UNESCO Bangkok, Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education ESD in the Asia-Pacific Region: Taking Stock and Setting Direction Jakarta Cluster Consultation, Manila, Philippines UNESCO Bangkok, Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

ESD Mid-term Review Conference World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development: Moving into the Second Half of the UN Decade, Bonn, Germany, 31 March – 2 April 2009 Preparation Global ESD Monitoring Questionnaire International Forum on Education for Sustainable Development, Tokyo, Japan, 3-5 December 2008. 2

UNESCO General Conference (Paris, October 2007) Sustainability “presents a challenge of learning how to live differently, and education is key to this. But the issue is not just one of putting ESD into the curriculum and teaching materials, important though this is. It is also about cultivating capacities of critical understanding, careful analysis, respect for others and forward-thinking capacities, which enable people to reflect upon and change their behaviour, values and life-styles.” Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, to 96 Ministers of Education gathered the Ministerial Round Table on Education and Economic Development, Paris,19-20 October 2007. (Communiqué can be downloaded at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001541/154152e.pdf)

UNESCO Asia-Pacific ESD Strategy Vision: Every person in the Asia-Pacific region learns how to acquire and adapt their knowledge and behaviour to contribute to change for a sustainable future and take responsibility for their actions in consideration of others. Mission: To develop partnerships and synergies with a variety of partners through all forms of quality learning to empower individuals to make informed, appropriate decisions for our future

UNESCO Asia-Pacific ESD Strategy Activity 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 1. Raising awareness X 2. Engaging stakeholders 3. Monitoring system development 4. Strengthening leadership 5. National coordination 6. Reorienting curricula 7. Teacher Education 8. Technical support Mid-Decade Review (Germany, March/April 2009)

Accomplishments and Direction so far… Programmatic Linkages Higher Education and Research UN Reform MDGs Teacher Education EFA (Goal 3 - Skills; Goal 6 - Quality Education) Curriculum Development: Climate Change Early Childhood Education Local and Indigenous Knowledge Youth Initiatives Life Long Learning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Education for Natural Disaster Preparedness (ENDP) Corporate Social Responsibility Biosphere Reserves Development Paradigms (e.g. Happiness) Media Initiatives World Heritage Education

Accomplishments and Direction so far… Monitoring and Assessment Mongolia Iran Kyrgyzstan China India Cambodia Sri Lanka Indonesia Australia New Zealand Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Japan Vietnam Pacific Islands (SIDS) 12 Countries – developed or developing National ESD Strategies / Action Plans 8 Countries – forming national ESD monitoring working groups 4 Countries – initiating development of national ESD indicators

ESD in the Asia-Pacific Region Challenges Sustainable development priorities still need to be acknowledged and disseminated to guide ESD programming and monitoring at all levels. Political will for developing national ESD priorities and implementing activities to realize concrete objectives have yet to be coordinated. Many actors moving ESD forward do so based on their own perception of sustainable development , in many cases not moving beyond environmental education, or conducting activities that are so different that national monitoring and assessment are extremely difficult.

ESD in the Asia-Pacific Region Asia-Pacific Member States… Regional cooperation is increasingly important for moving ESD forward It is important to incorporate ESD into National Sustainable Development Strategies, Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS), UN Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF) and other important development instruments ESD should not be pushed forward as a new programme but better strategized through mainstreaming into existing education processes and activities such as those of EFA A process is needed to help identify and capture “non-esd“ branded activities in order to build on regional processes already underway and stimulating educational change

Emerging Issues (Central Asian Cluster ESD Workshop) Lessons Learned National Commissions are not the only actors moving ESD forward. ESD focal points need to include other agencies (UN and national). Identification of subregional priorities for international cooperation and collaboration is extremely important. Coordinate the activities of national actors and develop an M&E process across ministries Establishing a national ESD monitoring system requires the establishment of a national working group on indicators.

Emerging Issues (Central Asia) Lessons Learned (cont’d)… In terms of the global level, there needs to be 5 or 6 generic global ESD indicators developed Need more clarity on processes for monitoring and reorienting curriculum change More work needs to be taking to monitor ESD at national, regional and global levels. Identification of subregional priorities for collaboration (e.g. Central Asian ESD Portal)

ESD Coordination in the Asia-Pacific Region Leadership: Ministerial and High-level Policy National and Regional Monitoring Reorienting Formal and Non-formal Curricula Sustainable Development Priorities MID-DECADE VISION

ESD Astrolabe An Astrolabe to… Provide direction for ESD coordination at the national and subregional level Map ongoing ESD-related programmes, resources, key actors and their scale and scope of involvement Link key actors moving ESD forward at the national level. Identify education needs and priorities in line with sustainable development at the national level Guide and coordinatie national ESD monitoring and assessment, including the development and identification of of indicators and mechanisms for data collection and reporting

UNESCO Bangkok, Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education www.unescobkk.org/education/esd