Carl Lindberg Special Advisor UNESCO The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and the Baltic Sea Region Universities role Carl Lindberg Special Advisor UNESCO

Preamble of the Earth Charter: “We stand at a critical moment in Earth´s history, a time when humanity must choose its future.”

The political will and responsible leadership for tackling these major challenges can only be created by well-informed and educated public opinion.

The UN General Assembly´s decision to declare 2005–2014 as a UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).

US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan: “President Obama and I share a great interest in your important work to promote education for sustainability.” And “We intend to do everything in our power to encourage education for sustainability.”

The Talloire Declaration(1990), the Halifax D (1991), the Kyoto D (1993), the CRE-COPERNICUS University Charter for SD(1993), the Lüneburg D (2001) and the UBUNTU D on Ed, Sc and Te for Sustainable Development (2002).

a) University authorities should draw up action plans to ensure that education is indeed characterised by a sustainable development (SD) perspective.

b) The boards of the faculties should assume responsibility for mainstreaming SD/ESD into all educational programmes. This should be done through a participatory process involving students and student organisations.

f) HEIs should become models of SD, not only in what is taught but in how all manner of university activity is carried out, i.e. purchasing policy, campus greening, employment policy, equity and other such issues.

Universities should both compete and cooperate with each other to be among the forerunners as “Universities for a Sustainable Future”.

Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education (AISHE), 24 criteria the Netherlands, both quantitative and qualitative data.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead: ‘Never underestimate the power of a few concerned people to change the world. In fact, it’s the only thing that ever has.’

The UN University, Tokyo, is since 4 years working on creating Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development

UNECE Strategy for ESD United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development was adopted in March 2005.Each country is responsible for implementing the Strategy. (http://www.unece.org/env/esd)

Swedish Higher Education Act Swedish Higher Education Act. from 1 February 2006, Swedish universities and university colleges “ shall promote sustainable development that ensures present and future generations a healthy and good environment, economic and social welfare and justice.”

o) Encourage and enhance scientific excellence, research and new knowledge development for ESD through the involvement of higher education institutions and research networks in ESD.

Establish institutional and organisational structures that facilitate flexibility, student participation, and multi- disciplinary programmes and develop model projects that can respond to the complexity and urgency of ESD.