What are COVID-19 pandemic effects on Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks’ activities?  What are the impacts on the territories, institutional organizations and economic activities? What are the resilience solutions adopted as a response to this difficult period?

Youth engagement in UNESCO designated sites is a workshop, in on-line modality, dedicated to the topic of youth engagement in UNESCO designated sites. The  programme is based on the UNESCO objectives of Education for Sustainable Development, aimed at enriching knowledge and skills that empower people to change the way they think and work for a sustainable future and on the results of the experiences of Fondazione Santagata, in increasing the awareness of young people on the Agenda 2030. 

Phase 1 of the Asterousia Hybrid University on Management of Biosphere Reserves and other designated areas was held through a few face-to-face sessions (5-7/10/2020) in the newly established Asterousia Biosphere Reserve in Crete (Greece), with a restricted number of trainees from Greece, in preparation of this online course. The course is the virtual part (phase 2) of the Asterousia Hybrid University.

The UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) are organising the popular event "Towards the Generation Ocean" to present in Italy the 2021-2030 Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) supports efforts to equip learners with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to contribute to a more inclusive, just, peaceful and sustainable world. In its Resolution 72/222 in 2017, the UN General Assembly recognized ESD as 'an integral element of the SDG on quality education and a key enabler of all the other SDGs' and reaffirmed UNESCO’s role as the lead agency on ESD. To enhance the global efforts on ESD, the new framework 'Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs' (ESD for 2030) was approved by the 40th UNESCO General Conference and acknowledged by the 74th UN General Assembly in its Resolution 74/233. The new framework ESD for 2030 (2020-2030) builds on the Global Action Programme on ESD (2015 – 2019), which followed the UN Decade on ESD (2005-2014), and focuses on streamlining ESD within the 2030 Agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals within the next ten years.