REPORT OF UNESCO EXPERT MEETING ON - APCEIU

• A mix of well-established centres and those that are less involved
• A balanced geographical distribution in the region and within countries including peripheral areas such
as Mindanao in the Philippines
• MoEs and policy makers
The 3-4 day programme could cover the following themes:
• Essence of ESD/EIU and DESD – rationale, objectives – and mapping participants’ perceptions and
understanding of ESD
• Existing ESD practices at the institutional, national and regional levels
• Articulation of the barriers, tensions, challenges and enabling factors
• Needs assessment of TEIs to undertake ESD
• ESD frameworks, themes and content, emphasizing the process
• Pedagogy and methodologies, experiential sessions
• Potential initiatives, activities and changes
• Development of work plans for each TEI
• Signing of MOUs
• Development of a clearinghouse for ESD materials and resources
• Formulation of a framework for self-assessment and identification of the support mechanisms needed
• Process for creating a network with examples of operational networks, network building, secretariat for
the network and support mechanisms
• Future meetings, events and follow up
Monitoring and evaluation
• Regular communication, reporting and follow-up
Support mechanisms
• Map the national and regional support mechanisms already in place and include in the work plans
• Explore links with existing networks and related institutions (i.e. APNIEVE, RCEs, APEID)
• Build on previous workshops and update new and old members
• Create web links to relevant websites
• Develop a list of resources available and establish a clearinghouse for resources
• Provide support for action research projects, publish case studies and include in the research agenda for
the Asia and Pacific region
• Establish a network secretariat
Recommendations
It is crucial to remember that the scope and focus of our tasks are on schools and teacher education. It is equally
important to reflect on the kind of strategies that should be developed as we work with our partners, i.e. Ministries
of Education, policy makers, action research networks. Many insightful comments, ideas and suggestions emerged
during the meeting, both during and outside the formal sessions, and a key recurring theme is that conceptual
conflicts exist among economic, environmental and socio-cultural aspects of ESD, between ESD and EIU, and
also within the concept of sustainable development. Yet it is critical that the various values, perspectives and
world views should not be forced onto any one person or group. Rather, each learner has to develop his/her own
thinking about these various concepts. Making such choices involves an empowering and transformative
pedagogy that enables learners to link the personal with the political and develop critical thinking about ESD,
tapping the intrinsic motivation and drawing out the values commitment for empowered action for change at the
collective level. Based on this broad pre-condition, several recommendations were formulated as follow:
• A pedagogy for values commitment and critical thinking should be developed for ESD with the
appropriate teaching-learning processes and methodologies for development of knowledge, skills, values,
attitudes and the ability to transform and bring about social change.
• Various paradigms and world views with their attendant values should be openly mapped to promote an
understanding of conflicting perspectives.
• A strategic plan should be developed and coordinated by APEID, in consultation with key partners, to
implement ESD systematically and to build on existing initiatives, synergies and complementarities of
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