Summer 2005

Education for sustainability

A powerful launching place

The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005 – 2014) is gathering pace across the Asia–Pacific region and in Australia. John Fien and Ken Wiltshire elaborate the progress to date.

Speaking at the international launch of the DESD at a ceremony in New York in March, 2005 UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura said:

The ultimate goal of the Decade is that education for sustainable development must be more than just a slogan. It must be a concrete reality for all of us—individuals, organization, governments—in all our daily decisions and actions, so as to promise a sustainable planet and a safer world to our children, our grandchildren and their descendants. The principles of sustainable development must find themselves in children’s schooling, higher education, non-formal education and community-based learning activities. This means that education will have to change so that it addresses the social, economic, cultural and environmental problems that we face in the 21st century.

In Asia–Pacific

Mr Matsuura also attended the regional launch of the Decade in Nagoya, Japan, in June. UNESCO Bangkok has established an ESD Unit to oversee the Decade in the Asia–Pacific region. By assisting the facilitation, coordination and strengthening of regional ESD networks, partnerships and programs, the ESD Unit aims to enable new and existing stakeholders across all sectors to better coordinate their ESD activities to generate programs and initiatives that contribute meaningfully to the advancement of ESD, rather than duplicating efforts.

Two key publications from the ESD Unit are A Situational Analysis of ESD in the Asia-Pacific Region and the Working Paper: Asia-Pacific Regional Strategy for ESD.

These are available at www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=976

In Australia

With the support of the Australian government Department of Environment and Heritage, the Australian National Commission for UNESCO hosted a National Symposium on the Decade on 7 July 2005 in Melbourne. The Symposium was attended by representatives of over seventy national organisations interested in Education for Sustainable Development. These included: industry groups, industry training councils, NGOs, trade unions, professional associations, local government, state/territory governments and agencies, and further and higher education.

Keynote presenters included Professor Ken Wiltshire, Chair of the Australian National Commission, Mr Peter Wood, Assistant Secretary, Knowledge Management and Education, Department of the Environment and Heritage, and Mr Derek Elias, who is the Asia–Pacific Focal Point for the Decade in the UNESCO Office in Bangkok.

Fifteen diverse case studies were presented at the Symposium to showcase the range of initiatives some institutions were already planning or organising, aligned to the DESD agenda. Case studies were selected to reflect the broad and diverse opportunities for ESD across the Australian society. Case studies included:

• the Great Australian Cycle Expedition as an example of a major national event especially planned to take ESD to remote areas
• the Victorian State Strategy for Living Sustainably as an example of how a state strategy can use the ten-year focus of the Decade as a planning framework for ESD
• the South Australia state strategy for DESD as an example of how a coordinated strategy for the Decade can build strong partnerships between players
• a state NGO peak body using the Decade as a focus for delivering and expanding its community ESD activities
• the sustainable consumption activities of International Young Professionals Foundation as an example of what youth groups can do
• cultural exchanges for enhancing ESD during the Decade
• the importance of TAFE and/or industry training for sustainability
• how State/Territory Departments of Education can use the Decade to promote ESD through sustainable schools programs and vice versa
• Victorian Association for Environmental Education activities for the Decade thus far, and its planned activities as an example of what professional associations can do to promote the Decade and enrich their services to members
• a Faculty of Education using the Decade as a vehicle for integrating ESD into teacher education
• an in-service education program for teachers enriched by DESD
• the use of the Decade to leverage the integration of ESD into studies of architecture
• the Sustainable Living Challenge as an example of how an organisation—in this case a university—can reach out to schools to promote ESD
• the Natural Edge Project as an example of how an association can choose one project as its special focus for the Decade
• the work plans of the Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability as an example of how a research centre can use the Decade to focus its work plans.

These case studies also: helped to build enthusiasm for the DESD; encouraged organisations to network with each other to adapt and replicate such initiatives in different sectors; and facilitated the formation of partnerships for new DESD projects.

A series of workshops allowed participants to discuss the need for, and possible structure and contents of, a National Framework for the DESD in Australia. Reports from workshop groups were synthesised and then circulated to local groups and the committees of the organisations at the Symposium for discussion.

National goals

The global vision for DESD is that Education for Sustainable Development is a means to achieve ‘a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from a quality education and learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future and for positive societal transformation’ (UNESCO International Implementation Scheme 2005, p. 26). Thus, the goal of the DESD in Australia is:

To integrate sustainability into national, state/territory and institutional education plans using appropriate but multiple methods at all levels across all sectors by 2014 in order to enhance and transform societal capacity for achieving sustainability with improvements in the:

• conservation of Australia’s natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystem health;
• vitality and prosperity of Australian business and industry while respecting the capacity of the earth’s natural systems; and
• active participatory involvement of citizens for harmony within Australia’s social and cultural diversity.

National objectives

To achieve this goal by 2014, the following objectives are recommended:

1. To clarify a common vision for ESD and DESD in Australia
2. To promote awareness of ESD and DESD in Australia
3. To promote innovative practice in ESD in formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts
4. To equip educators with the competence to include sustainability issues in their work
5. To ensure that adequate and appropriate resources and materials for ESD are available to, and accessible by, learners and educators in all sectors and levels
6. To promote monitoring, evaluation and research on ESD and DESD activities
7. To strengthen cooperation on ESD at all levels across state/ territory borders
8. To encourage Australian participation in international DESD activities, especially in Asia and the Pacific.

National priorities

1. To develop a national strategy and action plan for the decade to guide stakeholders and catalyse change across Australia in a united approach to actions for the decade
2. To develop a strongly inclusive partnership network for the decade to facilitate the coming together of a variety of stakeholders
3. To establish an assistance program for all stakeholders in order that they can develop their own objectives, outcomes and indicators within the implementation framework set by UNESCO and local contexts
4. To develop a framework for monitoring, reporting and evaluating DESD in Australia
5. To develop and implement a communications plan to accompany DESD activities and promulgate the significance of the decade and achievements in change
6. To commence work with teacher/educator employers, curriculum authorities, study boards and education and training departments in state and federal systems to identify standards, promote recognition of qualifications in environmental education, and develop modules and materials to advance EfSD
7. To work with teacher education institutions, professional associations, teacher employer groups, teacher registration authorities, and private providers to appropriately embed ESD in their education and training courses, and standards
8. To encourage and support higher education institutions to include sustainability as a core component of all programs
9. To engage youth and young professionals in education and action for sustainability. This aims at equipping young people with the skills, knowledge and values to catalyse and inspire change The draft National Strategy also focuses on:
   • key stakeholders in the DESD in Australia
   • strategies and activities
   • coordination of activities across local/ regional, state/territory and national levels
   • monitoring, reporting and evaluation.

Advice on developing an Australian National Framework for the DESD is currently being considered by the Australian government and the Australian National Commission for UNESCO. Meanwhile, grassroots action to build a wide and diverse range of DESD activities is continuing and growing. Several state and local governments are developing ten-year strategies in education for sustainable development.

For further information contact John Fien at john.fien@rmit.edu.au

Ken Wiltshire is Chair of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO.

John Fien is a member of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au