜRÇEV and ENSTİTÜSU continue their work to spread environmental awareness, stating that the ideas and suggestions emerging from the congress will contribute to environmental education policies.

“Environmental education is one of the cornerstones of building a sustainable future. This congress is an important platform that brings different stakeholders together in order to increase environmental awareness and produce permanent solutions”

— TÜRÇEV President and Former Minister of Tourism Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdulkadir Ateş

TÜRÇEV General Manager and Congress Organisation Board Co-Chair Almila Kindan Cebbari stated the importance and contribution of empowering young people and women and highlighting their leadership was clearly understood at this congress. She also stated that they experienced that the network environment created thanks to this congress contributed to local, national and international collaborations.

“Environmental education is the most effective tool we have to combat the climate crisis and water stress we are experiencing, so it should be our primary goal.”

— Dr. Göksen Capar, Director of Ankara University Water Management Institute and congress board co-chair

Left to right: Almila Kindan, TÜRÇEV General Manager, Dr. Pramod Kumar Sharma, Senior Director of Education, Foundation for Environmental Education

In the congress, the session titled “International Approaches in Environmental Education” moderated by TÜRÇEV General Manager Almıla Kından Cebbari was attended by the following speakers: Dr. Pramod Kumar Sharma, Senior Director of Education from the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Mr. Wondwosen Asnake Kibret, UNEP Europe Office Representative; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamil Kurtul, UNICEF Turkiye Program Manager for Equal Opportunities in Education; and Ms. Gökçen Boz, Head of Projects and Social Partners Department of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkiye. The panel opened up innovative and multi-faceted perspectives on environmental education and provided a highly productive environment for the exchange of ideas.

Critical role of environmental awareness in shaping policy

The Environmental Education Congress for a Sustainable Future concluded with a reaffirmation of the critical role of environmental awareness in shaping policies, educational curricula, and societal attitudes. The wide-ranging panels, workshops, and discussions provided a roadmap for future collaborations among universities, governmental institutions, the private sector, and civil society organizations. Participants left the congress with strengthened resolve to integrate sustainability into diverse sectors, underscoring that holistic, multi-stakeholder approaches are essential to ensuring a resilient, equitable, and thriving future for all.

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FEE President reflects on recent conference about sustainability action

Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) members in Asia gathered in Ahmedabad, India for the FEE Regional Network for Asia (FENA) meeting on 9 Jan 2025.

Chaired by Lesley Jones, FEE President, and hosted by Sanskriti Menon, from Centre for Environmental Education India and a FEE Board Member, the gathering took place at CEE’s headquarters where important discussions around the theme of sustainability action took place. Read Lesley Jones, FEE President’s reflections on the meeting!

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There was recognition of the three big challenges facing us as a world, climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution, and that we should be in no doubt that we are in a climate and nature emergency.

Climate change resilience and adaptation, nature restoration and talking environmental pollution are inextricably linked and should be embedded across the whole curriculum.

They should also be part of vocational training, teacher training and informal learning outside of the education system, in the workplace, for example.

The Greening Education Partnership is significant as the focus has shifted from input/process to outputs/outcomes. With challenging targets, it is an opportunity to gain support from governments and the private sector to green schools at scale.

Knowledge is not enough – we have to bridge the gap between knowledge and action. Behaviour is not changing, we need to make emotional connections through values and culture. We need to win hearts and minds.

“We need to learn from nature - there is no waste nature.”

— Lesley Jones, FEE President

We need to communicate our messages to all citizens and the importance of visual communication through pictures and objects was emphasised.

Young people have a critical part to play and we need to harness the power of social media as a force for good -create a mass movement.

We need to be better at sharing success/good practice to learn from what is making a positive difference and replicate.

The NGO sector needs to use their voice together to advocate and influence government and business to do the right thing. Need to focus on skills for green jobs – this is how business/industry will change.

In conclusion, the conference showcased many inspiring initiatives, but there is not enough urgency. We need to move fast. There is a lot of talk about the issues, but we need to focus on the solutions.

We need to ask ourselves why we have we not achieved more and recognise that numbers and scale matter. We need to be more ambitious.