Building Bridges

Since 2003, the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) has been a globally important event in the field of Environmental and Sustainability Education. The goal of the WEEC network is to promote the notion that education is key in the promotion of social and ecological sustainability on a global level. In keeping with this idea, all groups and actors (including public, private, nonprofit and for-profit members) are encouraged to participate in the congress, including the academic community, but also non-academic participants. In valuing this openness, different levels of expertise and different approaches are accepted for all aspects of the WEEC events.

In their paper "Building bridges, not walls", Braus et al. (2022), concluded:

"EE is transdisciplinary by nature - a characteristic that has always pushed the field to work broadly. Given the many networking tools in today's connected world, it is exciting to consider how to achieve more by leveraging collective efforts. If we continue to think about EE as an ecosystem, we have the opportunity, and indeed likelihood, to do more, learn more, and accomplish more on the road to creating a more sustainable, equitable future for all." (p. 328)

The concept of "building bridges" between various stakeholders, regions, and groups in the field of environmental and sustainability education resonated with the theme for the 11th World Environmental Education Congress, held in Prague.

This book provides a potpourri of some of the ideas communicated at the 11th WEEC. At the same time, it could be interpreted as a reflection of its "building bridges" theme: it contains chapters reflecting ESE policy, theory, research, and practice. It may be a wild collection, but we hope you will find it inspiring.