Who we are?

Scientists, practitioners and members of the IUFRO Task Force on Gender Equality in Forestry (ForGEDI TF T48). The course content is the result of in-kind work by around 40 contributors. The coordination is done by Ida Wallin (SLU) and Todora Rogelja (UniPD). ForGEDI MOOC is supported by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences – SLU (Sweden) and the University of Padova – UniPD (Italy).

Enroll in the ForGEDI MOOC - Free!

What do we do?

We advance gender equality, diversity, and inclusion (GEDI) in forest-related sectors through reducing the educational gap and make the latest GEDI research and best practices in forest-related sectors easily available to everyone.

ForGEDI MOOC

It is the first Massive Open Online Course on gender equality and diversity issues in forest-related sectors. Such courses should contribute to filling in the tremendous educational gap, as topics of gender equality and diversity are highly under-represented, if not non-existent in many universities worldwide.

The ForGEDI MOOC is developed under the IUFRO Task Force on Gender Equality in Forestry (ForGEDI TF T48) and is (currently) sponsored by SLU Global and the University of Padova. Our team is comprised of about 40 contributors (well-established researchers, professors, and practitioners) from all around the world, making it possible to design content that can fit multiple contexts and needs.

The ForGEDI MOOC is delivered via the FutureLearn platform. Thus, it will be open access and available worldwide. The ForGEDI MOOC consists of three weeks, each covering one significant aspect of the featured topic:
– Week 1 will introduce basic concepts of inclusion, gender equality, and diversity
– Week 2 will present worldwide case studies
– Week 3 will offer practical tools for dealing with gender equality and diversity issues in forestry-related sectors

The ForGEDI MOOC is primarily designed for forestry students and university educators worldwide (primarily target group). Due to the topics’ relevance, it will also benefit students and educators of forest-related sectors (i.e., rural development, trade, environment, etc.) – a secondary target group. Last but not least, the ForGEDI MOOC will also be suitable and beneficial to professionals as well as in VETs, due to the EU micro-credentials approach (tertiary target group).

The ForGEDI MOOC started/launched on 06 March 2024 (first facilitated run). Facilitated runs will be organised according to and depending on our available resources.

A person/organisation support/engages in/sponsor the ForGEDI MOOC as we offer opportunities for learning, connecting, and voicing the need. Throughout the ForGEDI MOOC, we will also offer hands-on tools and resources for students, educators, and professionals in forestry and forest-related sectors. From one side, topics of gender equality and diversity are gaining increasing policy attention, and are even becoming mandatory in everyday work (e.g., in project applications). On the other side, gender equality and diversity issues are influencing the management and use of forests and other natural resources. Despite that trend, the capacity to deal with gender equality and diversity issues is very low in forestry sectors worldwide.

A person/organisation can support the ForGEDI MOOC by becoming a sponsor. We open to sponsorships in the form of in-kind contributions or small donations (5,000 – 10,000 EUR). Sponsorships will be used to ensure the highest quality of educational materials (e.g., graphical editing, video materials), as well as strategic online presence and promotions. We are also investigating opportunities for organising a tailored session for our prospective sponsors.

What's in it for you?

Learn how societal norms shape forestry. Observe best practices and practical tools from four continents to understand what you can implement in your context to make forestry and forest related sectors more gender equal, diverse and inclusive.

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Piper’s Lab addresses broad questions about the competitiveness of the forest sector and focuses specifically on the dynamics of industry business and marketing practices. It is a part of Arkansas at Monticello…

FOREST EUROPE, also known as the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, is a Pan-European voluntary high-level forest policy process. Since 1990, the aim has been to develop common strategies for the 46 signatories (45 European countries and the EU) on how to protect and sustainably manage forests.

The FOREST EUROPE Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) definition and set of criteria and indicators are internationally regarded as guidelines for SFM.

The Salomón Foundation is an NGO that works to educate children and young people about food security and sustainability so they become agents of change with projection in the community.

The Salomón Foundation promoted the idea of ​​creating a Manual for rural entrepreneurs’ women. Salomon Foundation was part of the Manual´s technical committee, with three other institutions (National Institute of Innovation and Agricultural Technology Transfer – INTA; Women Association Monte del Aguacate ASEMA and National Committee of Clubs 4 S). The Foundation managed the participatory construction of the contents of the Manual.

