IUGS White Paper on Geoscience Education
Overview
The IUGS White Paper on Geoscience Education is a strategic initiative developed by the IUGS Commission on Geoscience Education (COGE) through collaboration with its global network of educators, researchers, and practitioners.
The document aims to contribute to address the critical role of geoscience education in responding to global challenges including climate change, natural hazard risk, resource sustainability, and environmental justice, while identifying structural barriers and opportunities for strengthening geoscience education systems worldwide.
Following an extensive internal review process within COGE, the current draft is now being opened for global stakeholder consultation. This consultation phase is designed to ensure broad international participation and to strengthen the scientific, educational, and policy relevance of the final document.
Consultation Purpose
This consultation invites feedback from the global geoscience education community in order to:
- Strengthen the evidence base and global relevance of the White Paper
- Identify regional perspectives and implementation challenges
- Enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion dimensions
- Refine strategic recommendations for geoscience education systems
- Build broad international consensus prior to final publication
Consultation Period
The consultation will remain open until the conclusion of GeoSciEd X (Adelaide, Australia August 2026).
All contributions received within this period will be reviewed, synthesised, and incorporated into the final revision of the document.
After this date, the consultation phase will be formally closed and no further structured feedback will be collected.
The final version will then be submitted to Episodes for peer-reviewed publication.
Consultation Materials
The following materials are available for review:
White Paper Draft (Version for Consultation)
Executive Summary
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Key Messages Overview
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Feedback Mechanism
Stakeholders are invited to provide structured feedback via the online consultation form:
Consultation Feedback Form
Feedback will be reviewed by the COGE White Paper Editorial Team and integrated into the next revision cycle prior to submission to Episodes.
GeoSciEd X Integration
A dedicated discussion of the White Paper will take place during GeoSciEd X (Adelaide, August 2026) as part of the Big Ideas Day programme.
This session will serve as a global forum for dialogue, critique, and co-development of the White Paper recommendations, ensuring alignment between conference outcomes and the final version of the document.
Participants will be encouraged to engage directly with the draft via the consultation materials provided above.
Governance and Status
This document is an open consultation draft developed under the auspices of the IUGS Commission on Geoscience Education (COGE).
It does not represent a final position of IUGS or COGE and is subject to revision based on stakeholder input received during the consultation period.
Closing Statement
COGE warmly invites the global geoscience education community to participate in this consultation process and contribute to shaping a shared, inclusive, and forward-looking vision for geoscience education worldwide.