RCE Greater Gombak (RCEG2) was officially acknowledged by the Global RCE Service Centre and the Ubuntu Committee of Peers for the RCEs on 1st April 2020. The news was received amidst virtually half the world being lockdowned in the global fight against COVID-19. It could not have been at a better time as it surely serves as a great impetus to meet the goals of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
8th May 2020 marks the date of soft launching of RCE Greater Gombak. It was phenomenal considering it was held physically with a small group of attendees, but virtually joined by a number of important figures in education for sustainable development.
The meeting was attended by both of our Co-Chair; Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dato Dzulkifli Abdul Razak (International Islamic University Malaysia) and Mr Henry Sandanam (The Association of Community Services and Community Development of Gombak District), Prof Geoff Scott (Higher Education and Sustainability of Western Sydney, Australia), Prof Hiroko Shibakawa (RCE Okayama), our Youth Representative; Ms Idayu Mumtaz, RCE Steering Committees and RCE Secretariat which was led by Assoc Prof Dr Zainal Abidin Sanusi, and IIUM Management Committee Members.
The soft launching was held together with Web-Istidamah; a regular monthly colloquium focusing on sustainability issues in IIUM, as Istidamah carries the meaning Sustainability in Arabic. The main focus of discussion includes how RCE could help empowering the community during lockdown, and how education institutions could play a role in the fight against this pandemic. Our youth representatives also express their readiness to play the part in moving forward post-pandemic.
It was heartwarming to end the discussion with a video from more than 10 RCEs around the world. The video is accessible here ;
We truly feel welcomed in this big family of RCEs and look forward to joining hand in hand in the efforts towards education for sustainable development.
Shortly after the launching, we were given the opportunity to walk the talk in our first community engagement event; Answering Humanity Call: Our Selayang Community. The event took place on 30th May 2020 in 8 community residences in Selayang. The event aims to distribute food and essential item aid packs to over project aims to provide immediate relief for the community in need.
The event was made successful through RCE Greater Gombak co-chair, Mr Henry Sandanam as the contact point to the community, and Yayasan Hasanah funding. The food included in the Aid Pack is Benggali Bread, which is prepared by a group of women in need from the local community. This is one of the ways to empower the community and strengthen the local economy.
As Malaysia is moving towards the Recovery Phase from the COVID-19 Pandemic, RCE Greater Gombak is ready to embark the journey of leading Whole Community Transformation through sustainability and spirituality in the local context of Sejahtera.