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A question that sounds like an episode of Rob Hopkins’ brilliant ‘From What If to What Next‘ podcast. This may not be fantasy for long.
In France, in 2022 a bold programme was initiated, the “Formation À La Transition Écologique Des Cadres De L’État“… or to you and me: “Training in the Ecological Transition for State Executives”.
This is a new training program launched by the French Government aimed at educating its senior civil servants and government executives on the topics of climate change and ecological transition.
The training program is being developed in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including academic experts, civil society organisations, and private sector partners. It is designed to provide civil servants with the knowledge and skills they need to integrate climate change considerations into their work and develop sustainable policies and programs.
This new training program is part of a broader plan to address the challenges of climate change and transition to a more sustainable economy. The initiative was announced by the then French Minister of Public Transformation and Service, Amélie de Montchalin, and will be offered to all levels of civil servants, from senior executives to frontline workers.
The key details of the programme are available in this press release. (Here is the original press release, in French)
The ambition of the Government is to train 25,000 senior executives in the state public service by the end of 2025, and all public officials, or 5.6 million, by 2027.
Officers will be trained as and when according to the following schedule:
October 2022: Training of the 200 directors of central administration.
January 2023: training of 300 other executives, including ambassadors.
from July 2023: 1,500 state executives will be trained per month on average.
from December 2024: training of 12,000 public service executives and 4,000 executives from the hospital public service.
by 2027: 5.6 million public officials will be trained in total.
The training program is being developed in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including academic experts, civil society organizations, and private sector partners. It is designed to provide civil servants with the knowledge and skills they need to integrate climate change considerations into their work and develop sustainable policies and programs.
The training will be tailored to the specific needs of different civil servant groups, with separate modules for senior executives and frontline workers.
The training is split into three modules of a half-day, based around the themes of Understand, Imagine and Act:
The potential outcome of this initiative is a better-educated civil service that is equipped to tackle the challenges of climate change and transition to a more sustainable economy. By prioritizing climate education and training, governments can help ensure that their civil servants are equipped to make informed decisions that support the transition to a more sustainable future.
The initiative is part of a broader plan to address the challenges of climate change and transition to a more sustainable economy. It is hoped that other countries will follow suit and prioritize climate education and training for their own government officials and civil servants. The potential outcome is a better-educated civil service that is equipped to make informed decisions that support the transition to a more sustainable future.
It is hoped that other countries, including the UK, will follow suit and prioritise climate education and training for their own government officials and civil servants.
If you think we can work together to help this dream come true, then please get in touch with your connections or collaborations.
At Climate Clarity, we can deliver and train people and organisations in many complex-causal-focused workshops. We use Climate Fresk, Biodiversity Collage and more, getting behind these challenges. These workshops are being used in the French training programme.
You can find public instances of these workshops at https://climatefresk.org/ and https://www.fresquedelabiodiversite.org/en.html and we regularly run public and open events ourselves along with training facilitators.
The key steps and challenges for the process of training civil servants on climate change and ecological transition include the following:
Developing a comprehensive curriculum: One of the key steps is to develop a comprehensive curriculum that covers all aspects of climate change, including its causes, effects, and potential solutions. The curriculum should be designed to meet the needs of civil servants at all levels, from senior executives to frontline workers. It shouldn’t end with the Climate Fresk, the topics of Climate, Biodiversity, Energy and Resources must all be covered for a holistic understanding.
Ensuring participation: Another challenge is to ensure that civil servants at all levels participate in the training program.
Ensuring effective delivery: The training program must be delivered in a way that is engaging and effective. This may involve the use of interactive workshops, online training modules, and other innovative approaches to ensure that civil servants remain engaged and motivated throughout the training process. This is where Climate Fresk and the Biodiversity Collage are a natural choice.
Ensuring continuity: Training on climate change and ecological transition is an ongoing process that must be updated and revised over time. It is important to establish mechanisms for ongoing training and to ensure that civil servants have access to the latest information and resources on climate change and sustainability.
Overcoming resistance: this resistance will require effective communication and engagement, as well as the development of a shared understanding of the importance of addressing the climate crisis.