Transcript UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014) Which implementation for Small Islands Developing States? UNESCO HQ Presentation, ESD section, At Small Islands.

UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development (2005 – 2014)
Which implementation for Small Islands
Developing States?
UNESCO HQ Presentation, ESD section,
At Small Islands Voice Planning Meeting,
Bequia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, 11-16th July 2005
Why a Decade of Education
for Sustainable Development
(DESD)?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• 1987-2002: Emergence then definition of the
concept of sustainable development during many
world summits
• December 2002: resolution 57/254 of the General
Assembly of the United Nations
- proclaims the UN Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development, 2005-2014
- designates UNESCO as the lead agency for the
promotion of the Decade
What is education for
sustainable development?
 Education empowering people to
commit themselves to sustainability
 Education for democracy
 Education at all levels of education
systems and in all social contexts
Objectives for the Decade
of Education for Sustainable
Development (DESD)
Facilitate networking, linkages, exchange and
interaction among stakeholders in ESD
Foster increased quality of teaching and learning
in education for sustainable development
Help countries make progress towards and
attain Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
through ESD efforts
Provide countries with new opportunities to
incorporate ESD into education reform efforts
The four main thrusts
of the DESD
 PROMOTING AND IMPROVING BASIC
EDUCATION
 REORIENTING EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMS
 BUILDING PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING
AND AWARENESS
 PROVIDING PRACTICAL TRAINING
Which challenges
for SIDS?
 Review status in relation to the Decade objectives
and the IIS
 Capitalize on the lessons learnt from
environmental education
 Go beyond environmental education to implement
education for sustainable development
 Reach all stakeholders, particularly policy-makers
and decision-makers as well as private sector,
civil society, etc.
 Establish partnerships
Challenges at global level
 Identify relevant approaches to ensure
inclusion of values and principles of SD
into curricula and teaching/learning
approaches
 Identify and disseminate good practices
 Identify key actors for partnerships
 Mobilise media and the public at large
Challenges for UNESCO
 Catalyse new partnerships with the private sector,
youth and media groups
 Encourage proper monitoring and evaluation
 Encourage a research agenda and serve as
forum for relevant research on ESD
 Share good ESD practices
 Link countries implementing ESD curricula,
policies and research with those requesting help
 Convene flexible working groups on specific
topics
Achievements to date
 International launch in New York, March 1st, 2005
 Draft of the International Implementation Scheme
available
 Logo of the Decade available
 A concept paper on the linkages between the
Decade and other initiatives has been developed
 A number of information materials are available
on the DESD website
www.unesco.org/education/desd
 Regional and national launches of the Decade
 Development of regional strategies
A worldwide challenge…
« We are all inhabitants of the global island. All of us,
rich and poor, weak and strong, whether citizens of
great power or tiny atoll, are linked in webs of
opportunity and vulnerability.
We should have known this already, but it has taken a
tsunami to press the point home. The question is
whether we will act over the long term, not just in small
islands but everywhere, in the same spirit of unity that
characterizes the current moment. »
Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations
at the International Meeting for the 10-year Review of the Barbados
Programme of Action for the SIDS, Mauritius, Port Louis, January 2005