The Impact of Meetings on the Network Governance and Mobility of UN Policy Programs on Environment and Education - Abstract

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

This paper examines how face-to-face meetings shape network governance and global mobility of United Nations (UN) policy programs focused on environmental and sustainability education (ESE). Using interview data from 13 international ESE policy leaders, the study transcribes, codes, and analyzes themes tied to policy influence and mobility outcomes. Findings show meetings build collaboration and influence, generate network relations across locations, and support social learning that helps policy programs travel into member-country agendas.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Originality/Value

Introduction

Policy programs and network governance

Non-state actors and network ethnography

Meetings as a research focus

The Impact of Meetings on the Network Governance and Mobility of UN Policy Programson Environment and Education Nicolas Stahelin University of Saskatchewan Marcia McKenzie University of Melbourne ECNU Review of Education 2023, Vol. 6(4) 597–622 © The Author(s) 2023 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/20965311231181404](DOI: 10.1177/20965311231181404)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/20965311231181404)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This paper adds to the understandings of how face-to-face meetings contribute to the network governance and global mobility of United Nations (UN) policy programs on environmental and sustainability education (ESE). Design/Approach/Methods: Data from interviews with 13 international ESE policy leaders were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for key themes related to the research purpose. Findings: The ﬁndings indicate that meetings provide an arena for collaboration and inﬂuence on UN ESE policy programs, as well as facilitating the impact of the policy programs on UN member country policy. In addition, attending meetings enables the production of network relations that bind ESE policy communities together across distant locations. They are also a venue for the networking labor involved in forging new relationships and facilitating the social learning that supports global policy mobility. Originality/Value: This pilot study enriches understanding of face-to-face meetings as a key vector of policy mobility and a signiﬁcant factor in the overall network governance of UN organizations and their policy programs. We hope the study contributes to the ﬁelds of critical policy Corresponding author: Nicolas Stahelin, Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, 28 Campus Drive College of Education, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X1, Canada. Email: [nicolas.stahelin@gmail.com](nicolas.stahelin@gmail.com) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access page ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). studies and ESE, as well as to informing policy actors on how important their participation in meetings can be for the network governance and mobility of UN policy programs. Keywords Environmental education, international organizations, network ethnography, network governance, policy mobilities, sustainability education Date received: 2 December 2021; revised: 20 April 2022, 29 October 2022; accepted: 29 October 2022 Introduction In this paper, we explore the role of face-to-face meetings in the global network governance and mobility of United Nations (UN) policy programs with a focus on environmental and sustainability education (ESE) . The emergence, evolution, and circulation of global ESE policy programs have occurred through a range of interconnected trajectories over the past 50 years. This development across time and space has largely been driven by a few UN international organizations (IOs), such as the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP); the United Nations Educational, Scientiﬁc, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat. The shaping and mobility of UN IO ESE policy programs involves member country governments, as well as a growing array of non-state actors. However, the speciﬁcs of how these diverse policy actors interact with each other to inﬂuence UN IO ESE policy programs, how

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

To explain how in-person meetings contribute to network governance and global mobility of UN environmental and sustainability education policy programs.

What methods does the paper use?

Interview data from 13 international ESE policy leaders are transcribed, coded, and analyzed to identify themes related to the study purpose.

How do meetings affect policy mobility and governance?

Meetings create an arena for collaboration and influence, produce network relations across distant locations, and enable networking labor that supports social learning, strengthening the programs’ global mobility.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk