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ducation for sustainable development, of course,

must be more than just a logo or a slogan.

It must be a concrete reality

for all of us – individuals, organizations, governments –

in all of our daily decisions and actions,

so as to promise a sustainable planet

and a safer world to our children,

our grandchildren and their descendants.

KOICHIRO MATSUURA

Director-General of UNESCO

New York, March 2005

International launch

of the UN Decade of Education

for Sustainable Development

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WHY AN INTERNATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION SCHEME?

In resolution 57/254, the United NationsGeneral Assembly of the proclaimed inDecember 2002 the United Nations Decadeof Education for Sustainable Development(2005-2014, DESD). UNESCO, designatedcoordinator of the Decade, initiated wide-ranging consultations in 2003 in order toprepare an International ImplementationScheme (IIS) for the Decade.

Given that the Decade is implemented locally,nationally, regionally and internationally andgiven the large number of stakeholdersinvolved, to ensure success, the IIS serves asa framework under which all stakeholderscan make their varied contributions. TheInternational Implementation Scheme isdesigned to facilitate collective ownershipof the Decade, and it invites us to buildbridges between various global initiatives topromote education. Furthermore, the IISalso meets two concerns of the UnitedNations General Assembly, namely how toencourage governments to give life to theDecade and to build public awareness sothat everyone will contribute to the Decade.

But what does the UN Decade of Educationfor Sustainable Development (DESD) consistof?

WHAT IS THE DECADE OFEDUCATION FORSUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT?

Before describing the Decade, education forsustainable development (ESD) must beconsidered first. What does this name mean?

It means education that enables people toforesee, face up to and solve the problemsthat threaten life on our planet.

It also means education that disseminatesthe values and principles that are the basisof sustainable development (intergenera-tional equity, gender parity, social tolerance,poverty reduction, environmental protectionand restoration, natural resource con-servation, and just and peaceful societies).

Lastly, it means education that highlightsthe complexity and interdependence ofthree spheres, the environment, society –broadly defined to include culture – andthe economy.

These are all challenges to be taken up duringthe Decade.

The aims of the Decade are more specificallyto: help improve the quality of educationand learning through ESD; assist countriesin achieving progress towards attaining theMillennium Development Goals through ESDefforts; give countries new opportunities toincorporate ESD into their educational reform;and facilitate the formation of networks andinteraction among ESD stakeholders.

To achieve these aims, all Decade stakeholderswill endeavour to:

promote and improve the quality ofeducation: the aim will be to refocus lifelongeducation on the acquisition of knowledge,skills and values needed by citizens to improvetheir quality of life;

reorient the curricula: from pre-schoolto university, education must be rethoughtand reformed to be a vehicle of knowledge,thought patterns and values needed to builda sustainable world;

raise public awareness of the conceptof sustainable development: raising aware-ness will make it possible to develop enlight-ened, active and responsible citizenship locally,nationally and internationally;

educate the employed: continuingtechnical and vocational education ofdirectors and workers, particularly those intrade and industry, will be enriched to enablethem to adopt sustainable modes of pro-duction and consumption.

Creating synergies with other earlier inter-national initiatives is also an important featureof the Decade because the United NationsDecade of Education for SustainableDevelopment (DESD), the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs), which aregeared to poverty reduction, Education forAll (EFA), which focuses on universal accessto education, and the United Nations LiteracyDecade (UNLD), which is devoted to adulteducation, all share a common vision:education is the key to sustainable develop-ment.

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WHO IMPLIMENTSTHE DECADE?

The Decade will be a success if and only ifall of us – governments, internationalorganizations, associations, communities,educators, the private sector and citizens –contribute to it together, for no institution,no organization, no government will succeedon its own in making sustainable develop-ment a reality.

Each of us therefore has responsibility at thelocal, national, regional or international levelfor the implementation of the Decade.

