What Gaia Education does
About
Gaia Education is a Scotland-based, international provider of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), with a particular focus on community-led initiatives. We have been active in 55 countries and offer online and face-to-face trainings, policy advice, curriculum development and development projects.
Our founding team of sustainability experts created our ground-breaking 4-Dimensional Whole Systems Design approach, which adds a fourth pillar- Worldview - to the traditional pillars of Social, Ecological, and Economic sustainability. This has a transformational effect on our participants, creating dynamic community change-makers.
As a founding member of ECOLISE, we work with 45 ESD organisations across Europe, working together to amplify our impact via EU Erasmus+ programmes.
We provide expert guidance in accelerating progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are associated with the UN Department of Public Information, were a partner of UNESCO’s Global Action Programme on ESD, and are a partner of UNITAR, with whom we conduct specialised e-learning trainings. We are members of ECOSOC.
Our Programmes & Projects
We work in many languages, eg. English, Spanish, and Portuguese, customising courses to local needs.
E-learning programmes
- GEDS - our flagship Design for Sustainability course
- The SDGs and Africa (partnering with Igbinedion and Kenyatta Universities)
- Renewable Energies for Sustainable Development(partnering with University of Strathclyde & UNITAR)
- Local Water Solutions for Global Challenges (in partnership with UNITAR & Scottish Gov.)
- Ecosystem Restoration Design (In partnership with Ecosystem Restoration camps)
Face-to-Face Programmes
- SDG Training for Multipliers (with UNESCO)
- Ecovillage Design Education certificate
- Training of Trainers for Community Facilitators
- Youth programmes to cultivate Sustainable Behaviour Change via youth leadership
ESD Curriculum Development:
- Gaia YES!, with 4 EU-based organisations, including Tallinn University, developing a schools’ curriculum & teachers’ handbook based on our 4D ESD curricula
- Youth in Transition, with 5 EU-based ESD organisations developed an activity book and interactive website to promote sustainable lifestyle choices & active citizenship among hard-to-reach youth using creativity as a main method (Funded by Erasmus+)
- More info on our other EU projects on this link
Development Projects:
- We collaborate in international development projects in Europe, Asia and Africa, providing training and ongoing capacity building for climate-affected communities:
- Our A-rated, DFID-funded project in Senegal, 2017, supported female farmers to transform barren land into abundant fields of crops to consume and sell
- Our 2018-22 Scottish Government-funded project with WWF Zambia supports Zambian young farmers to lead conservation campaigns & a provincial transition to regenerative livelihoods, including enterprises producing exportable honey, whilst protecting forests.
Academic Partnerships:
- We partner with academic institutions to offer credits or joint certificates for courses based on our sustainability curriculum:
- We provide Masters degree students at UNIFAL-MG Brazil and Goddard College, US, with our GEDS programme as credit towards their degree.
- We partner with the University of Strathclyde on various certified short courses and SDG trainings (RESD, Water prog.)
- We are developing a multi-level package, in partnership with international academic partners, to support African nations to achieve their SDG targets.
For more details and discussions on possible collaboration, contact: Sally Bogale, Co-CEO, sally.bogale@gaiaeducation.org