SWAROVSKI Waterschool Case Study Session Mr. Wande Gongba, RCE Greater Shangri-La 12th Asia-Pacific Regional RCE Meeting 4-6 June, 2019, Hangzhou, China

1. Wande Gongba
Shangri-la Institute for Sustainable Communities
& RCE Greater Shangri-La
Hangzhou, China June 5, 2019

2. 2
Swarovski Waterschool
• 7 countries: Austria (Danube), Brazil (Amazon),
China (Yangtze), India (Ganges), Thailand
(Mekong Delta), Uganda (Nile) and USA
(Mississippi)
• Reached over 270,000 students in more than
2,000 schools
• 8,700 teachers trained
• 565,000 community members involved
• 17 years of sustainable programming including
employee and partner-driven local activation
• Impressive, yet… where is social impact?

3. Shangri-la Institute for Sustainable Communities
RCE Greater Shangri-La
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation
Ministry of Education of China: National Centre for
Curriculum and Textbook Development
SWAROVKI
Higher learning institutions, 100 schools and their
communities in 15 regions across 6 river basins in
China.
Swarovski Waterschool China--main partners

4. SWS China Project Locations—6 River Basins

5. Purpose, principles and approaches
Purpose
 Foster environmental stewardship in selected watersheds of China
through participatory learning and action by schools and communities
Principles
 Enhance education
 Foster environmental stewardship
 Build community vitality
Three levels of learning
 Individual
 Organisational
 Societal

6. Work Packages

7. Water School for a Living Yangtze (2008--)

8. Running 6,350 kilometers from Tibet Plateau to the Pacific Ocean, the
Yangtze cuts through the heart of China and serves as a source of
livelihood to a large part of China’s population.
The Yangtze River Basin covers
an area of 1.8 million square km,
encompassing:
1/5 of China’s total territory
1/3 of the nation’s total population
1/4 of its total arable land.

9. The fertile Yangtze River Basin sustains a large part of China’s huge population; by
producing 70% of all paddy rice, one-third of the country’s cotton, 48% of its
freshwater fish and 40% of the total industrial output value.
In addition, the river basin is home to many rare and endangered species, including:
the giant panda, the black-necked crane, the Yangtze Finless Porpoise, the Yunnan
Golden Monkey and the Yangtze River dolphin. (IUCN Redlist)

10. Key Features (and Examples)
1. Incorporating ESD into school curriculum — nation wide
2. Linking with traditional culture—e.g. through poetry, music, drama,
story telling in the Pearl River basin and Yangtze
3. Learning through action—(e.g. Youth Leadership Project in Yunnan
place/problem/real issue based
4. Engaging broader communities (social learning)—shared learning and
action at national and international levels (Sichuan Furongxi)

11. 1. Incorporate ESD into school curriculum
► Long Term Impact
► Reorient education
 Purpose – 修齐治平
 Contents － knowledge (IK and modern), skills (traditional
practice) and values (deep belief systems)
 Methods – interactive, student centered, place based, problem
based, working on real issues community face etc.

12. 2. Linking with local culture

13. Tibetan Children’s Newspaper

14. Sustainable Communities in Tangka Painting
by Water School Students of Dongzhulin Monastery

15. Three Poisons and Antidotes
Wheel of Life Greed, Anger and Ignorance

16. Relationship with
others
Compassion
Co-operation
Non-violence and peace

17. Relationship with
the rest of nature
Longevity of mountain, water, forest,
rocks, animals and people
Compassion for community of life
and nature

18. Rest of Nature
Society
Community
Self
Commonly shared value (BCD) -- Harmony

19. 3. Learning through action, e.g. Youth Leadership Project

20. 4. Reaching out to broader communities – Furongxi Project
► Engage the whole community including government in Furongxi
township – benefiting some 80,000 people

21. Learning and Action at 3 Levels

22. SWS CHINA MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
MoE-NCCT
National Coordination Centers
SISC SWAROVSKI UNESCO
SC YN GZ CQ HB HN JX SH GD XZ BJQH
(15 Regional Coordination Centers in 12 Provinces)
120 Schools
To reached over 200,000 students and their Communities
IM

29. Thank you
Welcome to visit us in Shangri-la!