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The importance of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

For humans to all live sustainably, we must all learn the principles of SD — a process which involves not only learning new information but also thinking differently about our lives, actions, needs, environment, and how all of these elements interrelate. For this reason, ESD requires a great deal of consideration and effort which is why UNESCO has dedicated an entire decade to the promotion of ESD.

New Zealand UNDESD Strategic Plan (pdf)

Background information

ESD resources

UNDESD/SANZ Think Tank paper available

The UNDESD/SANZ Think Tank paper, Strong Sustainability for New Zealand: Principles and Scenarios, has now completed an independent review process and a PDF version of the paper is available via this link.

This paper is the result of the efforts of many people: think tank and seminar participants, writers and reviewers. Its core value lies in its assertion of the principles of strong sustainability and in the scenario that describes, in a plausible way, what a sustainable New Zealand - and the transition to it - could be like.
The crucial changes required for sustainability are a shift to a new set of societal ethics, values and 'world views', as well as a major overhaul of economics and approaches to population growth. All of this has to be considered in the context of unprecedented global changes which, in themselves, will be highly challenging for society and people. It is time for these matters to be raised and debated with urgency.

UNDESD/SANZ presentations

Adult and Community Education for Times of Great Change, Adult and Community Education Aotearoa Conference, Christchurch, 13 June 2009 (PPT 547KB)

Climate Change and Ethics for Church Leaders, Church Leaders Group, Hamilton, 30 May 2009 (PPT 465KB)

Global Change Drivers, Core Practical Issues about Water, and Meeting the Challenges, UNESCO Joint Sub-Committee Meeting, Wellington, March 2009 (PPT 190KB)

Global Change Drivers, Core Practical Issues about Water, and Meeting the Challenges, Philanthropy New Zealand Conference, Wellington, 19 March 2009 (PPT 1246KB)

UNDESD Strategy Forum 2007

A national UNDESD strategy forum took place on Wednesday 7 November 2007 at Fale Pasifika, University of Auckland. The forum was attended by 65 invited guests representing central and local government, education, business, culture, youth, research and NGOs.

SANZ press release (pdf)

View/download Dr Jane Adam's presentation (ppt)

View/download verbatim notes of discussions (doc)

View/download first draft of distilled deliverables (doc)

View/download second draft of distilled deliverables (doc)

Strategy Forum 2007 objectives

There are two key objectives:

Identify four or five priority targets (deliverables) for the Decade with matching indicators*.
Identify three to five people from the Forum to finalise the agreed strategies and a concrete action plan.

* We need to acknowledge from the start that the task is to develop ESD indicators rather than SD, economic, social, and environmental or education indicators.

Partnership agreement

The New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO has entered into a partnership agreement with SANZ to empower SANZ to take responsibility for the coordination and administration of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in New Zealand.

The Agreement includes the following deliverables:

Finalise NZ UNDESD Strategic Plan
Develop UNDESD indicators
Finalise monitoring and reporting framework
Appoint NZ UNDESD Governance Committee

To achieve these deliverables our approach is to actively work with others to build on the earlier work of the UNDESD Coordinating Committee, as well as last year's UNDESD stakeholders' forum. We have some catching up to do as other member countries now have fully developed plans in place.

New Zealand Journey 2004-2007 (ppt)

Background information

United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
The overall goal of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) is to integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects of learning to encourage changes in behaviour that allow for a more sustainable and just society for all.

The basic vision of the Decade is a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from education and learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future and for positive societal transformation.

The focus of the Decade is education and related communication, training and capacity-building strategies for promoting sustainable development — not sustainable development per se.

Excerpts from UNESCO planning documents
The UNESCO Action Plan for the Decade has four key ESD thrusts:

Promoting and improving basic education, including literacy and lifelong learning for sustainable livelihoods, with an emphasis on access, opportunity and quality outcomes for children and youth in schools, out-of-school youth, and adult literacy.
Reorienting existing education programmes at all levels so that the purpose, content and processes of education promote the social, environmental, cultural and economic knowledge, skills, perspectives and values inherent to sustainability.
Building public awareness of the need for, and understanding of, the principles of sustainable development, with an emphasis upon the roles of the media and civil society in encouraging an informed and active citizenry.
Developing training programmes to ensure that all sectors of society have the skills necessary to perform their work in a sustainable manner.

UNESCO strategy
The UNESCO mission statement is:

As a specialized agency of the United Nations, UNESCO contributes to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

The current strategy for achieving the mission is represented in a one-page diagram from the Recommendations by the Executive Board on the Draft Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013. To view the Microsoft PowerPoint (112KB) diagram, click here.

International UNDESD websites
UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development activities internationally include:

UNDESD partner organisations
The UNDESD is a UNESCO initiative and is supported by a group of key partner organizations:

ESD Resources

New Zealand:

New Zealand UNDESD Advisory Committee, Submission on the draft curriculum prepared on behalf by Barry Law and Pam Williams, November 2006
New Zealand UNDESD Advisory Committee, The New Zealand Journey 2002-2009 (includes draft strategic plan), November 2007
New Zealand UNDESD Advisory Committee, New Zealand UNDESD Project Endorsement Policy, August 2007
New Zealand UNDESD Advisory Committee, Draft Strategic Plan 2006
Parliamentary Commission for the Environment (PCE), See Change: Learning and education for sustainability, January 2004
The purpose of this think-piece is to raise the level of debate about education for sustainability, and to stimulate effective action so that New Zealanders can learn to live in sustainable ways. It highlights how education, in its broadest sense, needs to bring about a 'sea change' (a transformation) for the better. This will require a shift in perception and understanding among many people and organisations in New Zealand today. See also the 2007 outcome evaluation below.
Parliamentary Commission for the Environment (PCE), Outcome evaluation for See Change: learning and education for sustainability, June 2007
Lesley Stone and Maria-José Baldoni, Progress and pitfalls in the provision of tertiary education for sustainable development in New Zealand, 2006
Rhys Taylor, Does secondary schooling assist or get in the way of sustainability education?, 2005
Pam Williams, Short Overview of the Situation of New Zealand (Aotearoa) in Regard to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) August 2004