“Figuring out the physics behind climate change is 1,000 times easier than getting the world to do something about it.”
— Syukoro Manabe
2021 Nobel Prize winner in Physics
When GTEC started four and a half years ago the climate crisis was approaching. It has now arrived. The summer’s heat and fire and the fall’s floods and mudslides have delivered an unmistakable message. The most recent IPCC report confirms that extreme weather events such as the fires and floods we experienced will become more frequent. Now is the time to take definitive action.
The GTEC 2022 Strategic Plan commits GTEC to developing an educational centre that brings individuals, communities, corporations and governments together to make the changes necessary to create a regenerating and sustainable society.
The GTEC Educational Centre’s aim is to provide a setting in which the many people involved in responding to the climate crisis can meet in a supportive environment to discuss new ideas, learn new skills and generate innovative solutions. The Centre offers relevant, accessible and work-integrated educational experiences designed to accelerate the shift to a regenerative, just and resilient society.
The Centre is located in an urban environment that is nevertheless responsive to the climate crisis and furthermore, exemplifies respect for Indigenous values. Appropriate to Vancouver’s aspiration to become the greenest city in the world the GTEC Centre is the hub of an emerging community of transformative, solution-oriented citizens and leaders.
GTEC’s programs provide the much-needed knowledge and skills that strengthen the society’s capacity to go beyond paralysis and become solution-oriented in dialogue and in action. Its programs support individuals to develop resilience, activate strengths and develop innovative initiatives that contribute to the level of change needed for the well-being of life on the planet.
GTEC’s role is to:
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- Address the climate crisis by means of the life changing power of education.
- Educate citizens and leaders who play a key role in reversing or mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis so that they can act in transformative and solution oriented ways..
- Cultivate personal, organizational and community resilience in facing the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis.
Education has a critical role to play in moving the response to the climate crisis forward. A more educated public and a better educated cadre of leaders and managers can affect the transition to a sustainable society more rapidly.
An education centre that focuses entirely on the climate crisis, social justice and economic resilience complements the work of existing organizations and education programs. This centre is a hub of dialogue, applied research and intellectual support for green technology businesses and environmental organizations. It emphasizes accessible and relevant learning opportunities specifically geared to the people who will be doing the work of transforming the society. The engagement of practitioners in education, the importance of practice-informed knowledge and building of community are integral to this model.
