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Course Greening Project
The Greening Courses Project was officially launched in 2021 as one of the strategic projects in the Qassim University Plan 2021-2025, and the project aims to: Affirming Qassim University's commitment to its mission, which makes sustainability a cornerstone of its educational programs, and seeking to achieve national leadership in the field of integrating sustainability concepts into educational programs, making it ready to enter the club of distinguished international universities in the field of sustainability education. The project also seeks to develop and develop student capabilities in the field of sustainable development applications and stimulate their skills towards rational management of resources and make this within the competitive ammunition of the university student in the labor market and meet local and national development needs.
The fourth goal of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all; it is one of the most important direct goals related to the greening of curricula, as education enables social and economic mobility, and is an important means of knowing all dimensions of the rest of the 17 goals, and empowering the human element with a scientific base that qualifies it to find effective solutions to achieve these goals and develop ways and means to take the hand of humanity to safety.
Over the past decade, significant progress has been made towards improving access to education and enrollment rates at all levels, especially for girls. However, around 260 million children were still out of school in 2018, making up nearly one-fifth of the world's population in this age group. In addition, more than half of children and adolescents around the world do not meet minimum standards of proficiency in reading and math.
Education for All (EFA) has always been an integral part of the sustainable development agenda. In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development adopted the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), which in section 10 reaffirmed Millennium Development Goal 2 to achieve universal primary education by 2015, and the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All goal to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and at all levels of education by 2015. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation addressed the need to integrate sustainable development into formal education at all levels, as well as through non-formal and informal education opportunities.
The importance of ESD is increasingly recognized internationally as an essential component of quality education and a key factor supporting sustainable development. Both the Muscat Agreement adopted at the Education for All Global Meeting in 2014 and the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the UN General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals include ESD among the proposed goals for the post-2015 agenda. The proposed SDG 4 states "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" and includes a set of associated targets.
ESD is closely linked to the international debate on sustainable development, which has grown in scale and importance since Our Common Future was released in 1987, providing the first broad definition of sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
The critical role of education in achieving sustainable development was also duly noted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, through Chapter 36 of its outcome document - Agenda 21.
In 2005, UNESCO launched the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which reaffirmed the central role of education in shaping values that support sustainable development and in consolidating sustainable societies. The final report of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, Shaping the Future We Want, was released at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, held in November 2014 in Nagoya, Japan.
This plan has identified five priority areas to advance the ESD agenda: Policy Support, Whole Institution Approach, Educators, Youth and Communities. UNESCO has established five partner networks, each corresponding to one of the five priority areas, as one of its main mechanisms for implementing the Global Action Program. The partner networks will create synergies in the activities of their members and catalyze actions by other stakeholders.
In the lead-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, the Higher Education for Sustainability Initiative was established as a partnership between several sponsoring UN entities (UNESCO, UNDESA, UNEP, the Global Compact, and UNU) It aims to mobilize commitments from higher education institutions to teach and promote research on sustainable development, greening campuses and supporting local sustainability efforts. With nearly 300 universities worldwide, the initiative represents more than a third of all the voluntary commitments that came out of Rio+20, providing higher education institutions with a unique interface between policymaking and academia.
In 2015, the HEI Partnership for Sustainability officially became a member of Priority Area 2 of the GAP Partner Network: "Transforming Learning and Training Environments".
Through its link to the Global Action Program, the initiative aims to help organizations develop sustainability plans in partnership with the broader community, and to help universities integrate sustainability into their governance, policy and management. Source: https://sdgs.un.org/ar/topics/education
Primary school enrollment in developing countries has reached 91%, but 57 million children of primary school age remain out of school. More than half of the out-of-school children live in sub-Saharan Africa. About 50% of out-of-school children (of primary school age) live in conflict-affected areas. 617 million young people around the world lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. The following figure shows the percentages of students enrolled at Qassim University by gender and university level (for more see the university's annual report)
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys, girls and boys have access to free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education, leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes Ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development and care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education by 2030
Ensure equal access for all women and men to quality and affordable vocational and higher education, including university education, by 2030
By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults with appropriate skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
To eliminate gender disparity in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children living in vulnerable situations, by 2030
Ensure that a significant proportion of all young adults, both men and women, are literate and numerate by 2030
By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills to support sustainable development, including through, inter alia, education for sustainable development, sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace, non-violence and global citizenship, appreciation of cultural diversity and appreciation of the contribution of culture to sustainable development
Build gender-, disability-, and child-sensitive educational facilities, upgrade existing facilities, and create an effective, safe, and violence-free learning environment for all
By 2020, substantially increase the number of scholarships available globally to developing countries, in particular to least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for tertiary education, including vocational training, information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programs in developed and other developing countries
By 2030, substantially increase the number of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing states
- Enrichment links
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
- United Nations Development Program
- Global Education First Initiative
There are at least eight broad knowledge areas in which Qassim University colleges can apply sustainability integration processes in their educational programs:
- Colleges of Sharia and Islamic Sciences
- Schools of Economics and Management
- Medical and health colleges
- Medical and health colleges
- College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
- Engineering Science Colleges
- Applied faculties
- Colleges of Science and Arts
- Geography section
We can develop some general frameworks in these knowledge areas, as an initial platform to prepare a detailed guiding model for implementation, as follows:
- Colleges of Sharia, Islamic and Educational Sciences (including the College of Sharia, the College of Arabic Language and the College of Education)
- Sustainable Development from an Islamic Perspective
- Sustainable Development in Prophetic Applications
- Environmental justice in Islam (balanced utilization of resources and rationalization of consumption to achieve sustainable development)
- Environmental Ethics and Environmental Education in Islam
- Environmental legislation to protect sustainability from an Islamic perspective
- Human security linked to socio-environmental security
- Ideological terrorism, extremism and crime and their relationship to sustainable social development
- Managing conflict associated with competition for resource utilization
- Sustainable Philanthropy
- Water Management and Drinking Rights in Islam
- Rationalize and don't splurge
- The Concept of Sustainable Development in Educational Curricula (Faculty of Education)
- Catalyzing Education for Cognitive and Digital Transformations (Faculty of Education)
- Motivated Education for Educational Attitudes and Practices (Faculty of Education)
- Environmental Awareness and Education (College of Education)
- Cultivating diversity and preserving intergenerational rights
Research Greening Project
The campus greening project was officially launched in 2021 as one of the strategic projects in the Qassim University 2021-2025 plan:
Affirming Qassim University's commitment to its mission, which makes sustainability a key pillar in research priorities and activities, and seeking to achieve national leadership in the field of integrating sustainability concepts in research activities, making it ready to enter the club of distinguished international universities in the field of sustainability research. The project also aims to develop the capabilities of faculty and students in this field, in light of the research and development plan with a focus on the developmental needs of the Qassim region.
