Building partnerships for ESD
(Cluster coordinated by Kartikeya Sarabhai, Centre for Environmental Education, India; General Rapporteur of the World Conference)
With sustainable development relating to all areas of society, reorienting education towards sustainable development must be a multi-stakeholder endeavour. Learning for sustainable development takes place not only in education institutions but also in many other sectors of society as well. Education stakeholders therefore need to reach out to other important actors and build strong partnerships. Because sustainable development is a global challenge, international partnerships and the integration of the local and the global are decisive elements for ESD as well.
How strong partnerships for ESD can be built was addressed in the following workshops:
Workshop 10: The Role of the Private Sector in Education Sustainable Development
Workshop 11: Media as partners for ESD
Workshop 12: ESD in North-South-South & South-South partnerships and development cooperation
Workshop 9: UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as learning sites for integrating local and global sustainability issues
Time: 31 March: 15.00 - 18.00h (first part), 1 April: 11.00 - 13.00h (second part)
Place: Federal Press Office (No. 7 on map)
Organizer: Natarajan Ishwaran, UNESCO, Director Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, Secretary Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme
Documents: Background Document; Workshop Report
UNESCO Chairs and Biosphere Reserves: Partnerships for Sustainable Development
Establishing the Cat Ba Biosphere, Vietnam as a Learning Laboratory for Sustainable development
Background
Biosphere reserves promote and demonstrate sustainable interactions between conservation of ecosystem functions and socio-economic well being of people, through research, education, monitoring, capacity building and participatory management. They are areas of terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems, nominated by national governments and recognized under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme since 1976. There are 531 biosphere reserves in 105 countries participating in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Learning is a key task of biosphere reserves: Stakeholders at all levels experience together, learn and disseminate lessons of sustainability, from public administrators, local communities, businesses, scientists to children. During the next 5 years of the DESD, the MAB Programme aims at enhancing the role of biosphere reserves as learning sites for sustainable development and build partnerships that will demonstrate that substantive dialogue among all inhabitants and stakeholders is a necessary condition for sustainable development judgements and decisions that harmonizes between often conflicting needs of biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation and socio-economic and cultural well being of communities.
Objectives
The workshops brought together education policy makers, ESD practitioners in the field, biosphere reserve managers, researchers and business representatives. The focus was on success stories in using the biosphere reserve concept as a platform for local, national and global partnerships for sustainable development and ESD. Learning sustainability was demonstrated as an intensive, multi-dimensional and reciprocal process of sharing experiences and practices, especially as regards promoting local involvement and engagement and finding innovative and creative ways for working together.
On Day 1 (31 March), a special focus was on international partnerships since biosphere reserves are unique in combining the sharing of experiences and knowledge in contributing towards sustainability through local and at the same time global collaboration. Day 2 (1 April) outlined a programme of action for 2009-2014 in order to strengthen the contribution of learning experiences from biosphere reserve to the UNDESD and vice versa, such as new training programmes or the creation of new learning materials and resources for a variety of stakeholders.
Expected output
At a global level, a draft strategy was developed to leverage DESD co-operation between the World Network of Biosphere Reserves and the DESD-affiliated networks of educational institutions to demonstrate the value of making full use of learning sites for sustainable development. At the internal level of UNESCO, a draft strategy for co-operation of the MAB and the DESD Secretariats was formulated, with reference to the WSSD implementation plan for UNESCO, the Madrid Action Plan for biosphere reserves (2008-2013) and the UNESCO Medium Term Strategy.
Workshop 10: The Role of Private Sector in Education Sustainable Development
Time: 31 March: 15.00 - 18.00h (first part), 1 April: 11.00 - 13.00h (second part)
Place: Deutsche Welle; Room Trincomalee and Antigua (No. 3 on map)
Organizer: Alex Wong, Senior Director, Head of Center for Global Industries and Head of Global Education Initiative, World Economic Forum; Katherine Madden, Manager, Implementing Sustainable Development, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Documents: Background Document; Workshop Report
The private sector has a strong tradition of training employees to improve competiveness. As companies take on a broader role in society, they have extended their influence to other types of education and training. This includes learning at primary, secondary, tertiary and community levels - both formally and informally. This workshop aimed for a better understanding of the rationale and the role of the private sector in education for sustainable development and education about sustainable development. It looked at the boundaries of business responsibility and the role of government and civil society. Participants explored the different modalities of engagement and how to ensure win win partnerships. This workshop also offered an excellent opportunity to share experiences and best practice and to build a communication network for future knowledge sharing.
Alex Wong
BASc in Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto; MPA, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Formerly over 12 years' experience with Accenture, General Motors and US National Parks Service. Since 2000, with World Economic Forum including: heading IT and Telecoms, Media & Entertainment, Consumers, and Mobilities Industry teams; currently heads Geneva-based industry teams, with focus on Basic Industries including the Chemicals, Engineering & Construction, and Mining & Metals industries. Also heads the Global Education Initiative (GEI), a flagship Forum initiative launched in 2003 to develop partnerships in education at the country, regional, and global level to help countries achieve their quantitative and qualitative education sector objectives. The GEI has facilitated active partnership initiatives in Jordan, Egypt, Rajasthan, Rwanda, and the Palestinian Territories and has global partnerships with UNESCO and the Fast Track Initiative.
Workshop 11: Media as partners for ESD
Time: 31 March: 15.00 - 18.00h (first part), 1 April: 11.00 - 13.00h (second part)
Place: Deutsche Welle, Room Kigali and Nauen (No. 3 on map)
Organizer: Venus Jennings, UNESCO Communication and Information Sector; Anne Marie Kalanga, Deutsche Welle
Documents: Background Document; Workshop Report
Anne Marie Kalanga
Anne Marie Kalanga is a Congolese journalist and graduate in humanities at the University of Kinshasa. 15 years of professional experience, with particular interest in the environment, a field in which she has carried out a large number of fieldwork reports. From 2002 to 2005, co-ordinator of the National Network of Environmental Journalists in the Democratic Republic of Congo and, as such, member of the African Network of Environmental Journalists. Participating on numerous occasions in international conferences and training sessions in Africa and in Europe has provided Anne Marie Kalanga with experience in the organisation of interactive workshops. Her specialisation in scientific journalism together with the World Federation of Scientific Journalists was briefly interrupted in 2007 by an armed attack to which she was subjected in her country. Since 2008, Anne Marie Kalanga has worked in Kenya as an independent journalist; her reports in the French language are broadcasted to Deutsche Welle, BBC and Canal Afrique.
Workshop 12: ESD in North-South-South & South-South partnerships and development cooperation
Time: 2 April: 9.00-13.00h
Place: Deutsche Welle, Room Kigali and Nauen (3 on map)
Organizer: Mumsie Gumede, Southern African Development Community Regional Environmental Education Programme (SADC REEP); Martin Westin, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA); Marco van der Ree, United Nations Volunteers
Documents: Background Document; Workshop Report
The workshop looked at creating and strengthening effective North-South-South & South-South networks and partnerships in ESD. Useful processes and structures which included formal and non-formal education and learning were focused. It also directed the participants to focus on necessary support systems and activities of these networks.
The underlying focus of the partnerships is on quality of education and learning across all levels of education and training, including formal and non-formal education. This focus is supported by the existing international agreements on education like EFA, MDG’s and other regional imperatives. The workshop drew from and captured the participants’ understanding and experience in implementing networks, and frameworks that support ESD. Finally the workshop formulated a way-forward for creating / or strengthening the networks.