EARTH was established by Costa Rican law in 1986 as a private, non-profit, international university and was created with the support of the Costa Rican government, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Since 1990, EARTH University’s innovative educational approach has been preparing young people from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and other regions to contribute to the sustainable development of their home communities while constructing a prosperous and just global society. EARTH offers a world-class scientific and technological education emphasizing ethical entrepreneurship and strong socio-environmental commitment. Shepherded by a prestigious international faculty, an EARTH education culminates in a four-year undergraduate degree in Agricultural Sciences.

The Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability examines the structural and systemic drivers of social inequalities, exclusion, oppression, and neo-colonization in cities.

The lab analyzes the extent to which urban plans and policy decisions contribute to more just, resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities, and how community groups in distressed neighborhoods contest environmental inequities as a result of urban (re)development processes and policies.

The Forest Women Network in Brazil (FWN-BR) is an independent and pioneering organisation of individuals and legal entities connecting people working or related to the Brazilian forestry sector, with the objective to promote knowledge and awareness on gender equity.

The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), was founded in 1872 and consists of 16 departments and 4 service centres and has experimental fields and forests around Vienna. InFER, the Institute of Forest, Environmental and Natural Resource Policy has profound expertise and a long-standing track record in research and teaching on institutions, instruments and processes in forest, environmental and natural resource policies. Its staff has scientific backgrounds from both social sciences and natural sciences.

EMBRAPA is involved in forestry projects throughout the country (through EMBRAPA Forestry). My team is particularly involved in the conservation activities and identifying methods genetic improvement of plants and forestry. These projects collaborated with farmer along with small and large companies from the forestry sector. In some cases, the projects also focused on female empowerment; through encouraging and creating avenues in forestry for working women in roles traditionally held by men. The team try to identify strategies, opportunities and tasks that can successfully link strategies of the organizations (national and international) to maintain the philosophies and meet the goals each organization.

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education supports DOE’s initiatives through STEM workforce development, scientific reviews, and environmental evaluations.

USDA Forest Service R&D guides land management decisions for the nation’s forests. Operating across research stations, labs, and experimental ranges, it sustains forest health and diversity.

The Institute for Research on Natural Resources, Agroecology and Rural Development (IRNAD) focuses on developing knowledge about natural resources, their conservation status and possibilities for sustainable use. Additionally, IRNAD studies the structure and dynamics of agroecosystems and their response to diverse management practices and territorial dynamics associated with resource utilization.

Wood Science & Engineering is one of three departments of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. Ranked as one of the premier forestry schools in the world, students find a variety of programs that offer broad education, rigorous depth and professional focus. Caring faculty work with students to provide advising, mentoring, research experiences, study abroad opportunities, field labs, exposure to real-world practice, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the latest scientific findings.

The Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology has been established on 10th October 1975. It caters towards sustainable agricultural development and nutritional security in 26 districts having 25 Krishi Vigyan Kendras and 4 Krishi Gyan Kendras in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The main gola od the university is to produce professionals for managing green revolutions and enhancement of rural income and employment through development of agriculture & allied fields.

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities:

  • Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems
  • Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy
  • All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence
  • Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action

UN Women has a unique triple mandate: encompassing normative support, UN system coordination, and operational activities.

The International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) is a global student network in forestry and related sciences. With 130+ member associations in 50+ countries, IFSA connects students and organizations. It’s non-political, non-profit, and student-run and fosters cooperation, knowledge, and youth involvement in international forest processes for a sustainable future.

SLU is a university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. SLU brings together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

Michigan Technological University is a high research activity institution with a mission to create a just, prosperous, and sustainable world. The College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science is principally located on campuses in Houghton and a research forest Alberta, Michigan, with over 2000 hectares of land for students to explore and learn in.

CATIE is a leading regional center for agricultural research and education in Latin America and the Caribbean, specializing in tropical agriculture and conservation. Established 50 years ago in Costa Rica, it drives sustainable development through research, education, outreach, and innovation. It provides postgraduate academic programs and opportunities for applied research, alongside offering technical assistance to various stakeholders, from policymakers to farmers. Renowned for its commitment to inclusive green development.