UNESCO’s role

As the Decade’s lead agency, UNESCO’s role,through its offices, institutes, NationalCommissions and other bodies, is morespecifically to:

act as laboratory of ideas, standard-setter,clearing house, capacity-builder andpromoter of international cooperation;

encourage new partnerships with theprivate sector, youth and media groups;

promote monitoring and evaluation;

promote a research programme and serveas a forum for ESD research;

serve as a honest broker for meetings ofDecade stakeholders;

share good ESD practices;

establish links between Member Statesthat have launched ESD programmes,

policies, research, etc., and those that needhelp;

convene flexible working groups onparticular subjects.

Local level

Locally, the aim will be to incorporate ESDinto the various curricula as indicated in thetable below.

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Local stakeholders

GovernmentState/provincial/districtdepartments of educationand development sectors

Municipal authorities

Schools, adult educationprogrammes

Civil society and NGOs

Community organizations,local NGO sections,denominational groups,town developmentcommittees,adult education groups,clans and families

Private sector, firms

Cooperation with thevarious stakeholders

Identify local sustainabledevelopment problems

Incorporate local knowledgeand skills into ESD

Exchange ESD experienceand use it to improvepractices

Responsibilities

Incorporate ESD intoordinary educationalactivities and curricula

Define and implementlearning strategies

National level

Nationally, government departments willincorporate ESD at all levels through anational concerted DESD response plan basedon the factors below.

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Cooperation within thenational ESD task force

Examine and recommend ESDpolicy options that reflect localexperience and problems

Include ESD in planning forEFA and the United NationsLiteracy Decade, in the contextof the EFA Forum

Provide a forum for theexchange of positive andnegative ESD experiences

Draw up a list of ESD researchissues and plan joint researchprojects

Identify capacity-buildingneeds and the stakeholderbest placed to meet them

Devise relevant ESDmonitoring indicators

National stakeholders

Ministry of Education andother competent ministries

NGOs, NGO and civil societynetworks and alliances

Media groups and agencies

Private sector firms andprofessional associations

Responsibilities

Provide a national policyframework for ESD

Budget and mobilizeresources

Support subnational services

Foster public awareness ofESD and sustainabledevelopment

Facilitate the exchange andsharing among members ofinformation on ESD practicesand experiences

Incorporate awareness-raisingin support of ESD andsustainable development intomedia strategies

Provide a forum for theidentification of thesustainable developmentchallenges that they face anddraw up a list of educationneeds to be met

Regional level

Regionally, stakeholders will consult eachother in order to draw up regional ESDimplementation strategies and act as acatalyst for Decade activities.

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Cooperation within theregional ESD group

Hold regional consultationson DESD priorities

Pool policies, practices,knowledge and advances

Identify common challenges

Learn from various strategies

Work out a consensus onregional problems and action

Organize internationaltraining and capacity-building

Regional stakeholders

Representatives of nationalgovernments

Regional intergovernmentalorganizations

Regional civil society andNGO networks, coalitionsand alliances

Regional media groups

Regional private sectorassociations

Regional representatives ofinternational institutions

Regional representatives ofbilateral cooperation

Tasks specificto each stakeholder

(See national level)

Support the formulation ofnational policies

Promote the exchange ofexperience and information

Promote exchanges andlearning among membernetworks and organizations

Establish joint mediastrategies for sustainabledevelopment and ESD

Promote cooperationbetween the private sectorand other ESD stakeholders

Learn and disseminatelessons from internationalexperience

Facilitate internationalexchanges on ESD

Determine means ofsupporting national andregional ESD initiatives

International level

Internationally, the effort will be led byUNESCO, the Decade lead agency, whichwill ensure that ESD is featured on the agendaof international working groups and forums.

