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Description
The Estonian Environmental Education Association brings together people involved in environmental education and education for sustainability. Therefore, we need to protect the interests of the association to contribute to the improvement of the education of our children on environment and sustainability.
The project aims to improve advocacy activities of the association through better analyses and planning. First, the members of the board of the association and the advocacy working group of the association will undergo training that will improve their educational skills. Second, a mentor will help them to strengthen cooperation between them. That will increase their capacities to stand up for environmental education. We will create an advocacy plan and a communication plan which will allow better communication on changes in strategy. We will also create a methodology for evaluating the impact of these groups'' activities on the association.
During the project, we develop cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment and with the Ministry of Education. In addition, we emphasize the role of municipalities in promoting environmental awareness within the population. We also create a cooperation model for the cooperation between providers of environmental education services and local municipalities. On the one hand, the model emphasizes their roles in the field of civic education. On the other hand, it contributes to the environmental education centers which receive financing.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address several challenges related to the Estonian Environmental Education Association (Eesti Keskkonnahariduse Ühing) and its members. These challenges included resource shortages, weak cooperation with other CSOs, insufficient understanding of the membership''s potential, limited skills in impact assessment and communication, lack of strategic advocacy skills, and weak partnerships with the Ministry of Education and Research.
The project’s goal was to enhance the capacity of the Estonian Environmental Education Association, improve the competence of its board, and increase member engagement. This was intended to support the broader development of environmental education, advocate for high-quality and diverse environmental education, and represent the interests of the association''s members and the sector.
The activities of the project included:
- Strengthening the association’s collaboration networks, which resulted in more effective cooperation with partners.
- Developing an advocacy plan that helps improve the association''s internal work processes, ensuring better advocacy capacity and long-term sustainability.
- Creating a concept for assessing the impact of the association’s activities, along with indicators, which will be used to evaluate and communicate the association’s future activities.
- A member satisfaction survey was conducted to gather input for the impact assessment plan and to help plan future activities.
- Discussions were initiated at the regional level regarding collaboration models, aimed at improving cooperation between environmental education providers and local governments.
- The project included two training days and one development seminar.
As a result of the project:
- The advocacy working group and board members gained practical skills and knowledge from training sessions and collaboration with mentors, which will help improve the association’s advocacy work and policy development.
- Awareness of the need for advocacy work has increased, as well as the understanding of the importance of delivering unified messages.
- The number of board members contributing to advocacy efforts has grown.
- The Estonian Environmental Education Association is now better networked.
- A training program has been developed, which, subject to funding, will begin in the fall of 2024. The program aims to foster regional-level cooperation between environmental education providers and local governments.