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Sweden’s pioneering role in
education for sustainable development
Marie Neeser, Ramboll Natura, in collaboration with Shivani Jain, CEE, India;
Jim Taylor, SADC REEP, and Frans Lenglet, SWEDESD
F
or the past 40 years, Sweden has been one of the leading coun-
tries in drawing the attention of politicians and citizens alike
to the negative ecological and environmental consequences of
prevailing production and consumption arrangements within and
between countries, rich and poor, and of the need tomeet the resulting
challenges before the humanworld exceeds its planetary boundaries.
1
The 1972 StockholmConference on the Human Environment
2
was the
launch pad for Sweden’s leadership role.
In the same period, Sweden has been a principal participant in scientific
research about the interaction between the ecological/environmental,
social and economic dimensions of ‘developing countries’ and in the
debate about their governance. This research and public debate has
been prepared, nourished and reflected upon by the many training and
research programmes and specialized institutes related to the environ-
ment, ecology and related issues at Swedish universities.
3
Sweden is a much appreciated and influential partner of coun-
tries in the Global South to address poverty alleviation, social and
economic justice and environmental sustainability, practically
and in policy terms, especially through the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
4
Sweden has played a
primary role in the Rio and Johannesburg Summits enshrining the
principles of sustainable development.
In collaboration with international partners, Sweden is promot-
ing education for sustainable development (ESD) as part of its
overall international cooperation policy in two ways. The first is
the Advanced International Training Programme in ESD in Formal
Education. This Sida-funded programme is implemented by the
Swedish consultancy company Ramboll Natura in cooperation
with a number of universities and partner organizations in Sweden
and the Global South.
The second example of the Sida-funded Swedish International
Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD) at
Gotland University, was established in 2008.
Advanced international training programmes in ESD
in formal education
Education is a crucial response to issues of unsustainable devel-
opment of our environment, societies and economies. Capacity
development of practitioners in the formal education sector through
ESD is a cost-effective and efficient measure to bring about this vital
change.
The Swedish Government, through Sida, has since 2001 supported a
number of international training programmes (ITPs) in Environmental
Education and Education for Sustainable Development in Formal
Education.
5
The training programmes are change-based and enable
increased understanding of the different dimensions of
sustainable development and the educational responses
required. They also provide an opportunity to exchange
knowledge and experiences at the interface between
sustainable development and education/curriculum
processes within the formal education sector. These
insights are used to enhance and develop ESD initiatives
in the participants’ work contexts.
The training programmes are organized and managed
by Ramboll Natura in partnership with a number of key
institutions and organizations in Sweden, Africa and
Asia. The overall structure and design of the programmes
have been strongly supported by the Southern African
Development Community Regional Environmental
Education Programme (SADC REEP), implemented by
the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa
(WESSA) and the Centre for Environmental Education
(CEE) in India. The United Nations University recently
declared both of these institutions Regional Centres of
Expertise in education for sustainable development.
Other partners in Africa and Asia include Rhodes
University in South Africa, Kenyatta University and
Strathmore University in Kenya, Obafemi Awolowo
University in Nigeria, the Nile Basin Initiative in Uganda,
the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and, in
China, the Centre for Environmental Education and
Communication of the Ministry of Environmental
Protection, the East China Normal University and
Yunnan University.
In Sweden, programme implementation has been
supported by a number of universities and organiza-
tions, including Chalmers University, Lund University,
Malmö University, Mälardalen University, the
Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University,
Uppsala University and Örebro University.
More than 800 professionals within formal education
from 42 different countries in Africa and Asia have taken
part in the in-service training programmes since they began
in 2001. The programmes are built around the partici-
pants’ Change Projects, which become the key training
tool towards bringing about positive change in the ESD
work of the participating teams’ institutions. The projects
are workplace-based and enable participants to link their
learning from the programme to their own work context.
The 9-12-month, five-phase training programmes include
national start-up workshops, scheduled training in Sweden