Tomorrow Today

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national, regional and international. The IIS was the

result of extensive consultations with United Nations

agencies, national governments, civil society organiza-

tions and NGOs, experts and specialists. Developing

the IIS was an important process in fostering collective

ownership at the start of the DESD.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is one of the seven

implementation strategies enshrined in the International

Implementation Scheme. Hence, a second major coor-

dination milestone was the establishment in 2007 of a

DESDMonitoring and Evaluation Expert Group (MEEG)

to advise UNESCO on appropriate monitoring mecha-

nisms for assessing global progress in the implementation

of the DESD. A Global Monitoring and Evaluation

Framework (GMEF) was developed which elaborates a

rationale, identifies methods and provides structures for

data collection, analysis and reporting processes for the

DESD at the global level. UNESCO is convinced that the

M&E process will be one of the most important, distinc-

tive and lasting achievements of the DESD.

The M&E strategy underscores the importance of

developing adequate and relevant indicators at all levels

– local, national and international – and for each initia-

tive and programme within the framework of the DESD.

One main outcome of the M&E process is the

Learning

for a Sustainable World

report series published in 2009,

in 2011 and in 2015. The 2009 DESD M&E report,

Learning for a Sustainable World: Review of Contexts and

Structures for Education for Sustainable Development

addresses the progress achieved and challenges

encountered during the first five years in establishing

provisions, strategies, mechanisms and contexts that

institutions in re-orienting education systems – from pre-school to

adult learning, in formal and non-formal settings – in ways that

promote equity, innovation and sustainable development.

It is in this context that UNESCO’s action as lead agency for the

DESD is to be understood.

The role of UNESCO as global coordinator for the DESD: three

milestones

UNESCO has been assigned the role of lead agency for the DESD.

In this function, it brings together the efforts of the various UN

agencies, programmes and organizations related to the DESD. In

addition, it serves as a forum for bringing together important stake-

holders in the DESD, encourages monitoring and evaluation and

shares good ESD practices. Three important milestones exemplify

the coordination role of UNESCO in relation to the DESD:

• Development of the International Implementation Scheme (IIS)

• Establishment of the DESD Monitoring and Evaluation Expert

Group (MEEG)

• The UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable

Development.

When the UN General Assembly proclaimed the DESD in

December 2002, little information was available regarding the

exact objectives of the DESD, what strategies would be adopted

to implement them and which stakeholders were to be involved.

Hence, one of UNESCO’s first tasks was to develop the International

Implementation Scheme (IIS), which sets out a broad framework

for all partners to contribute to the DESD. It is a strategic docu-

ment that summarizes the goals and objectives of the DESD, and

its relationship to other key education movements. It emphasizes

the importance of partnerships in the eventual success of the DESD

and outlines how these might contribute at all levels – community,

Room I at UNESCO Headquarters