University of Tasmania
IN-49: Innovation C

Education for Sustainability Tasmania (EfS Tasmania) is a United Nations recognised Regional Centre of Expertise (UNRCE) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). A UN Regional Centre of Expertise is not a physical centre or building, but rather an apolitical network of individuals, organisations and experts who understand the sustainability challenges in their home regions and are committed to using education as a tool for building a sustainable future.
EfS Tasmania is a network of leaders in sustainability research, training and education, working towards social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability, using education as a central tool. Currently EfS Tasmania involves eight partner and twenty member organisations in Tasmania. The University of Tasmania is a core member of EfS Tasmania and the prime enabling and supporting organisation for the network in collaboration with the other members of the main Steering Group that represents the primary educative (formal and informal) organisations in Tasmania.
This initiative goes above and beyond credit EN 10: Community Partnerships as RCEs are not only significant for the region itself, where they provide a unique opportunity to promote learning and development for Sustainable Development, but also important at international level where they help to constitute the Global Learning Space for Sustainable Development. There are currently 175 RCEs worldwide, bringing together an unprecedented amount of Education for Sustainable Development practitioners and experts.
Globally, RCEs are facilitated through the United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) who provide a framework for strategy, best practice and techniques for success, which can then be translated to the regional level. The UNU-IAS Roadmap for the RCE community seeks to capitalise on successes and respond to challenges relating to ESD which have arisen during the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, and will play a role in the implementation of the Global Action Programme (GAP), which seeks to generate and scale up concrete actions in ESD, and beyond. This roadmap is reflective of the new directions the GAP Programme is undertaking to contribute to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The RCE network also works closely with the Ubuntu Alliance, an association of 14 of the world’s foremost educational and scientific institutions that together signed the Ubuntu Declaration at the Johannesburg Summit in 2002.
Tasmania is making a significant contribution to the global learning space in sustainability education thanks to a growing community striving to build more sustainable patterns of living and supporting resilient, connected and educated people. EfS Tasmania members support others to develop the skills and capacity needed to protect our planet and ensure social and cultural prosperity for all. The EfS Tasmania network:
- Facilitates collaboration and bring people together to work on sustainability education initiatives.
- Builds the capacity of organisations to improve delivery of sustainability education initiatives.
- Promotes and endorses sustainability education for projects delivered by members, as well as recognising the significant contribution Tasmania is making to the global learning space for sustainability education.
- Advocates for education as a tool to help more people develop the skills and capacity needed to protect the planet and ensure social and cultural prosperity for all.