EEC 2026 meeting of 350 delegates, environmental education power

KUCHING, 24 September: About 350 delegates, including 100 international participants, are expected to attend the 2026 Environmental Education (EEC) Conference to be held on 27 and 28 October 2026.

Deputy Prime Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said that the conference on "Empowering Future Generations through Environmental Literacy" will be a platform to equip young generations with knowledge, values and skills for addressing environmental challenges as well as sustainability issues.

"The conference aims to increase the capacity of educators, institutions and practitioners through high-quality knowledge exchange, technical exposure as well as an experience and place based environmental learning approach.

"At the same time, it strengthens ties between educational institutions, government agencies, academia, NGOs and communities in a joint effort towards sustainability", he said at an EEC press conference here today.

He said EEC 2026 also focuses on the efforts to produce young leaders capable of leading environmental care, while raising ongoing awareness through quality education.

Among the expected outcomes are the preparation of basic inputs and strategic proposals to guide future environmental education trends.

The conference is also expected to enhance educators and practitioners' knowledge of Sarawak's sustainability, climate change and environmental priorities, as well as strengthen skills in experience-based, place-based and interdisciplinary environmental education.

"We also want to promote the implementation of sustainability concepts and environmental themes in school curricula, programmes and co-curricular activities", he said.

A total of 250 local delegates comprising teachers, representatives of NGOs, private sector and government agencies are expected to attend the conference, along with 100 international delegates including speakers.

Among the international organizations involved are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), National Geographic and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

EEC 2026 is organized in cooperation with the Sarawak Ministry of Natural Resources and Urban Development (MUDeNR), the Sarawak Ministry of Energy and Environmental Sustainability as well as the Sarawak Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development.

The two-day conference will be inaugurated by Sarawak's Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Tan Abang Johari Tun Openg and feature five plenary sessions on local environmental issues, global trends, education for the planet and formation of green leaders to tackle climate change. - TVS