Transforming Timor Leste for Sustainable Development,

Human Rights and Peace: an opportunity for dialogue.

July 6-7, 2009

UN Decade of Education for

Sustainable Development
 UN Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development

“The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development is

the overarching framework, but, from the outset, we must not
confine ourselves to an over-narrow view of what education
means in this regard. In effect, it embraces knowledge and
how it is shared in a global context where the operative word is
interdependence:
between human kind and nature;
between nations and cultures and
between the present and the future.”

Koïchiro
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO
reinstallation ceremony on 21 October 2005
What is Sustainable Development?

It is development that can

“meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”

Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and

Development, 1987
 Why focus on Education for
Sustainable Development?

An exciting international consensus emerged

following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro –
education is central to achieving sustainable
development.
 UN Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development 2005-2014
promotes an education that is relevant to the key
problems of living in the 21st century, empowers
people to exercise their rights and cultivates good
citizenship locally, nationally and globally.

seeks to develop the knowledge, skills, perspectives and

values that will empower people of all ages to assume
responsibility for creating and enjoying a sustainable
future.

mobilizes everyone as ESD is implemented in thousands of local

situations on the ground, integrating ESD into a multitude of
different learning situations.
 Education for Sustainable
Development
a vision of education that integrates
environmental, demographic, economic, social,
cultural and other concerns inherent in the
notion of sustainability

using formal, non-formal and informal modes

of instruction to reach the unreached and
provide training and capacity-building in fields
related to sustainable development
 Objectives of the decade

• Facilitate networking, linkages, exchanges, and interaction

among stakeholders in Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD).

• Foster an increased quality of teaching and learning in ESD.

• Help countries make progress toward and attain the

Millennium Development Goals through ESD.

• Provide countries with new opportunities to incorporate ESD

into education reforms.
 UNESCO’s role in implementing the
Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development
• Building capacity
• Promoting international cooperation
• Leading coordination at the international level
 catalyse new partnerships
 encourage monitoring and evaluation
 encourage research on ESD
 bring together important stakeholders
 share good ESD practices
• Ensuring intersectoral cooperation within UNESCO
 What is
Education for Sustainable
Development?
a means to provide learners with the skills,
perspectives, values and knowledge to live sustainably
in their communities.

a means to enable individuals and communities to fulfill

and enjoy their rights and responsibilities, a way to
promote civil democracy, form responsible and caring
citizens, invest in human and social capital, and
reinforce the philosophy of lifelong learning.

a holistic concept whereby education is seen as

“everybody’s business”, for which all sectors of society
are responsible and from which all benefit.
 Major themes of
Education for Sustainable
Development
1. Gender equality
Gender issues must be mainstreamed throughout educational planning – from
infrastructure planning to material development to pedagogical processes.

2. Health Promotion
Education and basic medical information are powerful ways to drive behavioral
change. The school environment itself must be safe and healthy.

3. Environment with its major components (water, climate change,

biodiversity, and disaster prevention)
ESD must continue to highlight the importance of addressing the issues of
natural resources as part of the broader agenda of sustainable development.

4. Rural Development, Education for Rural people Improving access to and

quality of basic education for rural people
 Major themes of
Education for Sustainable Development
5. Cultural Diversity
Education must respect diversity. ESD aims at promoting teaching which respects
indigenous and traditional knowledge and encourages the use of indigenous
languages in education and the integration of world views and perspectives on
sustainability into education programs at all levels.

6. Peace and Human Security

Education for sustainable development plays a key role in promoting values for
peace.

7. Sustainable Urbanization
Cities have moved to the forefront of global socio-economic change. Globalization
and democratization have increased the importance of cities in relation to
sustainable development.

8. Sustainable Consumption
ESD promotes responsible citizenship and fights against the social and resource
impacts of unsustainable lifestyle consumption habits.
Promotion and improvement of
basic education

Education for All is an essential underpinning for sustainable

Development with Literacy for All at its heart.

Ensure quality of basic education by adapting it to different

cultural contexts and to the needs of the learners.

Ensure access to basic education especially for

disadvantaged and indigenous groups.

Ensure public participation and community decision making.

 Reorienting education

Rethinking and revising education from preschool to university to

include a clear focus on the development of greater understanding on
issues linked to the social, economic, environmental and cultural
sustainability of our planet.

Sponsoring demonstration projects to encourage the development of

curricula and training material by teachers and students.

Promoting the integration into curricula of interdisciplinary approaches

and issues related to sustainable development.
For more information on UNESCO and ESD,
please visit our websites such as:

www. unesco.or.id

www.unesco.org/education/desd

www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/index.htm

Obrigado barak