On 19–21 July 2022, a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, brought together Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCEs) from Asia and the Pacific. Under the theme “Empowering Local Wisdom for Education for Sustainable Development”, the event highlighted the rich history and cultures shaped by indigenous knowledge to promote a holistic, multistakeholder approach to sustainable development.
The 14th Asia-Pacific RCE Regional Meeting was hosted by RCE Greater Gombak and International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), and engaged participants from 12 RCEs and their local partners. UNU-IAS serves as the secretariat of the global network of RCEs.
In keynote remarks, Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak (Rector, IIUM; Co-chair, RCE Greater Gombak) emphasised the importance of diversity and collaborative, human-centred education. He also underscored the vital role of RCEs in connecting knowledge and practice in sustainable development to realise a whole-community transformation.
Thirteen RCEs presented their projects on local wisdom for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Zainal Abidin Sanusi (Associate Professor, IIUM) shared results of the RCE 2050 Futures Workshop, stressing that transformations were required for RCEs to be relevant in the future. Hyunsoon Bae (RCE Dobong-gu) discussed ongoing joint projects and introduced initiatives for potential collaboration.
A session featuring updates from RCEs in the region was moderated by Mario Tabucanon (Visiting Professor, UNU-IAS), and 12 RCEs were appointed members of the 2022–2023 Coordinating Committee. Participants made field visits to various sites including an indigenous community as part of a Real-World Lab (RWL) to learn about traditional lifestyles through hands-on experience.
The meeting exchanged best practices, strengthened the Asia-Pacific RCE network, and shared updates on the ESD for 2030 framework and the global RCE community.
Further details, including presentations and video highlights, are available on the RCE website.
