Tomorrow Today

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daily life, as climate change affects everyone. ESD offers an essential

way to shape knowledge and attitudes, and hence can help address

these problems.

The availability of a structured plan of action at national level is a

prerequisite for successful implementation; hence, the development

of National Action Plans for ESD is a priority for member states.

ESD implementation should focus not only on the further

strengthening of policy and institutional mechanisms and tools,

but also on developing competences, content, teaching tools and

materials. A better conceptualization is needed to help integrate

sustainable development with the education environment. This

could only be achieved with the promotion of stronger multi-

stakeholder partnerships with both the education and environment

sectors.

ESD should be promoted through capacity-building, disseminating

of good practices and exchanging positive experiences. Partnerships

with the private sector, in particular with local businesses, should

be further enhanced. Stronger links with economic issues, including

exploring economic incentives and ‘greening’ procurement, should

be promoted. More attention should be given to raising awareness

of the potential contribution of indigenous and other traditional and

local knowledge with respect to sustainability.

Orienting education towards ESD requires a corresponding

shift in the competences of educators themselves. Some of these

competences are already recognized, while others will need an inno-

vative approach. Hopefully, this new combination of competences

will provide the necessary educational setting for effective ESD

to emerge. The UNECE Strategy for ESD calls specifically for the

development of educators’ competences to engage in ESD. The joint

session on ESD at the Belgrade Ministerial Conference recognized

educators’ competence as a frequent bottleneck regarding improving

the quality of education and agreed that developing competences in

ESD should be a priority. The first reporting exercise clearly identi-

fied the need to further define the nature of ESD competences and

the ways these might be developed. Furthermore, an enabling policy

environment for this work needs to be supported and applied in

each member state, and made a priority in the region’s

ESD activities. The Steering Committee has established

an expert group to work on developing a range of core

competences in ESD for educators and general recom-

mendations for policymakers. The expert group will

present the results of its work to the next session of the

Steering Committee in April 2011.

The strategy is now at the end of its second phase

of implementation and a review of the progress made

is being carried out to be presented to the Steering

Committee in April 2011. As of 2011, the strategy

will enter its third phase of implementation, which

will focus on furthering ESD implementation through

needs-driven activities oriented towards responding

to country-specific challenges, including promoting

competences in ESD and building the national capac-

ity, as well as exchanging good practices, with a view

to assisting countries to achieve considerable progress

in embracing ESD by the end of 2015.

ESD has gained in prominence in recent years and

many organizations and institutions are carrying out

activities related to ESD. It is therefore very important

to enhance cooperation and coordination between all

ESD stakeholders so as to achieve mutual benefits and

synergies and jointly advance ESD. In this respect, a

coordination mechanism has been established under the

auspices of the Steering Committee, bringing together

the ESD stakeholders active in the region with a view to

coordinate ongoing and planned activities.

To conclude, there is no stronger catalyst to achieving

sustainable development than the good will and active

contribution of citizens. The knowledge and awareness

that ESD promotes will help change people’s mindsets,

and in so doing will enable us to make this world safer,

healthier and more prosperous.

The Advancing Sustainable Consumption, Production and Transportation through

Education for Sustainable Development event discussed policies and practice

The Sixth “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference, was

held in Belgrade in 2007

Image: UNECE