Developing a National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

This is an important commitment from the Irish Government on the development of Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland. An important element in the preparation of the Strategy is a stakeholder consultation process where interested parties are invited to share their insights and experiences.

We feel that your contribution is invaluable in the process and and would like to invite you to be part of it.

Consultation process

The consultation process will seek to record activities and initiatives existing already in the areas of Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), examine the barriers/challenges related to ESD in your sector / organisation and gain insight into specific developments or actions that could be included in a National Strategy and what possible support measures would be required.

Complete the questionnaire

You can complete the questionnaire by:

• Filling out our online questionnaire. Please follow the instructions and answer as many questions as applicable to you or your organisation.
• Download and complete our questionnaire (634kb Word Document). Save this with the name of your organisation in the title and email to director@ecounesco.ie marking the email: ESD Consultation Questionnaire.
• Post a hard-copy of the completed Questionnaire to ESD Consultation Questionnaire,ECO-UNESCO, 26 Clare St., Dublin 2.

Attend a focus group meeting

Focus Group Meetings will take place over the coming weeks in the following locations:

We'd be delighted if you could attend one of the Focus Group Consultations. If you are interested please contact Jennifer or Sorcha at the ECO-UNESCO office 01 6625491 or email director@ecounesco.ie

Further information on Sustainable Development, Education for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade on ESD is available in the Questionnaire and will shortly be available on the ECO-UNESCO website www.ecounesco.ie.

Context for the questionnaire

The concept of Sustainable Development emerged from a growing concern about human impacts on the environment and was defined in 1987 by the Brundtland Commission (formally the World Commission on Environment and Development) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

This definition outlined the need for development to meet human needs and improve the quality of life but highlighted the need for responsible use of our natural resources.

What is Education for Sustainable Development?

Education for Sustainable Development develops and strengthens the capacity of individuals, groups, communities and organisations to make judgements and choices in favour of sustainable development. The four main thrusts of ESD were defined by Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit:

• promotion and improvement of basic education
• reorientation of existing education programs
• developing public understanding and awareness of sustainability
• training.

Key themes in ESD include:

• poverty alleviation,
• citizenship,
• peace,
• ethics,
• responsibility in local and global contexts,
• democracy and governance,
• justice,
• security,
• human rights,
• health,
• gender equity,
• cultural diversity,
• production and consumption patterns,
• corporate responsibility,
• environmental protection,
• natural resource management, and
• biological and landscape diversity.