Education for Sustainable Development and Meeting Global Challenges

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Education for Sustainable Development and Meeting
Global Challenges

• Derek Elias
• Chief of Unit, ESD
• UNESCO Bangkok
• Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

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Global Challenges

• Ongoing crises bringing uncertainty
• Unsustainable patterns of living abound
• DESD (2005-2014) attempts to empower people to
  create a more sustainable future

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UN DESD Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development (2005-2014)

• Facilitate networking, linkages, exchange, and
  interaction among stakeholders in ESD
• Foster an increased quality of teaching and
  learning in Education
• Help countries make progress toward and attain
  the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through
  ESD efforts
• Provide countries with new opportunities to
  incorporate ESD into education reform efforts

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Core Issues of ESD

• Societal
• Fulfillment of human
• rights
• Guarantee of peace and
• human security
• Gender equality
• Good health (e.g., HIV/AIDS
• prevention)
• Good governance
• Preservation of cultural and
• linguistic diversity

• Environmental
• Conservation of natural resources and
  biodiversity
• Disaster prevention and mitigation
• Control of climate change
• Green consumerism
• Sustainable
• urbanization

• Economic
• Poverty reduction and a more
• equal distribution of income
• Corporate responsibility and accountability
• A benign market economy
• and fair trade
• Energy conservation and lower consumption
• Sustainable tourism and land use

Culture
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ESD and values (examples)

• Human rights and dignity
• Gender equality
• Economic and social justice
• Cultural diversity
• The value of environmental protection

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DOMAINS OF EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• ESD is about learning rather than teaching, and
  therefore requires
• Reforming the structure and nature of basic
  education
• Reorienting existing education programmes
• Developing public awareness about what
  sustainability means
• Developing capacity within education systems and
  across all other ESD partners

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COMMON ASPECTS FOR THE GLOBAL INITIATIVES

• Concern to improve the quality of life
• Poverty Reduction
• Health
• Promotion of human rights
• Commitment to education Education is a key to
  development
• Participatory approach
• EFA and DESD place emphasis on the quality of
  learning and education
• DESD and UNLD emphasize non-formal learning
• Focus on literacy as a key part of learning and
  education

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Emphasis of ESD

• ESD is a specific area in education, not added on
  top of the existing educational system
• The power of education goes both ways, good and
  ill
• A reorientation of the education sector
• No one size fits all formula
• Approach tailored to meet local/national needs
• Socratic in nature

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DESD and other development mechanisms

• MDGs a set of priority goals (explicit mention of
  climate change missing)
• EFA equal opportunities, equity and justice
• UNLD securing a central tool for learning
• ESD positive values, behavioural change,
  interrelations between different sectors
• ESD outcome level societies, ecosystems and
  economies

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Education in 2009

• Fears and hopes of economic crisis impacts for
  education
• Education remains an excellent investment with
  generous returns
• Attention to long term impacts

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ESD and climate change

• A litmus test for ESD
• More than awareness raising
• Dialogue between subject areas
• Adaptability, problem solving, critical thinking
  become core skills
• System-level reforms needed
• Education must learn to lead by example

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ESD and climate change

• Making education more broadly relevant a priority
• Connecting to surrounding community
• Approach to reflect education sectors great
  value in development
• Overall Development agenda to inform education
• Change only possible through action

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ESD and climate change

• Partnerships promising
• Political support encouraging
• One UN strategies a welcome exigency
• Attitudes underlying provision of educational
  carefully examined

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THANK YOU. For more information on ESD in the
Asia-Pacific region Visit our
website www.unescobkk.org/esd Or email
us esd_at_unescobkk.org