The National Steering Committee on Education for Sustainable Development has appointed ECO-UNESCO as consultants for the development of a National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development.
This is an important commitment from the Irish Government on the development of Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland.
Education for Sustainable Development involves the development of knowledge, skills and values for a sustainable world and covers areas of development, environmental protection, poverty reduction, good governance and decision making, equality, citizenship and social inclusion among others.
Further information on Sustainable Development, Education for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade on ESD is available at www.unesco.org.
The National Steering Committee on ESD comprises representatives from Department of Education & Science, Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Department of Foreign Affairs - Irish Aid, COMHAR- SDC (Sustainable Development Council), National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, University of Limerick, Curriculum Development Unit and ECO-UNESCO (ECO-UNESCO has been contracted to carry out the ESD National Strategy Consultation).
In October 2009, ECO-UNESCO held the seminar Exploring Good Practice in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The seminar allowed participants to engage with organisations and initiatives which are leading in the field of Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland and internationally.
The keynote speaker Andy Griggs (Environmental Education Forum) gave a presentation on Good Practice in Education for Sustainable Development. ECO-UNESCO's National Director, Elaine Nevin, opened the day with a presentation on Education for Sustainable Development. Both presentations can be downloaded below.
In April this year, UNESCO hosted a conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Bonn, Germany where it carried out a mid-term review of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).
Elaine Nevin, National Director of ECO-UNESCO attended with hundreds of representatives from countries all over the world. Ireland has still to finalise and implement its strategy; a draft was launched at a conference in December 2007. The Bonn declaration from the Bonn Conference was released in July.
Read the full text of the Bonn Declaration (PDF document - 79 KB)
The Discussion Paper on the development of a National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development was presented at the "Have Your Say" Conference held in Croke Park on the 7th December 2007.
Download "Discussion Paper on the development of a National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development" (PDF Acrobat Reader file - 584 KB)
The Conference provided people with an opportunity to discuss the Discussion Paper and provide feedback. There was a variety of speakers on day including Minister for the Environment John Gormley, Professor Charles Hopkins UNESCO Chair at the University of Toronto and Dr. Roland Tormey from the University of Limerick with ECO-UNESCO facilitating on the day.
A consultation process on the development of a National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) took place in September 2007. Read more