UN Decade Education for Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development
- © Karl-Heinz Gaudry / UNESCO
Sustainable development is one of the central challenges facing the world today. In the light of persisting global patterns of poverty and inequality, as highlighted by the MDG agenda, along with emerging issues like the impact of climate change and the current financial and economic crises, it is no exaggeration to say that, at the start of the 21st century, the world is at a major turning point. The definition of sustainable development given by the World Commission on Environment and Development (‘Brundtland Commission’, 1987) remains valid and timely: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This implies a balance between and an integration of the environmental, economic and social aspects of development, with attention also paid to the cultural dimension. Sustainable development, in fact, has become the guiding principle for achieving just and equitable development options that benefit all people everywhere. Sustainable development can thus be understood both in time and space: it takes into account the needs of future generations, and equally the needs of people today in every part of the world.
Achieving sustainable development requires a global change of mindset and behaviours. Indeed, it has long been recognized that education is crucial for achieving sustainable development. The UN Conference on the Human Environment (‘Stockholm Conference’) in 1972 emphasized education as a way of addressing human-environment problems. Agenda 21, the document adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, ‘Rio Summit’, Rio de Janeiro, 1992), emphasized the need to promote education, public awareness and training in order to assist bringing about sustainable development. In particular, Chapter 36 (Promoting education, public awareness and training) states: "Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of the people to address environment and development issues." The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg, 2002) reaffirmed this commitment and recommended to the United Nations General Assembly the establishment of a United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014), which clearly recognizes the increased need to integrate sustainable development issues and principles into education and learning. Thus, while education clearly is not a sufficient condition in itself for achieving sustainable development, it is certainly a necessary condition.
Education for Sustainable Development
- © Justin Mott / UNESCO
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) seeks to integrate the tenets, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. ESD aims at providing every individual with the opportunity to acquire the values, competencies, knowledge and skills that enable him or her to contribute to a humane, socially just, economically viable and ecologically sustainable future. Among other things, ESD promotes a sense of both local and global responsibility, encourages future-oriented, anticipatory thinking, builds recognition of global interdependence and emphasizes cultural changes that embrace the values of sustainable development. Rather than remaining passive in the face of the above-mentioned challenges, ESD seeks to empower societies, communities and individuals everywhere to shape their future actively and responsibly. ESD raises interesting questions, for example, about learning how to generate creative solutions to current global challenges; about reflecting on new lifestyles which combine well-being, quality of life and respect for nature and other people; and about considering the viewpoints of people from different countries about what sustainability means in practice.
ESD is relevant not only to formal education settings, training and workplace learning but also to public awareness-raising and non-formal and informal learning of many kinds. Thus, ESD should not be seen narrowly as another subject or concern to be added onto the formal education system or a workplace training programme. Rather, ESD is a teaching and learning process through which understanding of and orientation towards sustainable development become embedded in the core education and learning processes to be found in societies everywhere.
In whatever setting, ESD encourages an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to teaching and learning and promotes critical and creative thinking in the educational process. It therefore implies new ways of teaching and learning. The aim of ESD - for individuals to act responsibly in a globalized world - must be integrated into the manner in which all learning occurs: life-long and life-wide, in the workplace, the home and throughout society in general. To holistically address the development of ESD initiatives, four main thrusts have been identified: access to quality education, the reorienting of existing education systems to address sustainability concerns, public awareness and understanding initiatives, and training programmes to address specific social, environmental and economic sustainability issues.
The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
- © UNESCO
In December 2002, by Resolution 59/237, the UN General Assembly declared the years 2005-2014 the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). Member States thus committed themselves to intensified efforts to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into education and learning. The UN General Assembly designated UNESCO the lead agency for the global implementation and coordination of the DESD.
The International Implementation Scheme for the DESD (IIS, 2005), states: “The basic vision of the DESD is a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from education and learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future and for positive societal transformation.” The DESD should provide an opportunity for refining and promoting the vision of and transition to sustainable development through all forms of education, public awareness and training. It should also help to give an enhanced profile to the important role of education and learning in promoting sustainable development. In this context, the IIS proposes four main objectives for the DESD: to facilitate networking, linkages, exchange and interaction among stakeholders in ESD; to foster an increased quality of teaching and learning in ESD; to help countries make progress towards and attain the Millennium Development Goals through ESD efforts; and to provide countries with new opportunities to incorporate ESD into education reform efforts.
The complexity, breadth and diversity of sustainable development issues and of ESD require that a wide range of stakeholders become active and come together to implement the DESD through a partnership approach: governments, parliaments, non-governmental organizations, media, the private sector, education institutions, research institutes, individual educators and students, among others. Bottom-up and top-down strategies must be combined. The local, national, regional and international levels are all relevant for a successful implementation of the DESD.
As global coordinator, UNESCO’s role is to catalyze new partnerships; encourage monitoring and evaluation; facilitate the development of a research agenda for ESD; provide a forum for bringing together important stakeholders; share good practices; promote exchange between Member States on ESD; convene working groups on specific ESD topics; and provide strategic guidance.
Since the start of the DESD, many activities have been undertaken by a broad range of stakeholders. National Committees have been set up, networks have been established, education materials have been developed and disseminated, good practices have been highlighted and shared, and meetings have been organized to encourage international exchange. Much remains to be done, however, before ESD occupies a truly central place in educational and learning processes and before ESD fulfils its potential to improve the quality of education as a whole.
The DESD needs to be seen in conjunction with other international priorities in development and education. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide the relevant framework for international development cooperation; the six Education for All (EFA) goals aim at extending the reach of basic education to everyone; and the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) focuses on the contribution of youth and adult literacy to building knowledge societies in which all may participate. With its orientation towards the principle of sustainable development, the DESD focuses specifically on the content and purpose of education and learning.
