International Workshop on Climate Change Education for a Sustainable Future and System Changes

On September 16, 2024, the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Laboratory (RSEL) successfully hosted the “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬” as a part project “𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 (𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒)”. The project was funded by 𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐌𝐔𝐒+ and the 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧, in collaboration with 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐊𝐔), 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐏𝐔), the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐤𝐮 (𝐔𝐓𝐔) in 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 and 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 in 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬.

There were over 𝟓𝟎 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 from various countries to discuss the pedagogical approaches in climate change education across Nepal.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢, Lead of RSEL at KU, initiated the workshop with welcome remarks emphasizing the need for enhanced climate education in Nepal. 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐨𝐬𝐤𝐢 of Finland Futures Research Centre at UTU introduced the ACCESS project and shared insights into Finland’s Climate Change University.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐁𝐢𝐣𝐮 𝐊𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚, Vice-Chancellor of PU, discussed the importance of updating Nepal’s climate-related curriculum. 𝐃𝐫. 𝐓𝐮𝐨𝐯𝐢 𝐋𝐞𝐩𝐩ä𝐧𝐞𝐧, Senior Education Specialist at the Embassy of Finland in Nepal, highlighted the EU’s commitment to supporting climate education in Nepal and shared success stories from Finland’s climate-smart education system.

𝐕𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡, Assistant Country Director of UNDP Nepal, stressed the need for sustainable climate adaptation strategies suited to Nepal’s unique conditions. 𝐃𝐫. 𝐁𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐝 𝐏. 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐭 from KUSOED and 𝐄𝐫. 𝐉𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐡 from PU gave insights into climate change courses at their universities. 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐣𝐬 𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 of Wageningen University advocated for skill-based education and student-centered learning to higher education to address climate change.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐤𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐥, Dean of KUSOE, reflected on the importance of climate literacy in empowering future generations to tackle environmental challenges.

The workshop concluded with expert-led group discussions featuring 𝐃𝐫. 𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐲𝐚𝐦 𝐆𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐠 (𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐖𝐖𝐅 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥), 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥 (𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲), 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐣 𝐃𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐥 (𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥). 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐢 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐢, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Purbanchal University, provided closing remarks, recognizing the event as a significant step in advancing climate change education in Nepal.