CIFOR participated in an educational poster session conducted as part of the 3rd World Environmental Education Congress in Torino, Italy, October 2005.

The theme was “Education Paths towards Sustainability” and around 1,300 people attended from over 100 countries.

Issues considered were the ways in which education, training, information and environmental research help develop an equitable, democratic society. Also discussed was how to share best practices and disseminate the achievements of environmental education.

The Congress was one in a series held during the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). It aimed to challenge universities, research institutions and other NGOs to approach research and teaching in new ways and to look more closely at social and cultural contexts when dealing with poverty, social exclusion and environmental and resource degradation.

CIFOR delegates spoke about the role CIFOR plays in advancing environmental learning and education through: using research findings for knowledge sharing among academia, building the research capacity of universities through collaborative research projects, enhancing academic networks, and providing feedback on teaching and curriculums. Educational materials such as posters, policy briefs and brochures were used to support the presentation.

Hosts and sponsors included: UNEP, UNESCO, UNU (United Nations University of Tokyo), UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe), Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, IUCN, FAO, European Training Foundation (ETF), European Environmental Agency, Government of Italy and other local institutions.