Thailand
- E-Waste
- Digital transformation
- English
- Garam Bel
- Harshita Mehta
- Garam Bel
- Angel Draev
- Ghazi Mabrouk
- Harshita Mehta
- Noémie Pralat
Introductory
Description
This course will provide participants with an introductory exposure to the world of policymaking and electronics producer responsibility in the area of e-waste management, bringing together key learning materials based around the underpinning legal, financial and administrative components of well-functioning e-waste management systems. With the generous support of the Global Gateway initiative of the European Union, participation in this training is provided free of charge for selected applicants, including accommodation, meals (3 lunches and 1 dinner), and other organized activities, including a field trip to an e-waste recycling facility. Participants or their organizations will be responsible for covering their travel expenses to and from Bangkok, Thailand.
The training course is an introductory course targeted to government officials and policymakers working in digital transformation, sustainability, environmental governance, and the management and regulation of old and end-of-life electronic devices.
The maximum number of participants in this course is limited to 30 people.
Members of the above-mentioned target population are invited to apply for the training if they meet the following criteria:
- Hold an undergraduate degree in a relevant field or have a minimum of three years of experience in digital transformation and e-wase-related fields if they do not hold a university degree.
- Possess a fluent level of English.
- Complete the application questionnaire and attach an up-to-date CV, a recommendation letter from their employer, or a motivation letter.
- Government officials and policymakers from developing countries, particularly women, are encouraged to apply.
- Selection will be conducted by the course organizers, who will consider the above entry requirements along with an analysis of the application questionnaire and the recommendation/motivation letter of each applicant.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Apply the basic key terms and principles necessary to take policy issues related to e-waste forward in the respective organization.
- Describe the role that circular economy may play in shaping the economy and society, in particular in relation to the electronics and the ICT sector.
- Outline the e-waste challenge, in particular in the context of its management and regulation.
- Navigate the technicalities of extended producer responsibility (EPR) and the increasingly prominent role it plays in e-waste management.
- Explore different financing systems for e-waste management such as government-led and private sector-led options.
- List the instruments and elements that need to be defined while building an EPR system.
- Plan out the steps required for the e-waste policy and regulation drafting process and the implementation and monitoring phases.
Successful applicants for this training will be requested to familiarize themselves with the below prerequisite materials, which serve as an essential knowledge foundation which the in-person training course materials build on and refer to extensively. This includes during the training, for key elements such as the homework assignments where the below materials will serve as a reference point. Participants are requested to take the following two self-paced e-learnings prior to the training:
- An Introduction to E-waste Policy.
- Deep Dive into the Extended Producer Responsibility Principle for E-waste Management.
Reading materials in preparation for the course and for reference as light-reading homework:
Participants will be required to take part in all the activities of the training course. At the end, participants will receive an ITU certificate of completion. To obtain the certificate of completion, participants will be required to follow minimally 100% of the activities and to have passed the two end-of-day quizzes with a minimum pass grade of 70%. A sign-in sheet will be present for daily registration to track participation. Participants will also form small groups to produce an assessed poster presentation that depicts their ideal e-waste management system and policy priorities for a fictional country in line with pre-set characteristics for each country. Each group will be asked to present their poster at the end of the training course. A minimum pass grade of 70% also applies to the group poster presentation where the group grade will account for the overall grade of each member of the group.
Day 1 – Tuesday 5 November (Setting the Scene)
- 09:00-09:30:
- Welcome session.
- Key Learning Points: Introductions, clarification of learning objectives, goal setting, programme overview.
- 09:30-10:30:
- Topics Covered: Fundamental concepts in e-waste management, regulation, and the circular economy for electronics.
- Key Learning Points: Key terms and definitions such as electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), used and second-hand EEE, e-waste, management steps for e-waste, categorization of EEE and e-waste, national definitions, and key value chain actors.
- 10:30-12:00:
- Topics Covered: Key concepts and principles in e-waste management policy.
- Key Learning Points: Principles for e-waste management (circular economy, extended producer responsibility (EPR), polluter-pays principle, and the Waste Hierarchy).
- 12:00-12:30:
- Topics Covered: Instructions for light-reading homework and preparations for the end-of-course assessed group work poster presentation.
- Key Learning Points: Instructions for group work poster presentation task and light-reading homework (section one “Getting Started”).
