Yerevan, 1-2 November 2018 - First international conference on addressing climate change through education for countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia was organized in Yerevan in the scope of UNDP “Climate Change Education and Awareness Project – Climate Box” regional project. It is funded by Russia-UNDP Trust Fund and co-funded by UNDP.

The project was launched in July 2017 and is aimed to raise awareness on climate change impacts among mid-aged schoolchildren through translation and adaptation for the local context of the innovative interactive learning toolkit – the Climate Box.

The objective of international conference is to provide a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange and peer learning for pro-active teachers from 7 beneficiary countries (Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova) and Russia and help new countries develop methodological recommendations for the Climate Box Tool.

Sergey Kononuchenko, Deputy Director, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Mariyasin, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Armenia,  Arevik Anapiosyan,  Deputy Minister of RA Ministry of Education and Science, and Leonid Shebarshin, Third Secretary of the Embassy of Russian Federation in Armenia welcomed the conference participants, highlighted the importance of addressing climate change through education and emphasized the need for sharing experience and best practices via the establishment of an international platform for participating countries.

The conference for teachers and representatives of the education systems of countries involved in the implementation of the regional project, is the first event of its kind in the region, promoting raising awareness on climate change impact and strengthening the capacity of education professionals to incorporate the topics of climate change in the educational process.

The participants, including international experts, presented the best practices in using the “Climate Box” toolkit in the educational process; discussed methodological approaches for organizing an effective process of education on the climate topics for promoting a responsible attitude to the problem of climate change in children and their own influence on this process; and examined opportunities for strengthening international cooperation on climate education.

Within the framework of the conference, thematic round tables, presentations, and a film screening on climate change were held.