TAM Report / Kyrgyzstan- Green campuses

GENERAL INFORMATION

TAM title: Green Campuses and Environmental Education

Type of Event: Webinar

Modality: Hybrid

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Dates: 23-24 October 2025

Participants: Approximately 50 participants attended the activities, participating in physical presence. The audience included local higher education experts and students actively engaged in sustainability-related topics.

THEMES COVERED

• Sustainability in higher education: global trends and policy frameworks
• European Union perspectives on sustainability and implementation programmes
• Green campuses and whole-institution approaches to sustainability
• Integration of sustainability into teaching and study programmes
• Student engagement and student-led initiatives for sustainability
• Institutionalisation of sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions

KEY OUTCOMES

During the workshop, participants:

• Strengthened their understanding of global and European sustainability frameworks relevant to higher education.
• Examined concrete European examples of green campuses and whole-institution sustainability approaches.
• Reflected on ways to integrate sustainability into teaching, curricula, and institutional strategies.
• Shared and discussed local sustainability initiatives and student-led actions in Kyrgyz universities.

OVERVIEW

The site visit focused on sustainability in higher education, with the expert delivering a presentation titled “Sustainability in Higher Education – The Global Landscape”. The presentation provided an overview of global trends, international policy frameworks, and opportunities for higher education institutions, with particular emphasis on European Union perspectives, policies, and implementation programmes. Multiple examples from European universities were presented, illustrating how sustainability and green campus initiatives can be embedded through a whole-institution approach.

In the second part of the visit, the expert participated in a panel discussion, sharing practical experience on integrating sustainability into courses and programmes across different faculties. The discussion highlighted successful cases of student engagement and student-led initiatives for sustainability. The session was highly interactive, involving exchanges with another expert and with local experts and students, whose questions and presentations demonstrated strong engagement and existing local initiatives related to green campuses and sustainability.

THE FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY

Title of the activity: Follow-up to the TAM “Green Campuses and Environmental Education” – Development of a Roadmap for a Green Transition in Kyrgyzstan’s Higher Education

Dates: 20 November 2025 (developed over a four-week period following the TAM seminar)

Audience: A working group of experts formed during the TAM seminar, including 8 participants from 4 universities in Kyrgyzstan, representing academic and institutional stakeholders engaged in sustainability initiatives in higher education. 

Description: The follow-up activity focused on the development of a National Roadmap for Green Campuses and Environmental Education in Kyrgyzstan, building on the discussions and outcomes of the TAM seminar. A working group composed of active participants from the seminar collaborated over four weeks to draft a strategic framework aimed at integrating sustainability across higher education institutions. 

The roadmap provides guidance for universities to embed environmental sustainability into institutional governance, campus operations, teaching and learning, research activities, and community engagement. It also promotes the introduction of sustainability-related courses, the establishment of Green Campus committees, the implementation of eco-audits, and the adoption of renewable energy solutions within university campuses. 

The initiative supports national efforts to align higher education with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) objectives and national climate priorities, while encouraging collaboration between universities, government bodies, and environmental stakeholders. The draft roadmap is currently available for broader stakeholder consultation and will be further refined before submission to the Ministry for consideration and potential policy integration. 

ENHANCING IMPACT: PROPOSED NEXT STEPS

• Improve alignment of national and institutional sustainability strategies with global frameworks such as SDG4 (Quality Education) and SDG13 (Climate Action).
• Adopt a phased implementation approach for sustainability strategies to improve coordination and effectiveness.
• Include a clear problem statement in sustainability roadmaps, outlining current challenges and obstacles faced by universities.
• Strengthen the institutionalisation of sustainability initiatives, moving beyond ad-hoc actions.
• Increase promotion of the SDGs and student engagement, including incentives for small student-led sustainability projects.

RESOURCES AND BACKGROUND MATERIAL

• University of Oxford (n.d.).
  Environmental sustainability strategy. Oxford: University of Oxford. Available at: https://sustainability.admin.ox.ac.uk/files/environmentalsustainabilitystrategy.pdf