The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014) __________ “ Education - in all its forms and at all levels -
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Transcript The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014) __________ “ Education - in all its forms and at all levels -
The United Nations Decade
of Education
for Sustainable Development
(2005 – 2014)
__________
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“ Education - in all its forms and at all levels
- is not only an end in itself but is also one
of the most powerful instruments we have
for bringing about the changes required to
achieve sustainable development. ”
Koïchiro Matsuura,
Director-General of UNESCO
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Why education for
sustainable development?
If we could turn the population of the earth into a
small community of 100 people, keeping the same
proportions we have today, there would be:
61 Asians, 12 Europeans, 14 Americans,
13 Africans, 1 Australian
50 women, 50 men
33 Christians, 18 Muslims, 16 Hindus, 6 Buddhists,
11 practising other religions, and 16 are nonreligious
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Why education for sustainable
development?
6 people own 59% of the entire wealth of the community
17 females and 8 males live in abject poverty
70 % of the work of the village would be done by women
but they would only be paid 10 % of the village’s revenue
70 are illiterate, only 1 person has a university degree
Of the 23 children aged 5-14 years, 6 are working,
3 of them working full-time and receiving no education
And this miniature earth is marked by, for example:
deforestation, half of the world’s forests destroyed
difficult access to safe drinking water
many indigenous languages threatened by extinction
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Why education for
sustainable development?
This perspective – the miniature earth –
reveals the needs for change and for
education to face the challenges of our
century, and meet the objectives of
sustainability.
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Why education for
sustainable development?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• 1987-2002: Emergence, then definition of concept
of sustainable development
• 1992:
Rio Earth World Summit
UNESCO received the responsibility for implementing the
Agenda 21’s Chapter 35, Science for sustainable
development, and Chapter 36, Promoting education, public
awareness and training.
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Why education for
sustainable development?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (2)
• 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
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3 pillars of Sustainable
Development
Social perspectives
Environmental perspectives
Economic perspectives
With culture as an underlying dimension
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What is education for
sustainable development?
A new vision of education
An education empowering people to commit
themselves to sustainability
An education for democracy
An education at all levels of education systems,
using all modalities, and in all social contexts
The practice of values
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Respect for:
dignity and human rights of all people
rights of future generations and intergenerational responsibility
the greater community of life (eco-systems)
cultural diversity and a commitment to
build peace
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Which vision of education for
sustainable development ?
4 main thrusts
Promoting and improving basic education
Reorienting educational programs
Building public understanding and
awareness
Providing practical training
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What are the key education
initiatives?
Millenium Development Goals, MDGs
Education for All, EFA
United Nations Literacy Decade, UNLD
United Nations Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development, DESD
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Commonalities among
initiatives
Four initiatives with:
A common vision: Education is an important
key to development
A common wiil: to promote human rights
A common requirement : to enhance full
participation of all stakeholders
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Complementarity of the
initiatives
Four initiatives, four specificities:
MDGs, to reduce poverty in its many aspects
EFA, to provide access to quality education
for all children and adults
UNLD, to contribute to meeting the
objectives of EFA and DESD.
Education for sustainable development – to
give the quality dimension in all education a
particular orientation
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Quality ESD - learner level
Seeks out learners
Acknowledges what learner brings
Considers content of formal,non-formal
and informal learning
Addresses educational processes
Provides conducive learning
environment
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Quality ESD - system level
Structures management and
administration to support learning
Implements good policies
Enacts appropriate legislation
Restructures resources for learning
Measures learning outcomes - knowledge,
skills, values, behaviours
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“ Our biggest challenge in this new
century is to take an idea that seems
abstract – sustainable development –
and turn it into a reality fo all the
world’s people. ”
Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations
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