Education

Education has always been a central focus for the International Environment Forum since it is critical to the implementation of so many issues. IEF is a partner in the Education for Sustainable Lifestyles International Partner Network (formerly Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL/UNITWIN) and its predecessors), collaborates with other partners, produces educational materials, and designs on-line courses, among others. Some of our major activities are listed below. See also the materials for study on the Learning section of this web site.

Values-based Education

Values-based Transformative Learning, an overview of the IEF approach

PERL values-based indicators, three toolkits on values-based education for secondary school use, September 2014

Meaning, Values and Spirituality in Children and Youth, symposium in Winterthur, Switzerland, December 2013, where IEF participated

IEF 14th Annual Conference, Brighton, U.K., 16-18 December 2010, on indicators, sustainability and values

Values-based Indicators, research project, August 2010

Some relevant papers
Values-based education for environment and sustainable development, Arthur Dahl, based on a paper prepared for UNEP, January 2016
Ethics in Sustainability Education, Arthur Dahl 2015, pp. 27-40. In Thoresen, Victoria W., Robert J. Didham, Jorgen Klein and Declan Doyle (eds), Responsible Living: Concepts, Education and Future Perspectives. Heidelberg and Switzerland: Springer
Values Education for Sustainable Consumption and Production: From Knowledge to Action, Arthur Dahl, presented at the Global Research Forum on Sustainable Consumption and Production, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 13-15 June 2012.
Dialogues Between Faith Values and Education for Sustainable Development Values - The Baha'i Faith, Arthur Dahl 2012, in Exploring Synergies between Faith Values and Education for Sustainable Development.
Values-based Indicators for Responsible Living, Arthur Dahl, paper presented at the PERL International Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, 14-15 March 2011.

Climate Change Education

Online Interfaith Course on Climate Change, March 2020

Scientific and Spiritual Dimensions of Climate Change, an Interfaith Study Course, 2024 and regularly updated

IEF launches French course on climate change, July 2015

Les dimensions scientifiques et spirituelles du changement climatique, A French Interfaith Study Course in 5 classes

Interfaith Climate Change Course in Spanish, May 2016

Circulo de estudio: Las dimensiones científicas y espirituales del cambio climatico, A Spanish Interfaith Study Course in 5 classes

Presentations for youth discourse on climate change
Climate change, a global threat requiring cooperation
The Environment, Ecology and Climate Change
Eco-anxiety, replacing fear of the future by hope

Environment and Sustainability Education

Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures, November 2019-October 2023, was a network and action research project coordinated out of the University of Bristol, UK, (https://tesf.network/) working with partners in India, Rwanda, Somalia/Somaliland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures, University of Bristol, Final Reports released 13 March 2024
Briefing paper: "The Case for Transformative Public Education: Responding to Covid-19 now while addressing long-term underlying inequalities", May 2020. https://tesf.network/resource/transformative-public-education/

Sustainable Development, Education and Learning: The Challenge of Inclusive, Quality Education for all, book by IEF board member Victoria Thoresen, published 12 August 2023

Workshop on Sustainable Lifestyles and Education, Vienna, 20 November 2015

Families as Agents of Change to Build a Just and Sustainable Society, August 2015

IEF 19th Annual Conference, UNESCO, Paris, 10-11 March 2015, including IEF symposium on ethical transformation and education for service

Responsible Living: Concepts, Education and Future Perspectives, book with IEF contributions

IEF contribution on Education for Sustainable Development to UN post-2015 consultation. 7 May 2013

Beyond Consumption: Pathways to Responsible Living, PERL Conference, Berlin, 19-20 March 2012

PERL International Conference in Istanbul, 14-15 March 2011

IEF and Education

As will be clear from the content of this website, the IEF has been heavily committed to education in all its forms, formal and informal, from childhood through higher education. While not directly an educational institution, many of its members have careers in education, it has organised and taught online courses, and it provides a wide range of educational materials for others to use.

As a Bahá'í-inspired professional organisation, it has always combined the latest science with ethics, values and spirituality. It collaborates with all religions and is active in interfaith dialogue and action. Its members participate in the Religion and Environment Working Group of the G20 Interfaith Forum, and other forms of dialogue and exchange. The necessary transformative change towards justice and sustainability requires both education in the science and motivation by touching the heart. Science without religion falls into materialism, while religion without science and reason becomes superstition. The IEF approach to education aims for the appropriate balance.

News and Posts

Young Person’s Guide To Systems Change, The Club of Rome, 29 March 2025

Teaching Materials on Sustainable Lifestyles, Education for Sustainable Lifestyles, International Partner Network, 18 February 2025

Discourse for Youth, Presentations on Issues Relevant for Youth with Bahá'í perspective, 8 March 2025

Course on Sustainable Development and Human Prosperity, IEF available for study, 8 October 2024

The System Within: Addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability and systems transformation, The Club of Rome, Earth4All Deep Dive Paper 17, May 2024

The Rise of Eco-anxiety, Nature 10 April 2024

Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures, University of Bristol, Reports released 13 March 2024

Our Amazing World, Dayspring Children's Magazine, UK, 1 February 2024

Leveraging Education in Emergencies for Climate Action, November 2023

Sustainable Development, Education and Learning, by Victoria Thoresen, 12 August 2023

Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures, Research project led by University of Bristol, UK, 2019-2023

Educating for the Future We Want, Arthur Dahl to the Great Transition Network, 29 March 2021

Wilmette Institute Course: Sustainable Development and Human Prosperity, 10 September-25 November 2020

Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures, an action research project with partners in India, Rwanda, Somalia/Somaliland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, 2020-2024

Education: a Key to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Victoria Thoresen, September 2019

IEF member wins Educator's Challenge, Global Challenges Foundation, 16 May 2019

Story of Stuff: A Baha'i-inspired Program for Youth, 2018, updated 2023

Motivating the transition at the grassroots, IEF input for COP24, 19 March 2018

Workshop on Sustainable Lifestyles and Education, Vienna, 20 November 2015

IEF authors featured in two new academic books, December 2014