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The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014)

The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014). Plan. Quote of UNESCO DG Why education for sustainable development? (2 options) What is education for sustainable development? Which vision of education for sustainable development?

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The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014)

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  1. The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014)

  2. Plan • Quote of UNESCO DG • Why education for sustainable development? (2 options) • What is education for sustainable development? • Which vision of education for sustainable development? • Which strategies to implement the Decade? • What do we expect from the Decade? • Which linkages between this Decade and other initiatives ? • What is UNESCO’s role? • Where do we stand? • Next steps? • Challenges? • Conclusion: quote of UN SG Note: this slide will be suppressed in the final version.

  3. Option 1 « We have no longer a choice: either we adopt behaviours that respect sustainable development, that is we stop polluting the environment, allow for the renewal of natural resources and contribute to the improvement of the well-being of all, or sooner or later we sign our own death warrant. » Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO

  4. Option 2 « 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

  5. Why education for sustainable development? Option 1 • 862 million illiterates of whom two thirds are women (2000) • 104 million out-of-school children of whom 57% are girls (2000) • Out of 128 countries with available data, only 52 will meet the 2005 objective of gender equality in primary schools • 54 countries out of 128, 40% will not meet gender equality objective by 2015. • 1,2 billion people live with less than 1 dollar per day, 70% of them are women • The average income of the 20 richest countries in the world is 37 times higher than that of the 20 poorest countries • Life expectancy in developing countries is 50 years whereas it is 77 years in developed countries

  6. Why education for sustainable development? Option 1 • More than 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water • More than 2 billion people lack adequate sanitation • 92% of all HIV/AIDS cases are in developing countries • Every year, 3 million people die from AIDS and 5 million become infected by HIV/AIDS (2004) • 80% of people in developing countries rely on medicines based on plants • Irrigation of arable land represents 70% of all worldwide freswater withdrawals • Protected areas cover only 10% of land areas and 1% of marine areas • Half of the 6000 indigenous languages in the world are threatened with extinction

  7. Why education for sustainable development? Option 1 FOR A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE GENERATIONS EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

  8. Why education for sustainable development? Option 2 • If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would be something like this: • * 61 Asians, 12 Europeans, 14 Americans, 13 Africans1 Australian * 50 women, 50 men* 33 christians, 18 muslims,16 hindus, 6 bouddhists, 11 pratice other religions, and 16 are non-religious

  9. 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 illetrate, 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: • deforestation, half of the world’s forests are destroyed • difficult access to safe drinking water • and many indigenous languages threatened with extinction

  10. Why education for sustainable development? Option 2 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.

  11. Why education for sustainable development? • HISTORICAL BACKGROUND • 1987-2002: Emergence then definition of the concept of sustainable development during many world summits • 1992: Rio Earth World Summit • UNESCO received the responsability for implementing the Agenda 21’s Chapter 35, Science for sustainable development, and Chapter 36, Promoting education, public awareness and training

  12. Why education for sustainable development? • HISTORICAL BACKGROUND • 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

  13. What is education for sustainable development? • A vision of education • An education empowering people to commit themselves to sustainability • An education for democracy • An education at all levels of education systems and in all social contexts

  14. 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

  15. Which strategies to implement the decade? STRATEGIES • Advocacy   • Ownership • Partnerships and networking • Capacity building • Research and innovation • Information and Communication Technologies • Monitoring and evaluation

  16. What do we expect from Education for sustainable development? • Integration of Education for sustainable development (ESD) into development plans • Broad consensus on the strategic importance of ESD • Public sensitised to the concept of sustainability • Regular and susbstantial media presence for sustainable development issues

  17. Which linkages between this decade and other initiatives? • Millenium Development Goals, MDGs • Education for All, EFA • United Nations Literacy Decade, UNLD • United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, DESD

  18. Which linkages between this decade and other initiatives? Four initiatives with: • A common vision: Education is the key to development • A common wiil: to promote human rights • A common requirement : to enhance full participation of all stakeholders at national level

  19. Which linkages between this decade and other initiatives? Four initiatives, four specificities : • MDGs, to reduce poverty in its many aspects • EFA, access to quality education for all children and adults • Literacy decade, contribution to meeting the objectives of EFA and DESD. • Education for sustainable development, in search of a balance

  20. Which linkages between this decade and other initiatives? A CHALLENGE FOR UNESCO • Continuing to coordinate 3 initiatives: EFA, Literacy Decade, Decade of Education for Sustainable Development • Create synergy between these initiatives

  21. What is UNESCO role? • Coordination of the Decade • Development of a UNESCO plan of action • Acceleration of education reforms • Development of indicators to monitor progress of the Decade • Mobilisation of UN agencies and governments

  22. Where do we stand? • International launch in New York, March 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 is available • Many communication materials are available (www.unesco.org/education/desd) • Regional and national launches of the Decade • Development of regional strategies

  23. Next steps ? • Development of a UNESCO plan of action • Setting up of a UN inter-agency taskforce • Setting up of a task force in charge of monitoring and evaluation • Support to regions for the development of their strategies • Support to governments, organisations and networks

  24. Challenges? • Prepare a status report of the implementation of the Decade: ongoing process to develop strategy, ongoing programmes • Go beyond environmental education to implement education for sustainable development • Develop reflection on relevant curricula to disseminate values and principles of sustainable development • Integrate ESD in national programmes • Identify and disseminate innovative experiences • Mobilise media

  25. « 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 AnnanSecretary General of the United Nations

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