International Environment Forum

On 19-20 June 2013, the University of Reims, France, is holding the Third Rencontres Internationales de Reims on Sustainability Studies, under the patronage of the President of France. The theme is "Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a New Social Contract". The 20 featured speakers include Nobel Laureate Carlo Rubbia, Carlos Lopes (Executive Secretary of UNECA), Leena Srivastava (President of TERI University, India), famous academics such as Professors Ignacy Sachs (Paris), Peter Haas (U. Massachusetts), Frank Biermann (U. Amsterdam), Maria Ivanova (U.

The United Nations has launched another series of on-line post-2015 consultations, including one on Education for Sustainable Development. The IEF submitted the following contribution on 7 May 2013, based largely on recent statements from the Baha'i International Community, with an additional focus on sustainability.

http://www.worldwewant2015.org/node/342413#comment-52576

Contribution on EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT from the International Environment Forum

As part of the consultation on the Post-2015 agenda, the United Nations invited on-line comments on three themes related to Environmental Sustainability: Equality; Human Rights, Peace and Security; and Poverty. The IEF submitted comments on each of these themes, adapted from some of the statements it prepared for Rio+20. See http://www.worldwewant2015.org/sustainability2015.

EQUALITY

Equality and Youth

The Wilmette Institute on-line learning course on "Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change" which started 1 February for seven weeks is oversubscribed, with more than 50 participants. The Wilmette Institute has therefore decided to offer a repeat of the course from 5 May to 23 June 2013. The course was developed by Christine Muller and other faculty are Carole Flood, Karryn Olson-Ramanujan, and Arthur Dahl, all IEF members. It is based on the similar inter-faith course for local group use available on the IEF web site (http://iefworld.org/ssdcc0.html).

Every year for the past three years, the national Baha'i administrative body in the United States has written to the American Baha'i community about the broad interfaith effort on climate change in collaboration with the United Nations, including the Baha'i International Community's Seven Year Plan of Action on Climate Change.