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Tasks specificto each stakeholder

Gather information on ESDdevelopments and emergingpriorities

Promote the DESD

Contribute to the inter-agency task force

Include ESD planning inrelevant work plans andinitiatives

Participate in internationaland regional forums

Promote and buildcapacities of ESD and DESDin and across UNESCOsectors

Advocacy andcommunication with theinternational community

Building partnerships andcollective momentum

Promote interregionalexchange and learning

Inform members of ESDdevelopments

Include ESD in programmesand budgets

Promote ESD research

International stakeholders

International ad hocworking group

Intergovernmentalinstitutions (United Nationsand others)

UNESCO(DESD lead agency)

Civil society and NGOnetworks

Bilateral and multilateraldevelopment agencies

Cooperation in variousforums

Advise UNESCO on ESDdevelopments and emergingpriorities

Assist UNESCO in establishingpartnerships and in developingprojects in support of theDecade

Ensure that ESD remains apriority on the agenda of theCommission on SustainableDevelopment (CSD)

Mobilize the political will andstrengthen mutualcommitment through the CSDor an inter-agency task force

Include ESD in the EFA agenda(Monitoring Report, High-LevelGroup and Working Group)

Encourage the exchange ofinformation on practices,policies and progress

Organize international,regional and subregionalcapacity-building workshops,and conferences to promoteDESD and ESD goals

HOW IS THE DECADE TO BEIMPLEMENTED?

Main stages

To facilitate the implementation of theDecade at the level of the Member States,the following stages are proposed foradoption:

implementation of plans and/or clearlyidentifiable activities in the Member States;

designation in Member States of focalpoints responsible for reporting;

formulation of plans or strategies;

definition of indicators on progressaccomplished and of mechanisms tomonitor such progress;

identification of sources of technicalassistance and of examples of goodpractices;

sharing of information on relevant researchand development and innovations;

identification of means of fosteringpartnerships;

provision of advice in key areas;

submission of mid-term and end-of-Decadereports to the General Assembly of theUnited Nations.

Seven strategies

The implementation of the Decade can alsodraw on the seven strategies set out below.

Formulation of a common vision and mobilizationThe success of the Decade rests on theformulation and sharing of a common visionof ESD and general mobilization in supportof ESD. The media are a partner of choicefor achieving such large-scale mobilization.

Consultation and ownershipA common vision of the DESD will be ownedby all stakeholders: broad participation ofstakeholders in defining the vision,formulating policies and planning theirimplementation will ensure such ownership.This process will be the responsibility ofgovernments.

Partnerships and networksESD is multidisciplinary and intersectoral.The establishment of partnerships andnetworks to create synergy and disseminateinformation on the implementation of theDecade is essential.

Capacity-building and trainingAll the skills of the full range of partners willbe needed to attain the goals of the Decade.Pooling such skills on the one hand andmaking them available for the training ofstakeholders, in particular teacher trainersand pre-service and in-service teachers, onthe other are challenges to be taken up.

Research, development and innovationThe application of research findings will makeit possible to speed up the implementationof the Decade, and ongoing activities mustalso be guided by research. Imagination isrequired to adapt ESD to the local context

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and to the wide variety of learning situations.Here is where innovation plays a part.

Use of information and communication technologiesDuring the Decade, information andcommunication technologies (ICTs) will beused to link up distant partners, store dataand share information quickly.

Monitoring and evaluationA key monitoring and evaluation feature isthe definition of adequate and relevantindicators at all levels – local, national,regional and international and for eachinitiative and programme. Thus monitoringand evaluation will take place at many levels,national, regional, local, institutional, etc.and will be an integral part of new initiativesand directions, which the Decade maystimulate.

CONCLUSION:making ESD come true ...with adequate resources

Through the International ImplementationScheme governments and other partners,especially potential donors, are urged toassess existing ESD resources and needs incountries, reallocate existing resources andfind means of mobilizing new resources toensure that ESD will not be a mere sloganbut actual reality.

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Some tools available from UNESCO:

brochure on “UNESCO and SustainableDevelopment”

folder of ESD information briefs

Guidelines for National DESD launches andactivities

“Teaching and Learning for a SustainableFuture” CD-ROM

Guidelines and Recommendations forReorienting Teacher Education to AddressSustainability

Links between the Global Initiatives inEducation

See also the DESD site:www.unesco.org/education/desd

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