DESD around the world

Latin America and Caribbean Regional Initiatives

The Latin America launch of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) took place during the Ibero-American Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro (31 May-2 June 2005). A Caribbean DESD launch took place during the Conference “Education for Sustainable Development: New Approaches for the Future”, held in Kingston, Jamaica (18-20 October 2005).

Consultations
Latin America Regional Mobilization Meeting
Promoting action and implementation in connection with the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) was the objective of a Latin-American meeting entitled “Building the Education for Sustainable Development,” held in San Jose, Costa Rica from 31 October to 2 November 2006. The event was organized by the Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE and by UNESCO, with financial support from the Japanese ESD Funds-in-Trust and the collaboration of United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), AVINA, the Ministry of Public Education of Costa Rica, the Ministry of Public Education of Mexico, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, the National University (Costa Rica), the UN University for Peace, the Paulo Freire Institute, Fundacion Mundo Sustentable and Banco da Amazonia. The meeting which brought together 180 participants from 23 countries, provided a space to share experiences and build alliances. It further aimed to strengthen the links between the UNDESD, the challenge of HIV/AIDS prevention through education, and the search for alternatives to increase literacy rates throughout the region. The event was divided into plenary sessions and working groups, which involved all participants. During the plenary sessions, panels of experts discussed topics related to the challenge of incorporating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into formal and non-formal education; how to articulate a common regional agenda for ESD; and how to achieve an inter-disciplinary focus when dealing with sustainability.

One of the panels included the participation of Vice-Ministers of Public Education from several countries, who expressed their support for a more active incorporation of ESD in their educational curricula. In a parallel process, a drafting team developed the first version of a regional strategy document, entitled Building Education for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, using the panels and working group’s contributions. This draft strategy was presented on the last day of the event, and participants had a brief chance to make preliminary comments on the draft. The organizers established an online forum, where participants, and other people in the region, would have the opportunity to make more observations and develop the strategy in a participatory way. The first version of the regional strategy document, was posted online for comments. The strategy was developed in a participatory manner, through an online forum for people around the region to make observations and suggestions. By creating a consensus at the regional level, there should also be a greater commitment for action. This online forum closed in March 2007 and the regional strategy was finalized.

Teachers Colleges meeting on ESD
Principals, deans and lecturers of 16 teachers’ colleges of Jamaica, Belize and Turks & Caicos gathered in Montego Bay, Jamaica on 28 – 29 June 2006 to discuss how to re-orient teacher education to address sustainability. The meeting is held as the first of a series of workshops planned by the Joint Board of Teachers Education of the University of the West Indies, in cooperation with CIDA/Government of Jamaica ENACT Programme and UNESCO, to contribute to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UN DESD) in the Caribbean. At the meeting, the UNESCO Guidelines and Recommendations to Address Sustainability were discussed, and teacher educators explored ways to infuse Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in teaching and learning curricula. As a follow-up, a second Northern Caribbean workshop of the Re-orienting Teacher Education for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean project was held on 22-23 August 2006 in Kingston, Jamaica.