Wayne State University and the University of Windsor have been designated as a new United Nations Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development in the Detroit-Windsor region.
RCE Detroit Windsor is a joint effort between the two universities. Focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it will identify actions that address climate change, economic and health disparities, and social inequity to create a more sustainable future for the two communities that share an international border.
Our Role in the Global RCE Network
The WSU and UWindsor partnership will build on and expand related education and research initiatives underway at both universities and in the cities of Detroit and Windsor.
The RCE designation offers a unique opportunity to embrace a multi-stakeholder global network, highlighting and amplifying our strengths as leaders in sustainability and collaboration.
RCE Detroit Windsor will focus on the challenges that our region faces as a transnational metropolitan area where water is one of the most vital and precious resources, where our shared automotive economic history provides common challenges in the need for transformation, and where there are often deep familial or cultural ties that transcend our border.
Learn more about the United Nations University’s Global RCE Network
The UN Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of seventeen interlinked objectives established by the United Nations in 2015 to foster global peace and prosperity. These goals tackle critical challenges from eradicating poverty to ensuring gender equality and addressing climate action. The SDGs serve as a holistic blueprint for sustainable progress into the future.
Learn more about the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development
Where RCE Detroit Windsor Fits in the tackling the SDGs
The UN’s RCE program will draw together key stakeholders across the international border and subsume activities related to the UN SDGs by:
- Focusing on the challenges that the region faces as a transnational metropolitan area where water is one of the most vital and precious resources and where our shared automotive economic history provides common challenges in the need for transformation.
- Connecting key stakeholders from area schools, municipal governments, and nonprofit organizations to articulate areas of research expertise and collaborative projects.
- Supporting research, teaching, and community participation in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
- Promoting cross-border collaboration on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on goals that draw both on our most significant strengths and our most pressing challenges.