Deadline: 30-Jan-25
The United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) invites qualified organisations in Nepal to submit their expression of interest to support cost-effective climate-smart, green, and resilient schools and promoting sustainable and resilience-focused practices within schools and communities.
Objectives and Scope of the Project
- Nepal is among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, facing increasing risks to its natural environment, livelihoods, and education systems. Recognizing the pivotal role of education in addressing these challenges, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, in partnership with UNESCO and UNICEF, and with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu, has launched the project ‘Strengthening a Climate Smart, Green, and Resilient Education System in Nepal.’ This project aims to integrate climate-smart, green, and resilient practices into education systems by embedding climate education into local policies, curricula, and teaching practices, and by promoting green school models as hubs for climate action.
- As part of this effort, the project seeks to support schools with climate-smart, green, and resilient practices that not only demonstrate cost-effectiveness and sustainability principles but also equip learners with the tools necessary for meaningful climate action. These schools will actively engage with local communities to drive resilience and green initiatives. Building on the Green School Quality Standard (2024) developed by the Greening Education Partnership (GEP), the project aims to support schools to serve as examples of sustainable practices, empowering students, educators, and communities to adopt climate-smart behaviours and contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. This initiative takes a whole-institution approach to fostering climate-smart, green, and resilient practices in schools. The standards outline four core areas for integrating sustainability principles and climate action: (1) School Governance, (2) Facilities and Operations, (3) Teaching and Learning, and (4) Community Engagement.
- In this context, the UNESCO Office in Kathmandu is seeking interested local organizations to support six schools across three local governments, namely, Raksirang Rural Municipality (Makwanpur), Dharche Rural Municipality (Gorkha) and Bansgadhi Municipality (Bardiya).
Eligible Activities
- The selected organization will:
- Provide technical assistance to local governments in integrating climate-smart, green, and resilient education strategies into their Local Education Plans (LEPs) and budgets.
- Develop and adapt scalable models for climate-smart, green, safe, and resilient schools by providing essential tools and materials.
- Deliver professional development training for teachers to strengthen their pedagogical skills and knowledge on climate change and sustainability issues.
- Engage local communities by incorporating indigenous knowledge and practices to enrich climate-smart initiatives.
- Facilitate knowledge exchange among community members, school stakeholders, teachers, and students to promote shared learning and collaboration and for collective decision-making processes to implement locally relevant climate action initiatives.
- Support school and child/eco-clubs in initiating and driving school-level and community-level action projects.
- Launch mass and social media campaigns to raise awareness and promote climate-smart actions and mitigation efforts through schools.
Eligibility Criteria
- Be a legally registered local organization.
- Have at least 10 years of experience working with schools and local governments in embedding climate education and/or education for sustainable development into local policies, curricula, and teaching practices.
- In order to be considered, interested organizations should submit their Expression of Interest including the following information:
- Brief information about the organization, including its organogram structure, number of staff, scope of work, and geographical coverage
- A list of previous works that demonstrate qualifications aligned with the eligibility criteria outlined in this call for Expressions of Interest
- information (full name and address, mobile/telephone, e-mail address, website and contact person)
For more information, visit UNESCO.