{"670550":{"#nid":"670550","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Hosts 2023 RCE Americas Meeting","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech campus recently served as host to the 2023 RCE Americas Regional Meeting. From September 26 \u2013 29, students, academics, and working professionals from around the Americas gathered to share their diverse perspectives and experiences, and delved into the discourse of sustainability. Participants attended panel sessions, presentations, site visits, and workshops (one of which was student led) over the three-day meeting, offering their unique viewpoints on how sustainability plays a role in their work and academic careers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERCE Greater Atlanta was acknowledged by the United Nations University (UNU) on December 18, 2017, as a Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. RCE Greater Atlanta is one of over 190 RCEs recognized worldwide as part of the UNU RCE network. RCEs support multi-stakeholder implementation of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the regional level, through education and training.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERCE Greater Atlanta is committed to leveraging educational resources for regional implementation of the SDGs, with a focus on equity and justice, building on Atlanta\u2019s history as the home of the Civil Rights Movement. RCE Greater Atlanta members, representing all sectors of community, business, government, and civil society, contribute to the creation of an inclusive and collaborative community that advances SDG knowledge and action, and nurtures strong youth leadership by harnessing higher education capacity and knowledge for regional benefit.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong the speakers were Keisuke Midori, section chief from the Ministry of the Environment of Japan; Jenny Hirsch, senior director of the Georgia Tech Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education, representing RCE Greater Atlanta; and Georgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera. Several of the speakers traveled or participated virtually from around the United States, as well as from places as far-flung as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Peru, and Columbia. Atlanta was also well represented with participants and speakers from many area colleges and universities including Morehouse School of Medicine, Kennesaw State University, and Georgia Gwinnett College. A wide range of topics were presented such as \u201cYouth Initiatives at Assateague Island,\u201d \u201cEnergy Equity: Advancing SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy Through Community-University Partnerships,\u201d and \u201cYoung Leaders of the Earth Charter at RCE Bogota.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESeveral Georgia Tech students were in attendance and have offered their perspectives on the event. Lakshya Sharma, a master\u2019s student in Human Computer Interaction and the student coordination manager for RCE Greater Atlanta, says, \u201cThe conference provided people coming from a wide variety of backgrounds an opportunity to present views, opinions, and talk about differences. I was given the responsibility to lead one of these sessions, where we discussed how important local community action is and how these actions can be made more efficient, inclusive, and effective. Participating in these discussions gave me a fresh perspective on things and made me explore new ways to solve problems, which I can now implement as a professional.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPerrin Brady, who is studying History, Technology, and Society at Georgia Tech and serving as a student engagement coordinator for RCE Greater Atlanta, said, \u201cI was able to raise questions to the room that I struggle with as a young person, like how to navigate possible conflict between requiring fast climate solutions and needing equitable\/sustainable solutions that take time and consideration. People\u0027s answers gave me hope for future impacts I could make.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EJulie Chen, another student engagement coordinator, who is studying architecture at Georgia Tech, said, \u201cThe range of presentations remains an inspiration, as I was able to witness different RCEs actively involved in unique projects to further the UN SDGs. It was especially heartening to see young students taking the initiative. The RCE Americas Network is a great platform to share these efforts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe event was sponsored by Oak Ridge Associated Universities; Kennesaw State University\u2019s Global Education Community Engagement and Outreach; Goethe Zentrum; and several Georgia Tech organizations, namely the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, the Renewable Bioproducts Institute, the Strategic Energy Institute, the Atlanta Global Studies Center, and the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business with the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe RCE Americas Meeting is an annual event. \u0026nbsp;For more information, see the following links:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nMeeting Resources: https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/folders\/1K8XeWuCEXq66TEVZuQQm3X3EzfXQ3zVB?usp=sharing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nPresentation Recordings: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCpof6N7frRLybc0UW8dhX4A\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech campus recently served as host to the 2023 RCE Americas Regional Meeting. From September 26 \u2013 29, students, academics, and working professionals from around the Americas gathered to share their diverse perspectives and experiences, and delved into the discourse of sustainability.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Georgia Tech campus recently served as host from September 26 \u2013 29 for students, academics, and working professionals from around the Americas."}],"uid":"27338","created_gmt":"2023-10-20 16:48:12","changed_gmt":"2023-10-20 16:50:07","author":"Brent Verrill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-10-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-10-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672116":{"id":"672116","type":"image","title":"Georgia_Tech_RCE_Americas_Group_Photo.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA group of attendees to the RCE Americas meeting in Atlanta pose for a group photo outside a red brick Georgia Tech building.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1697820508","gmt_created":"2023-10-20 16:48:28","changed":"1697820508","gmt_changed":"2023-10-20 16:48:28","alt":"A group of attendees to the RCE Americas meeting in Atlanta pose for a group photo outside a red brick Georgia Tech building.","file":{"fid":"255303","name":"Georgia_Tech_RCE_Americas_Group_Photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/20\/Georgia_Tech_RCE_Americas_Group_Photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/20\/Georgia_Tech_RCE_Americas_Group_Photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":753994,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/10\/20\/Georgia_Tech_RCE_Americas_Group_Photo.jpg?itok=HQSFVrHi"}}},"media_ids":["672116"],"groups":[{"id":"244191","name":"Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"188360","name":"go-bbiss"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kchatfield30@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristina Chatfield\u003C\/a\u003E, Program and Portfolio Manager, Center for Sustainable Communities Research and Education\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["kchatfield30@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}