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UN Decade for Sustainable Development
The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development begins this year. The UN has produced a number of papers to raise awareness of ESD and of the Decade. For example, a manifesto proposed by Professor Daniel Gil-Pérez of Valencia University which underpins the UN’s campaign - ‘Education for sustainable development: a necessary commitment’.
The manifesto states that educational activities should incorporate the study of the state of the world promoting, among other things:- responsible consumption, coherent with the three R’s (reduction, re-use and recycling) and fair trade
- the adoption of sociopolitical measures on a local and global scale … to overcome environmental degradation or extreme inequalities … with a determined defense of human rights and no discrimination of any kind
- the overcoming of behaviour driven by private values and short-term interests
- the enhancement of solidarity and global protection of biological and cultural diversity as essential requirements for a real solution to the problems humanity is facing.
Geography is best placed to develop students’ understanding of interconnected social, economic and environmental issues. The subject does not promote any particular view or ‘solution’ to an emergency. Rather our interest is in opening pupils/students’ minds to sustainable development issues and ways of thinking constructively about them.
Resources that can be used to underpin teaching and learning about ESD in the coming months include:- The UN ESD website includes links to a number of key theme areas - including overcoming poverty, gender equality, health promotion, environment, water, rural development, sustainable consumption, sustainable tourism, human rights, intercultural understanding, cultural diversity, indigenous knowledge, peace and human security, climate change, biodiversity, disaster reduction, sustainable urbanisation - which offers scope to follow up investigations on the causes and repercussions of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean (see past themes).
- Also on the UN ESD website is a section entitled ‘Clearinghouse’. This contains information about learning resources, events and innovative Demonstration activities which focus on the educational and learning dimensions of sustainable development.
- Links between ESD and the eight Millennium Development Goals can be introduced by utilising some of the learning activities on our Global Dimensions webpages.
- The QCA Innovating with Geography website contains more developed ideas on learning about citizenship and ESD in geography.
- QCA's ESD website contains practical ideas as well as providing more general support and guidance on ESD in the geography classroom. It includes links to the schemes of work at key stages 1-3 as well as requirements and opportunities at GCSE and A-level, and case studies from early years to post-16. Some of this material has been provided by the GA's Education for Sustainable Development Education Working Group.
- We will be launching our own ESD policy statement on 1 April 2005 at the Annual Conference in Derby, at which Jonathon Porritt is a keynote speaker. During 2005, this website will debate and provide materials for ESD through geography.
- The DfES Sustainable Development Plan, which can be accessed online, and look out for its ESD framework later this term. (The GA has been involved in both of these initiatives.)
- The Royal Town Planning Institute has set up an online Network to provide a clear and effective voice for all people with an interest in ESD.
A report on research that aimed to discover more about the relative absence of ESD in the school curriculum was funded by DfES and produced by the GA. Its particular focus was the subject curriculum and subject specialist teachers. Download the report here.
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