Dr. Cora van Oosten has more than 30 years of experience in landscape approaches, landscape restoration and landscape governance in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. She has worked as project manager, advisor, and researcher, always in combination with capacity development and collaborative learning on the ground. Through practice, she has learned how to design and deliver offline, online, and blended learning trajectories that work for both informal and formal education. She believes in the power of edu-technology for translocal and ‘glocal’ learning for sustainable and inclusive landscapes. She is currently working as Head of Capacity Development & Education at CIFOR-ICRAF, based at CIFOR-ICRAF headquarters in Bogor, Indonesia. Her task is to strengthen CIFOR-ICRAF’s ‘science-for-impact’ profile and develop a cutting-edge programme on capacity development & education. She does this in close collaboration with CIFOR-ICRAF country programmes and education partners, exploring new models for transformative learning in science and practice.

SNS (Nordic Forest Research, or SamNordisk Skogsforskning) is a cooperating body, financed with Nordic funds under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers that strives to enhance benefits for the Nordic region and contribute to a sustainable society. The members are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the independent areas of Åland, Faroe islands and Greenland.

The Université de Moncton is the largest french-speaking university in Canada’s Atlantic provinces, but also welcomes students from around the world. The École de foresterie is situated at the Edmundston campus, in the heart of New Brunswick’s forestry region. A four-year Bachelors degree prepares graduates for professional practice anywhere in Canada and a Masters program provides for research in forest management, human dimensions, geomatics and other fields.

Makerere University is Uganda’s largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. Today, Makerere University is composed of nine colleges and one school offering both undergraduate and post graduate programmes to about 36,000 undergraduates and 4,000 postgraduates. The University is extensively involved in teaching, research and outreach programmes with local, national and international stakeholders.

The Thünen Institute of Forestry (TI-WF) is one of the 15 specialized institutes of the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries. TI-WF provides science-based decision support and concludes action options for policy and practice. The research focus of the Thünen Institute of Forestry addresses the topics related to “forestry in Germany”, “forestry worldwide”, “forest products markets”, and “forests and society”.

Michigan Technological University is a high research activity institution with a mission to create a just, prosperous, and sustainable world.  The College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science is principally located on campuses in Houghton and a research forest Alberta, Michigan, with over 2000 hectares of land for students to explore and learn in. 

The School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan offers several professional program streams at the graduate level, in addition to thesis-based graduate degrees. SENS’s programs are designed with flexibility and balance in mind to accommodate individual work, family, and life circumstances, while providing you with the mix of marketable skills required to address a variety of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

The Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF) is a modern and multidisciplinary University department, and part of one of the oldest Universities in the world. Our activity is strongly oriented to the study, conservation, effective management and sustainable use of agricultural, forest and natural resources.

The University of Padua is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious seats of learning. As a multi-disciplinary institute of higher education, the University aims to provide its students with professional training and a solid cultural background. The University of Padova was one of the first universities to award a PhD title to a woman, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia.

The Free to Grow in Forestry initiative aims to achieve gender equality and meaningful inclusion of equity-deserving groups (women, Indigenous Peoples, new Canadians, global majorities, 2SLGBTQI+, people living with disabilities) at all levels from technical to executive level positions in the forest sector.

Center for Social Inteligence is an organisation that since 2013, has promoted the value of diverse and inclusive workplace cultures, offering realistic, actionable guidance for leaders.

IUFRO is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists, which promotes global cooperation in forest-related research and enhances the understanding of the ecological, economic and social aspects of forests and trees. IUFRO is “the” global network for forest science cooperation. It unites more than 15,000 scientists in around 630 Member Organizations in almost 120 countries, and is a member of the International Science Council. Scientists cooperate in IUFRO on a voluntary basis. ForGEDI MOOC was developed under the IUFRO Task Force on Gender Equality in Forestry.

The Forest Stewardship CouncilTM (FSCTM) is an international, non-governmental organisation. FSCTM unites individuals, businesses, governments, and NGOs under a common goal: protecting healthy, resilient forests for all, forever.
FSC’s certification system enables businesses and consumers to choose wood, paper and other forest products made with materials that support responsible forestry. Embracing diversity is essential to the FSC’s core strength of bringing different stakeholders together to address challenges and co-create new forest solutions. Work in diversity includes equality for workers, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and gender equality. For many of these diversity elements, FSCTM has built approaches to promote equality in the certification scheme.