RCEs, acknowledged by the UNU based on recommendations of the Ubuntu Committee of Peers for the RCEs, aspire to achieve the goals of the DESD (delivered by UNESCO as lead agency) by translating its global objectives into the context of the local communities in which they operate.
In response to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014), the United Nations University (UNU) called for the development of regional networks for the promotion of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). RCEs aspire to achieve the goals of the DESD by translating its global objectives into the context of the local communities in which they operate. RCEs are acknowledged by the UNU based on recommendations of the Ubuntu Committee of Peers for the RCEs, which consists of signatories of the signed in 2002. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO; French: Organisation des Nations unies pour l'education, la science et la culture) is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture. 
