Education for sustainable development

1. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR
Global Action Programme on Education
for Sustainable Development
Learning to live together sustainably
20 April 2017

2. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 2
Role of UNESCO
 Advocating for ESD at the international level
 Providing support to Member States in reorienting
education
 Implementing and coordinating the Global Action
Programme (GAP) on ESD
 Supporting key partners and projects
 Raising awareness and visibility

3. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 3
GAP Global Coordination by UNESCO
Setting the ESD Global Agenda
Building New Momentum: Launch Commitments
Harnessing Partnerships: Partner Networks
Fostering a Global Community of Practice: Global
Forum and Online Clearinghouse
Showcasing Good Practice: UNESCO-Japan Prize for
ESD

4. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 4
Target 4.7 of Goal 4 calls for: "by 2030 all learners acquire
knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable
development, including among others through education for
sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human
rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and
non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural
diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable
development".
http://en.unesco.org/sdgs/ed

5. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 5
Priority Action Areas
 Partner Networks and implementation of a
Flagship Project for each of the priority action areas
Advancing policy
Transforming learning and training environments
Building capacity of educators and trainers
Empowering and mobilizing youth
Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level

6. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 6
ESD in the world today
 Presence of ESD internationally and nationally further increasing
 Key challenges:
– from pilot to policy
– from small scale to large scale
– from margin to mainstream
 Implementation of Global Action Programme to scale up ESD
“By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the
knowledge and skills needed to promote
sustainable development, including, among
others, through education for sustainable
development and sustainable lifestyles, … .”

7. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 7
5 Ps of the 2030 Agenda
• Planet: Respect and safeguard our common home
– Link with education to lessen environmental degradation and the impact of
climate change
• People: Leave no one behind and attain sustainable livelihoods and lifestyles
– Include education in plans to help people fulfil their potential in dignity and
equality and in a healthy environment
• Peace: Live in peaceful, diverse, harmonious societies, free from fear and
violence
– Maximize education’s potential to foster peaceful, just and inclusive
societies
• Prosperity: Transform societies to have sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, and sustainable lifestyles
– Utilize education to reduce poverty and stimulate green and inclusive
economies
• Partnership: Strengthen global solidarity to achieve the SDGs
– Ensure adequate financing, policy coherence and multisector capacity

8. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 8
Education for Sustainable Development
Goals – Learning objectives
 concise guidance on learning content and approaches
to teach key sustainable development challenges
 structured along the SDGs, providing age-specific
learning content for each SDG
 address key competencies needed to implement the
SDGs, as well as transformative pedagogies to teach
them
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002474/247444e.pdf

9. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 9
Monitoring of Target 4.7
http://en.unesco.org/gced/sdg47progress
 contribute to monitoring SDG Target 4.7 and provide
inputs for overall monitoring of SDG 4
 contribute to online database for reporting initiatives
related to Target 4.7
 develop thematic reports related to Target 4.7

10. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 10
Symposia on the Future of ESD
http://en.unesco.org/themes/education-sustainable-development/
 cutting-edge debate on non-conventional questions
about the future of ESD
 to plan ahead for the time after the GAP and to
contextualize ESD within the SDGs
 2 already have taken place: Omori (Japan) &
Gelsenkirchen (Germany)
 3 more to come in South Africa, Dubai, Latin America

11. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 11
Harnessing partnerships – Partner Networks
 2nd GAP Partner Network consultation meeting (July
2016, UNESCO HQ)
 85 organizations from around the world are Key Partners
 developing flagship projects for each Priority Action Area
Members of Partner Networks:
http://en.unesco.org/gap/partner-networks/members

12. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 12
2017 GAP Review Forum – Ottawa, March 2017
The 2017 Global Forum:
 reviewed progress of GAP implementation since the 2014
World Conference on ESD
 discussed emerging issues and innovative developments
in ESD, as well as plans for the coming years of the GAP
 organized back to back with the 3rd Forum on Global
Citizenship Education
http://en.unesco.org/esd-gced-week

13. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 13
Showcasing Good Practice
 2015 & 2016 – first editions of the UNESCO-Japan Prize
on ESD
 6 winning organizations from Cameroon, Germany,
Guatemala & El Salvador, Indonesia, Japan and the
United Kingdom
Participate in the 2017 Prize call for nominations (deadline
May 2nd) : http://en.unesco.org/prize-esd/nomination

14. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 14
Timeline
2014
• UNESCO World Conference on ESD launches the Global Action
Programme (GAP) on ESD
2015
• First meeting of Partner Networks
• Launch of online GAP ESD Clearinghouse
2017
• Global Review Forum for the GAP on ESD
• Mid-term report on the GAP on ESD
• Progress report on GAP implementation to UNGA 72
2019
• Global Review Forum for the GAP on ESD
• Final report on the 1st phase of the GAP on ESD
Activities of
Members of
Partner
Networks
Flagship
Projects

15. UNESCO EDUCATION SECTOR 15
Thank you
Bernard Combes, Information Officer
Section of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship
UNESCO
b.combes@unesco.org
Learn more: en.unesco.org/gap
@UNESCO