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from the National Committee for the DESD. The jury represents a
broad range of stakeholders from public administration through non-
governmental organizations to individual experts, and individually
examines each application. Successful projects earn the right to use the
label Official German Decade Project for two years. In an award cere-
mony, of which around four per year are held, they receive a diploma,
a banner and a stamp with the German logo for the DESD, which they
may use for their public relations activities. On average, between 50
and 60 per cent of all applications are evaluated favourably. At the mid-
point of the DESD, over 1,000 projects had been recognized.
Benefits of the award scheme
The award scheme significantly raises the profile of ESD, especially
at a local level. While presence in the national media remains a chal-
lenge for the DESD, hundreds of articles have appeared on individual
decade projects in the local press. The German DESD coordination
unit assists projects in their communication efforts, distributes their
achievements through the Internet and printed materials and voices
their interests and needs with regards to political representatives.
Moreover, while no precise figures are available, we can assume that
the projects function as role models, which has encouraged other
stakeholders to initiate projects or to develop their existing projects
further. The visibility of these projects all over Germany also facilitates
networking between initiatives. The award scheme makes it easy for
those who are looking for partners to identify high quality projects.
The stricter criteria for reapplication also contribute to improving the
quality of ESD in general. Projects have also reported that the quality
certificate that the award entails has helped them to acquire funding
from third parties. Finally, the award gives recognition to the many
individuals active in ESD who often work on a voluntary basis.
From the point of national implementation of the DESD, the cost-
benefit ratio, as it were, of the award scheme is excellent, which makes
the scheme easily replicable in other countries. Limited resources are
required for the staff in the coordination unit to review applications and
organize the jury and award ceremonies. The outcome with regard to
quality development and visibility for ESD is very positive. The projects
have also drawn the attention of other partners who started their own
initiatives for supporting good practice on the ground. For example,
the drugstore chain dm, together with the German Commission for
UNESCO, has already twice run a scheme through which over 1,000
small projects are supported with 1,000 Euros each. Moreover, Decade
Projects serve as excellent examples when arguing for a broader inclu-
sion of ESD in the curriculum. Internationally, the projects also serve as
‘ambassadors’ for practical work on ESD in Germany.
One of the challenges that remain to be tackled is a stronger invest-
ment into the quality development of the projects. The quality of the
projects is generally rather high. However, many of them appreci-
ate when they are offered guidelines and suggestions how they can
expand and develop their understanding of ESD, for example, with
regard to integrating a more complex view of sustainable development
or with regard to their public relations measures. Local networking
also needs to be strengthened. The latter is one of the areas in which
we want to focus in the coming years when we, again with support
from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, attempt to build
local networks and thus create regions for sustainable learning.
Cities and local authorities for the Decade
In addition to the Official German Projects for the UN Decade, the award
category for ‘Official cities and local authority districts of the UN Decade’
was introduced in order to contribute to integrating ESD at
a local level. In order to obtain the award, the city or local
authority district, among other things, must have made
the formal political decision that ESD is part of its political
agenda; it should be activewith relation to the four objectives
of theNational Plan of Action; it should define objectives and
activities in ESD that relate to the existing educational setup
in the city for the next two to five years; and specify which
area of ESD is of particular importance for the local commu-
nity. On thewhole, the activities of the city or local authorities
with reference to these criteriamust bewell above average. By
2010, 11 cities and local authorities had received the award.
Example two: Official Decade Project,
Sustainable Student Company RGS Wool
Example four: Official Decade Project, teaching
and practising sustainability at Alexander von
Humboldt high school
The Berlin-based project, Young and Old for One World
(YOOW), encompasses several generations. Senior citizens
work together with marginalized young people and renovate
out-of-use machines and work benches. The machines
are then used by partner projects in Sierra Leone in their
training facilities. For example, young seamstresses in
Sierra Leone use sewing machines repaired by YOOW to
open their own business.
Production, marketing and sales – at the student company
RGS Wool of the Rudolf Graber School for Children with Special
Needs in the town of Bad Säckingen, Germany, everything is in
the hand of fifth to tenth graders. The students, over a period
of several years, deal with sheep farming and wool production,
from processing to the finished product and the sale of sheep’s
wool as environmentally friendly material. The wool is used to
fill cushions and as an insulation material for solar-powered
cookers. Leftovers are composted and returned to nature’s
lifecycle. The students run the company themselves and, in
addition to learning about the sustainable use of resources
and global interdependencies, they also acquire social and
economic skills.
The Children’s Rain Forest Group at the Edith Stein School
in Ravensburg, Germany has been working to protect the
forests in the tropical areas of Costa Rica and Ecuador
for almost 20 years. Among other activities, they collect
money to purchase endangered forests and support
local environmental organizations. In addition, the team
promotes sustainable orchards in Germany. Cooperating
with development organizations, they also produce juice
from homegrown apples and fair trade mangos and passion
fruits, thus supporting sustainable farming.
The Alexander von Humboldt high school in Hamburg,
Germany, has integrated sustainable development into
its school programme. Issues such as climate change,
sustainable consumption and conflict management are
regularly and systematically integrated into lessons. The
school has also been officially audited for its sustainable
management activities. It continuously works to reduce its
use of natural resources. Since 1994, the school has been
awarded the title of Eco-school in Europe every year.