United Nations Decade > Implementation

IMPLEMENTATION FOR THE DECADE BY UNESCO

As the leading organisation promoting education within the United Nations, UNESCO must play a role, which determines the quality standards applicable to ESD. They must introduce programmes which integrate the necessary changes for the promotion of this type of development, improve the quality of information and reorientate the objectives which make sustainable development one of the priorities of UNESCO and the whole world.

The steps for the implementation of the UNESCO initiative must take account of pre-existing programmes implemented by the United Nations such as, Education For All (EFA) and the United Nations decade for literacy (UNLD), where other agencies or non-governmental organisations have been involved.

Education for sustainable development is suitable for a cross-curricular approach to a range of problems. It is not a new discipline but an innovation which challenges us to rethink our educational policies, programmes and practices to determine which areas of education can play roles to increase the capacity of all members of society to work together to form a sustainable future.

This is why the activities of the Decade aim essentially to convince, to communicate and to create appropriate research so that all educationalists will integrate into their programmes the concerns and objectives of sustainable development. UNESCO is today responsible for the coordination of two large initiatives in the education domain : EFA and UNLD. The decision concerning the coordination of EFA was taken at the time of the World Education Forum in 2000 but its origin was in the preceding decade; regarding the UNLD, it began in 2003 and its implementation has not begun. It is therefore essential that optimize the results, there must be effective coordination of the DESD with the EFA and the UNLD.

The decade of ESD, EFA and UNLD aim to tie and mutually reinforce their objectives with those of the Development Objectives for the Millenium. All three place education for sustainable development at their hearts. They favour the local context, the involvement of interested parties as political activist to motivate public authorities. They share a wide range of common objectives : to contribute to the reduction of poverty, to promote equality between the sexes, to foster respect for human right and to safeguard biodiversity. To achieve effective sustainable development as detailed in the EFA and UNLD, education appears to be a fundamental driving force.

UNESCO has produced a reference framework, defined a programme for international action, prepared regional plans, contemplated the launching of the Decade and defined coherent terms of reference for the piloting committees.

The Decade of education for sustainable development offer us an invaluable opportunity to launch a process of formal and non-formal education reform, throughout the lives of each and every person, in order to contribute to a radical and lasting change for the generations to come, the only guarantee that will permit sustainable development for our planet.