Stories about
EDucation
The world is full of wonder.
We humans have created some of it ourselves. But we have also created crises: crises of conflict, crises of mental health, and most fundamental of all, environmental crises.
For all life to thrive, we need a shift in skills and in mindsets. If we are to achieve this at the speed and scale needed, education must play a central role.
A proponent of transformative education and education for sustainable development (ESD), Nicola has contributed to this transformation through more than fifteen years teaching in institutes of higher education where she has consistently applied ESD principles to her curriculum and pedagogy.
Following her early work with the EU-sponsored School for Transformative Leadership, in 2015 she founded the first Green Society and recycling scheme at Saudi Arabia's largest university for women. In 2017 she designed and implemented an ESD language curriculum for the Université Sorbonne Paris Nord in France.
In 2021 she was commissioned by Earth Charter International (UNESCO chair) to research and co-write a paper entitled The role of non-state actors in the promotion of peace through education, one of four technical notes informing the revision process for UNESCO’s 1974 Recommendation concerning education for international understanding, cooperation and peace and education relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms. She subsequently attended intergovernmental negotiations preceding the adoption of the updated recommendation. She continues to represent Earth Charter International at key events in Paris.
In addition to championing new approaches, Nicola is committed to expanding access to education, especially for women and girls. In Saudi Arabia she co-founded an award winning creative education centre at the country’s first, and largest, university for women, where she also launched an internship programme for female students lacking access to professional work experience opportunities. In France she has been actively involved in leading literacy projects for women in marginalised Roma communities and she currently works with Project Ramzya, helping young women in Afghanistan continue their studies in the most challenging of circumstances.
-
Vilela, M., & Sutcliff, N. C. (2020). The role of non-state actors (NSA) in the promotion of peace through education: technical note. In UNESCO Digital Library (ED/PSD/GCP/2023/01). UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384609
learning to transform
Nicola is available as a consultant on the implementation of ESD in formal and informal learning environments, including practising a whole-institution approach, project-based learning and community engagement.