Supporting Central Asian leaders to promote sustainable development
On the eve of the 7th Ministerial Conference “Environment for Europe” in Astana, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in cooperation and support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), OSCE Centre in Astana, Nazarbayev University and Kazakhstani Business Council for Sustainable Development (KBCSD) conducted the 2nd Central Asian Leadership Programme on Environment for Sustainable Development in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan, during 15-17 September 2011.
The Leadership Programme draws upon the experience of the Asia Pacific Leadership Programme on Environment for Development which has been convened on an annual basis over the past 8 years, since 2004, at Tongji University in Shanghai, China, in coordination with the AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.AP) based in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 2nd Central Asian Leadership Programme was designed for emerging leaders and professionals from government, private sector and civil society across Central Asia. The programme aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of sustainability issues in the context of global challenges and Central Asian needs and priorities. The programme is based on interactive sessions with the focus on 3 specific dimensions: the human dimension, the environmental dimension and the sustainable development dimension. The concepts of mind, body and soul are incorporated into contextual and relational aspects of leadership skills as part of the human dimension. Participants are offered state of the art knowledge on environmental issues and challenges, taking into account key ecosystems services. In addition, specific discussions explored inter-linkages of environmental issues with economic and social issues, the three pillars of sustainable development. The 3-day programme placed a special focus on the issues of the Green Economy, Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy as well as on the role of ESD in greening the economy.
The Programme was intended to:
- Stimulate all-round thinking and decision making abilities for emerging and mid-career leaders from the government, civil society and private enterprises in Central Asia
- Promote integration of environment and sustainable development issues for effective decision making
- Networking between emerging leaders in Central Asia representing Government, civil society and the private sector
Participants: About 20 leaders and promising professionals from governments, NGOs and business society across Central Asia, and more than 15 resource persons from CAREC, NGOs, international organizations and business sector took part in this Leadership Programme. The Leadership Programme was convened at CAREC’s headquarters in Almaty.
Notes: The 1st Leadership Programme for Central Asia was piloted by UNEP, Nazarbayev University and CAREC in September 2010 in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan in parallel with the 6th Asia Pacfic Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development (MCED6).
Project Materials:
Final review:
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