Baltic & Black sea Circle Consortium (BBCC)
 | Baltic and Black sea Circe Consortium (BBCC) is an international network that unites researchers and practitioners in the fields of teacher education and education for sustainable development (ESD). Since its creation in 2005, the consortium has become a platform for experience exchange among researchers and experts in ESD from more than 20 countries around the world. |
BBCC members meet every year at the annual international scientific conference “Sustainable Development. Culture. Education”, which is hosted by a different consortium member state each year. Everyone who participates in this conference becomes a member of BBCC (receives a membership card). The member’s status gives an opportunity to join a ‘family’ of like-minded enthusiasts, get involved in collaborative research and international networking in the sphere of ESD.
The Baltic and Black sea Circle Consortium was established in 2005 as an initiative in international cooperation between educational research and development institutions in the Baltic and Black Sea region, initially drawn from the countries around and near the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. BBCC historically was created on the basis of the cooperation network of the Journal of Teacher Education and Training (JTET) which was established in 2002 (since 2007 – Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability or JTEFS). BBCC has evolved into a platform for experience exchange for international researchers and experts from the fields of education and sustainable development including the following countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Russia, Belarus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Malta, USA, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Sweden, Brazil, Costa-Rica, Jamaica, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zeeland, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Iran.
Membership is open to individuals, educational institutions, and universities from all the countries from this region. BBCC is a collective organization with the committee of two members from each institution that rotates annually. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Turkey were represented at the first meeting. BBCC is ready to welcome new members and particularly support the participation of graduate students and young researchers from the field of education.
The focus is on the issue of re-orienting education towards sustainable development in the Baltic and Black Sea region. The task of the BBCC is to serve the decade of the priority of sustainable education starting from the year 2005 announced in UNESCO’s declaration of “Education for Sustainable Development”. Two levels of the activities are highlighted: (1) the general level where the philosophical background of sustainable education is acknowledged, and (2) the specific level where sustainable development as a cross-curricular issue is implemented in teacher education.
To meet the highlighted needs, the international conference “Sustainable Development. Culture. Education” and the meeting of the BBCC members are held annually, when the project development and achievements are presented, discussed, evaluated, and published in the Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability). The ongoing information is also published in the Web Page of the Institute of Sustainable Education & BBCC (www.ise-lv.eu) where links with other partner institutions are provided.
Membership is open to individuals, educational institutions, and universities from all the countries from this region. BBCC is a collective organization with the committee of two members from each institution that rotates annually. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Turkey were represented at the first meeting. BBCC is ready to welcome new members and particularly support the participation of graduate students and young researchers from the field of education.
The focus is on the issue of re-orienting education towards sustainable development in the Baltic and Black Sea region. The task of the BBCC is to serve the decade of the priority of sustainable education starting from the year 2005 announced in UNESCO’s declaration of “Education for Sustainable Development”. Two levels of the activities are highlighted: (1) the general level where the philosophical background of sustainable education is acknowledged, and (2) the specific level where sustainable development as a cross-curricular issue is implemented in teacher education.
To meet the highlighted needs, the international conference “Sustainable Development. Culture. Education” and the meeting of the BBCC members are held annually, when the project development and achievements are presented, discussed, evaluated, and published in the Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability). The ongoing information is also published in the Web Page of the Institute of Sustainable Education & BBCC (www.ise-lv.eu) where links with other partner institutions are provided.