The conference (ICFE 2021) is a major event focused on formal forest education at all levels, capacity development and knowledge sharing.
It is the culmination of an 18-month effort by international and regional partners to assess the status and needs of forest education and to develop online tools. About 1000+ forest education stakeholders and actors will participate. The conference will be instrumental in charting a path forward for forest education globally. It will launch a Call to Action, a Joint Initiative on Forest Education of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, an online course on tropical wood supply chains, and a prototype of an online platform for forest education
International Conference on Forest Education
22-24 June 2021
The International Conference on Forest Education (ICFE), organised by FAO, IUFRO, ITTO, CIFOR/ICRAF and the Secretariats of UNFF and UNFCCC, will be a defining event in forest education. It will be instrumental in helping to chart a path forward for forest education globally. The conference will celebrate the culmination of over a year-long effort involving global and regional partners to collect and synthesise information on the status and needs of forest education and training globally, and to raise awareness of the contributions that robust forest education and knowledge systems play in the achievement of multiple forest goals and forests’ contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals. Key findings of a global assessment and six regional assessments will be presented at the ICFE. Some exciting new initiatives, including by members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), will also be presented.
The participants will be invited to share their experience and perspectives through discussions of key challenges, needs, opportunities and initiatives to strengthen forest education. These will help to build the foundations for communities of interest on issues related to forest education and knowledge systems which can share information and collaborate in activities well beyond the ICFE. Participants will be invited to help shape the drafting of a global Call to Action on forest education to be endorsed at the Conference.
Format and date
The ICFE will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will take place from 22-24 June 2021. The programme will include a mixture of plenary sessions with prominent speakers and participatory breakout sessions.
Participants
The conference will bring together a broad range of stakeholders from scientific and educational institutions, government ministries, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, and regional and global organisations, as well as students. The ICFE will be an event open to all. All participants will be required to pre-register and to indicate their choice of breakout sessions to attend.