If there are some ways to reduce inequalities, disputes, conflicts and environmental deterioration locally and globally, education is one of them, especially the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) by shedding lights on opportunities for change.
Zuo Tao, the Founder of Global Youth Tie
Ms. Zuo Tao, a professional in ESD worked with Save the Children for 15 years, from a project officer to the National Lead of Youth Development, targeting on different age groups from 0 to 18 of vulnerable children in remote areas along the boarder with Myanmar and Vietnam in Yunnan Province. Her expertise on Child Rights Programming covered the themes of the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) , Basic Education, Teacher Training, Vocational training, Social Emotional Development, Youth Development, Community Participation in Education, Hygiene and Nutrition, Child Participation and Protection.
The ECCD services for rural children model she established and funded by European Union, by mobilizing communities and training village teachers as service providers, was adopted by the World Bank replicated in two counties in Yunnan since 2017. She recently helped SC's Asia Pacific Regional Office to localize Green Mindset syllabus and training toolkit for 3-6, 7-12 and 15+ age group children in China respectively.
Photo Thorning-Schmidt, the former prime minister of Denmark and the CEO of Save the Children in 2015, paid her visit to Zuo Tao’s ECCD project site in Mojiang and discussed the MoFA project with high level officials in Beijing。
Noticed the gap between the existing education system and the real needs from Children, She set up a social enterprise with her global trainers’ network, Global Youth Tie, to bring youth from all over the world together to face and act through SDGs general education curricula, study tours, Project Based Learning (PBL), in responding to the VUCA era and for a more sustainable future, in cope with the United Nations 20230 agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.
Photo Standing in the United Nations Environment Programme Headquarters Conference Hall to connect the youth with the UNEP programs and practice experiences on environmental issues
Authorized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Ms Zuo led the team initiated the SDGs Public Education and Participation Partnership Action Program as director to mobilize and empower partnerships among different stakeholders to promote public awareness and engagement for SDGs achievements with special focus on accelerating carbon peak and neutral targets in China.
As the ESD curricula developer, Ms Zuo set the SDGs general education system as a tool and method to share the knowledge of Sustainability and to equip the public, especially the youth with global citizenship and responsibilities. So far 45 SDGs general education trainers were trained and delivered training for tens of thousands learners both online and offline.
The 100 Biodiversity short videos alone have been received 7,415,400,000 reads so far
So far, bout 60,000 participants directly benefited from our ESD programs, around 1,000,000 people watched or studied our popularization of science courses and videos online. Our networks connect governmental, non-governmental, and private sectors worldwide, and span across Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Dubai, and inland China. Australia will be the next destination to learn and exchange.
