Bridging Policy and Practice : Co-Developing a Decolonial Circular Economy Learning Module for Schools in Indonesia

UCL Global Engagement Fund (GEF) Project | 2025–2026

This project brings together UCL and Universitas Gadjah Mada to co-develop a decolonial circular economy (CE) learning module for Indonesian schools. Building on the “Mundane Circular Economy Policy” (MCEP) framework, the initiative centres everyday school practices—waste sorting, resource use, eco-literacy—as transformative actions for decolonising transitions to sustainable and circular futures.

Working closely with school principals, teachers, and the Indonesia Green Principal Awards (IGPA) network, the team will co-design practical tools that help students and educators integrate circular thinking into daily school routines. These include decision-mapping exercises, prioritisation tools, and pathways for embedding CE practices into the curriculum.

The project unfolds across three stages from September 2025 to June 2026 :

1.Contextual Grounding & Needs Assessment :Interviews and focus groups with urban, rural, and remote schools to shape a context-responsive module

2. Collaborative Development & Pilot Testing: Creation of a bilingual (English–Bahasa Indonesia) module handbook, presented at the national IGPA event and tested with partner schools.

3. Dissemination & Regional Engagement: A hybrid workshop at UCL, a Southeast Asia–level webinar, and an open-access module handbook released online.

A key aim is to build a long-term coaching network of school leaders who can champion mundane circular practices across Indonesia and, eventually, the wider ASEAN region. The project also deepens ongoing collaboration between DecoLab, UGM, and UCL STEaPP on decolonial education, sustainability transitions, and context-sensitive innovation policy. (On-going project)

Image Credit: IGPA