Winner Press Release
EMBARGOED PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Dr. Jackline Nyerere
Kenyatta University Green Education Hub Lead
Email: greeneducationhub@ku.ac.ke
Mobile No.: +254722534054
[Authors) Receive 2022 AASHE Sustainability Award
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recently announced Building University Capabilities to Respond to Climate Change Through Participatory Action Research: Towards a Comparative Analytical Framework, a paper by Charlotte Nussey, Alexandre Apsan Frediani, Rosiana Lagi, Janaína Mazutti and Jackline Nyerere as the recipient of a 2022 AASHE Sustainability Award for outstanding research in higher education sustainability. AASHE bestows its prestigious awards on the institutions and individuals that help lead higher education to a sustainable future.
This year, AASHE received 430+ entries that resulted in 12 winners announced across five categories. Entries were judged on overall impact, innovation, stakeholder involvement, clarity and other criteria specific to each category.
“The 2022 AASHE Sustainability Award winners demonstrate an inspiring passion for progressing sustainability at their campus. They are raising the bar and evolving what sustainability in higher education looks like,” said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser.
AASHE held a virtual awards ceremony on Dec. 8th to recognize and celebrate the 12 award recipients.
Message from Dr. Jackline Nyerere, Award Recipient
I am extremely pleased to receive this prestigious AASHE Sustainability Award. I express my sincere gratitude to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for this great honour. It is a tremendous privilege to be placed in this distinguished rank as the past honourees who have immensely contributed to higher education through research. I appreciate my co-authors and researchers’ dedication and commitment to develop this insightful paper. The paper focuses on the Participatory Action Research (PAR) model that underpins the implementation of the Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate Project (Climate-U). In the paper, we explore how PAR principles are coherent with climate justice drawing from institutional case studies of PAR activities in Brazil, Fiji and Kenya. As researchers in higher education, we have a role to play in the positive transformations of our communities. This publication comes at a time when we are faced with many existential threats from the climate crisis. Borrowing from the core values of AASHE of collaboration, diversity, equity, inclusion and stewardship, researchers must generate evidence-based research that provides practical solutions to the climate crisis. Equipping our communities with well-grounded information will play a significant role in helping societies align their operations along the tested sustainability pathways.
About Climate-U https://www.climate-uni.com/
Climate-U is a multi-country partnership project implemented by 20 universities in 9 countries: Brazil, Fiji, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Tanzania and the United Kingdom. The project aims to bring benefit to communities in participating low and middle-income countries by enhancing universities’ contributions to addressing climate change. One of the project’s objectives is to contribute to theory and understanding of the impact of higher education on climate change and sustainable development. Universities, as institutions, are oriented primarily towards knowledge creation, thus, have a crucial but complex role in epistemic debates around climate change. The project provides for the establishment of Participatory Action Research Groups (PARGs) at each of the participating universities. The PARGS comprises diverse stakeholders from academia, civil society, government agencies and communities.
The Green Education Hub http://greeneducationhub.ku.ac.ke/
The Green Education Hub (GEH) was launched on 11th May 2022 as an outcome of the Climate-U project at Kenyatta University. The Hub is involved in research, co-creation and dissemination of teaching and learning materials on climate change, sustainability and green education. Materials and content co-created with the students include audio-visuals, creative arts, documentaries and dioramas. Through students’ ambassadors, GEH also participates in university-community engagement activities, such as training members of society on sustainable lifestyles to combat climate change. A significant activity of the Hub is marking a Green Education Day (GEDs) every month to raise awareness on climate change.
To read more about AASHE’s awards programs, please visit http://www.aashe.org/get-involved/awards/
Award recipients receive recognition in a variety of formats, including a plaque from Rivanna Natural Designs, a woman-owned B Corp with a strong commitment to sustainability. To date, 135 campuses and people have been recognized through this prestigious award program since its inception in 2006.
About the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
AASHE empowers higher education administrators, faculty, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. AASHE enables members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world’s future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. For more information, visit www.aashe.org. Follow AASHE on Facebook and Twitter.