- 14:00-15:00:
- Topics Covered: The status of the global e-waste challenge.
- Key Learning Points: Analysis of the global e-waste challenge (generation, collection, recycling, materials, legislation, health effects, and environmental impact). Discussion on findings from The Global E-waste Monitor 2024.
- 15:00-16:00:
- Topics Covered: Environmentally sound management of e-waste in the context of EPR.
- Key Learning Points: Categorization of value chain actors and the flows of materials, money, and information in the e-waste management system.
- 16:30-17:00:
- Brief recap and quiz.
- Key Learning Points: Refresher for participants and quiz contributing to the overall assessment and grading.
Day 2 – Wednesday 6 November (The Core Pillars)
- 09:00-10:00:
- Topics Covered: Framing the core pillars of the overall system of environmentally sound e-waste management.
- Key Learning Points: Building on the system map from the previous day, focusing on the three core pillars (administrative, legal, financial) of environmentally sound e-waste management.
- 10:00-10:30:
- Instructions for light-reading homework and preparations for the end-of-course assessed group work poster presentation.
- Key Learning Points: Reminder of instructions for the group work poster presentation task and light-reading homework (sections two and three on “Building the System” and “Operating the System”).
- 11:00-12:00:
- Topics Covered: Mapping the roles and responsibilities of value chain actors in e-waste management, under the administrative pillar.
- Key Learning Points: Mapping value chain actors against the roles and responsibilities required for successful implementation of an environmentally sound e-waste management system.
- 12:00-12:30:
- Topics Covered: The typical roles and responsibilities of value chain actors in e-waste management.
- Key Learning Points: Presentation on typical roles and responsibilities of value chain actors in e-waste management, followed by breakout group presentations.
- 14:00-15:00:
- Feeding back to the group on the findings from each breakout group.
- Key Learning Points: Group presentations on identified roles and responsibilities of value chain actors in e-waste management.
- 15:00-15:30:
- Topics Covered: The financial options for the environmentally sound management of e-waste.
- Key Learning Points: Presentation on different financing options and case studies demonstrating the deployment of these options by countries.
- 16:00-16:30:
- Topics Covered: The EEE producer organizational options for the environmentally sound management of e-waste.
- Key Learning Points: Presentation on different organizational options and case studies demonstrating their deployment by EEE producers.
- 16:30-17:15:
- Brief recap and quiz.
- Key Learning Points: Refresher for participants and quiz contributing to the overall assessment and grading.
Day 3 – Thursday 7 November (Contents of Regulation)
- 09:00-09:30:
- Topics Covered: Refresher on the types of financing options, types of extended producer responsibility, and types of producer responsibility organization features.
- Key Learning Points: Refreshing participants’ knowledge about the various organizational and financial options under extended producer responsibility.
- 09:30-11:00:
- Topics Covered: Compiling the potential contents of an e-waste regulation within the context of the environmentally sound management of e-waste and extended producer responsibility.
- Key Learning Points: Breakout groups compile potential contents for an e-waste regulation including key definitions, terms, principles, articles and obligations, roles and responsibilities, and obligated parties.
- 11:00-12:00:
- Feeding back to the group on the findings from each breakout group.
- Key Learning Points: Group presentations on the compiled contents for an e-waste regulation.
- 13:00-14:00:
- Topics Covered: The general contents of a regulation on the environmentally sound management of e-waste in the context of the extended producer responsibility principle.
- Key Learning Points: Presentation on general contents of regulation based on global experience, focusing on a general set of articles.
- 14:00-15:30:
- Topics Covered: The preparation of poster presentations by groups for fictional countries.
- Key Learning Points: Preparation of a poster presentation depicting each group's ideal e-waste management system and policy priorities for a fictional country.
- 15:30-17:00:
- Topics Covered: Presentation of the assessed poster presentations by each group.
- Key Learning Points: Group presentations of their poster presentations to the wider group.
- 17:00-17:30:
- Topics Covered: Training closure and field trip information and logistics.
- Key Learning Points: Information on the following day’s field trip and logistics, and training closure.
Day 4 – Friday 8 November (Field Trip to E-waste Recycling Facility)
Registration information
Unless specified otherwise, all ITU Academy training courses are open to all interested professionals, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, economic status and other diverse backgrounds. We strongly encourage registrations from female participants, and participants from developing countries. This includes least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries.