Landmark publication

Supporting research community into dimensions of climate change

THE Pacific region is featured in a landmark publication which will be used by researchers across the globe.

According to a statement issued by the Pacific Community (SPC), the publication — Climate Change and the Role of Education — is a global imprint that serves and supports the research community and offers insights into the educational dimensions of climate change and promotes measures to improve education.

“One chapter focuses on the ‘Recognition of prior learning (RPL) in resilience (climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction) in the Pacific: opportunities and challenges in climate change education’,” said SPC.

The book was co-authored by members from the European Union Pacific Technical and Vocational

Education and Training (EU-PacTVET) Project which has been working to mainstream climate change adaptation and sustainable energy in tertiary curricula in the region since 2014.

The project was jointly implemented by SPC and University of the South Pacific.

“Addressing climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the Pacific has resulted in a number of informal capacity building workshops where community members are trained on different aspects of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction,” said EU-PacTVET team leader Amelia Siga, one of the authors of the chapter on RPL.

“However, many training events did not include formal assessments, and there was no process to recognise prior learning acquired during informal workshops.”

She said the EU-PacTVET Project partnered with the Fiji Higher Education Commission to focus on how to assess the acquired skills and credit the learners to then complete a resilience qualification.

“Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) creates opportunities for people who acquired skills during informal workshops or through their personal experience and provides them with credits for a qualification.”