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Werner Faymann, The Federal Chancellor of Austria
The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development places new methods of teaching and
learning at the heart of global policy agendas. It is only possible to combat and reverse non-sustainable
trends through widespread change in the awareness of our children, the general public and the main
stakeholder groups, including the economic sector. Education for sustainable development (ESD) seeks
to support people of all walks of life in planning their future, reflecting on the consequences of their
individual actions and finding possible solutions to boost positive transformation. It strengthens their
decision-making competence and responsibility as a precondition for social change. Furthermore, it
follows the cognitive as well as the affective learning goals that are of particular value for promoting a
humanistic perspective of all people in the educational and non-educational contexts.
Austria has been at the forefront of efforts to create the political conditions for making ESD a central
issue in the broader education debate. The national strategy for ESD, adopted in 2008, gave rise to
a number of highly regarded initiatives. We continue to explore new areas and work on innovative
measures to inspire new commitments. The UNESCO publication
Tomorrow Today
helps to nurture an
international spirit of knowledge exchange for increasing collective intelligence to advance a holistic,
interdisciplinary and quality education. It creates a global strategic landscape that private and public
policymakers can use to improve their decision making and understanding. Therefore, I would like to
express my appreciation to all whose efforts are behind this publication.
Werner Faymann
The Federal Chancellor of Austria