Cali, October 11, 2024 – As a preamble to COP16, in the capital of Valle del Cauca, Colombia will lead for the first time the Ibero-American Congress on Environmental Education in its eighth edition, a key scenario to reflect and build joint paths that allow us, as a multiethnic, diverse and multicultural region, to move towards good living and peace in our territories, which has not been held for a decade.
The event will feature more than 500 presentations, posters, activities and workshops that will form the backdrop for this important international discussion. “We will deal with three fundamental axes, environmental education and citizenship. The environmental challenges that have to do with all this pedagogical practice and also, which is very important, the political dimension of environmental education. These axes of reflection will lead us to reflect on environmental justice, good living and peace in our territory,” explained Miguel Angel Julio, deputy director of Education and Participation of the Ministry of Environment.
This Congress, which has not been held for a decade, is key in the framework of the COP16 on biodiversity to promote reflection on concepts, methodologies, challenges and policies that strengthen a platform for action and cooperation and environmental democracy.
With this Congress, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development seeks to consolidate a diverse space for critical reflection, joint construction of knowledge, learning and transformative actions committed to environmental democracy.
From October 16 to 18, more than 2,000 people from 22 countries will gather at the Evangelista Mora Coliseum and the Universidad Santiago de Cali for an agenda of cultural activities, conferences, panels, lectures and academic debates focused on environmental education.
COP16 committed to environmental education
At the meeting, a declaration will be made and presented on October 27 at the COP16 Colombia Pavilion, a document that seeks to influence the design and construction of national and international public policies that promote a future in Peace with Nature.
In its previous versions, this event has been able to discuss the concepts and practices of environmental education, and the types of training and professionalization of environmental educators in the development of their field of research and emerging didactics.
These congresses were born in Latin America after the Rio Conference in 1992 as a response to the proposals for a global and integral environmental education. Since then, seven versions have been held in Guadalajara, Mexico (1992, 1997); Caracas, Venezuela (2000); Havana, Cuba (2003); Joinville, Brazil (2006); San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina (2009) and Lima, Peru (2014).