The 12th World Environmental Education Congress 2024, Abu Dhabi, UAE, focuses on “Connecting People, Creating Tomorrow”.

On the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), ‘Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis’, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it is “Code Red for Humanity”. Irrevocably, humans are driving global environmental change. Pandemics such as COVID-19 threaten individuals and societies and serve as a stress test for global socio-environmental challenges. Our children and youth are the worst hit, with collateral damage to their learning and emotional well-being. We must give them hope for a better future.

This requires changing the way we interact with nature. We must urgently address the serious Triple Planetary Crisis of Climate Change, Nature and Biodiversity loss, and Pollution and Waste. These challenges are difficult to address since they are multi-dimensional, interrelated and not constrained by political boundaries. So, solutions to these challenges require agreed action, underlining the importance of connecting people across nations, cultures, generations, and professions.

The WEEC 2024 reaffirms that Environmental Education (EE) provides the basis for humanity’s transformation toward a sustainable world.

The Worldwide Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) network and the Government of Abu Dhabi, UAE, invite educators from formal and non-formal education, locally and internationally, NGOs, governments, and academia, to discuss, evaluate, and energise environmental education - to connect people to create a better tomorrow for all of us and the living world.

WEEC 2024 seeks to facilitate the exchange of ideas, to advance progress towards a sustainable, resilient, and adaptable future. The event will encourage exploratory dialogue on the different dimensions involved in EE (educational, ethical, economic, political, etc.) to facilitate progress in this future.