The Research Greening Project was officially launched in 2021 as one of the strategic projects in the Qassim University plan, and the project seeks to achieve a number of results and indicators by the end of 2025, most notably the following:
- Diagnostic document.
- Benchmarking results document.
- An integrated guiding framework for integrating sustainability concepts and applications into research priorities and activities.
- Integrate sustainability concepts and applications into research activities.
- Tools for assessing the effectiveness of integrating sustainability concepts and applications into research activities.
- A book on integrating sustainability concepts and applications into research activities in their theoretical and practical aspects.
- A report documenting the university's experience in integrating sustainability concepts into research activities and including developmental proposals.
This will contribute to the realization of all the UN Sustainable Development Goals both directly and indirectly, and the direct objective of the results of this project will be the following:
11
Sustainable Cities and Communities
16
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
17
Partnering to achieve goals
The Sustainable Development Research Grant for faculty members, which aims to stimulate and encourage researchers in fields and disciplines related to sustainable development and the Kingdom's research and development system, according to specific conditions.
Organizational Greening Project
The institutional greening project was officially launched in 2021 as one of the strategic projects in the Qassim University Plan 2021-2025, and the project aims to:
Affirming Qassim University's commitment to its mission, which makes sustainability a cornerstone of its strategy and institutional structure, and seeking to achieve national leadership in integrating sustainability concepts into strategic and institutional dimensions, making it ready to enter the club of distinguished international universities in this field. The project also aims to develop capabilities and skills in greening awareness inside and outside the university, while benefiting from distinguished experiences.
The Institutional Greening Project was officially launched in 2021 as one of the strategic projects in the Qassim University plan, and the project seeks to achieve a number of results and indicators by the end of 2025, most notably the following:
- A document of the results of the university reality study and benchmarking.
- An integrated guiding framework for integrating sustainability concepts and applications within the strategic and organizational dimensions.
- Integration of sustainability concepts and applications in at least twenty policies/regulations/operational rules.
- Tools for assessing the effectiveness of integrating sustainability concepts and applications into strategic and organizational dimensions.
- A book written on the integration of sustainability concepts and their applications in strategic and organizational dimensions in their theoretical and practical aspects.
- An annual report on the integration of sustainability concepts into the strategic and organizational dimensions and the inclusion of development proposals.
This will contribute to the realization of a number of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the most important of which are:
16
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
17
Partnering to achieve goals
Headquarters Greening Project
The Greening Courses Project was officially launched in 2021 as one of the strategic projects in the Qassim University Plan 2021-2025, and the project aims to: Affirming Qassim University's commitment to its mission, which makes sustainability a cornerstone of its educational programs, and seeking to achieve national leadership in the field of integrating sustainability concepts into educational programs, making it ready to enter the club of distinguished international universities in the field of sustainability education. The project also seeks to develop and develop student capabilities in the field of sustainable development applications and stimulate their skills towards rational management of resources and make this within the competitive ammunition of the university student in the labor market and meet local and national development needs.
The campus greening project was officially launched in 2021 as one of the strategic projects in the Qassim University plan, and the project seeks to achieve a number of results and indicators by the end of 2025, most notably the following:
- An integrated guiding framework for integrating sustainability concepts and applications in infrastructure and facilities.
- Integrate sustainability concepts and applications into the construction of buildings and facilities.
- Tools for assessing the effectiveness of integrating sustainability concepts and applications in infrastructure and facilities.
- A book written on the integration of sustainability concepts and applications in infrastructure and utilities in its theoretical and practical aspects.
- An annual report on the university's experience in integrating sustainability concepts into infrastructure and facilities and including development proposals.
- Percentage of headquarters greening.
- Annual report on headquarters greening.
- This will contribute to the realization of a number of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the most important of which are:
This will contribute to the realization of a number of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the most important of which are:
6
Clean Water and Sanitation (Clean Water and Sanitation)
7
Affordable and Clean Energy (Affordable and Clean Energy)
11
Sustainable Cities and Communities (Sustainable Cities and Communities)
12
Responsible Consumption and Production (Responsible Consumption and Production)
17
Partnering to achieve goals