Education

Description:

Sustainable development is seeking to meet the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations.We have to learn our way out of current social and environmental problems and learn to live sustainably.

Sustainable development is a vision of development that encompasses populations, animal and plant species, ecosystems, natural resources and that integrates concerns such as the fight against poverty, gender equality, human rights, education for all, health, human security, intercultural dialogue, etc.

Education for sustainable development aims to help people to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge to make informed decisions for the benefit of themselves and others, now and in the future, and to act upon these decisions.

Enablers:

1.Goverment/NGO

Goverment or organizations can help to guide and carry out the education of sustainability.

2.Media

Media can tell people the truth about our current situation and spread right vaules.

Inhibitors:

1.Technology.

Instead of people's learning how to live and how to protect our environment, advanced technology might be able to make us sustainable by itself.

Paradigms:

If Education of Sustainable Development is to be an effective tool for engaging people in negotiating a sustainable future, making decisions and acting on them, it must first address the way we think about sustainable development and about education in general. Essential to ESD are the following skills (Adapted from Tilbury, D. and Wortman, D (2004), Engaging People in Sustainability): Envisioning – being able to imagine a better future. The premise is that if we know where we want to go, we will be better able to work out how to get there. Critical thinking and reflection – learning to question our current belief systems and to recognize the assumptions underlying our knowledge, perspective and opinions. Critical thinking skills help people learn to examine economic, environmental, social and cultural structures in the context of sustainable development. Systemic thinking – acknowledging complexities and looking for links and synergies when trying to find solutions to problems. Building partnerships – promoting dialogue and negotiation, learning to work together. Participation in decision-making – empowering people.

These skills should be learnt and applied according to the cultural contexts of different groups and stakeholders.

Experts:

The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD)

Web Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_for_Sustainable_Development#Education_for_Sustainable_Development_.28ESD.29

http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=961