REPORT OF UNESCO EXPERT MEETING ON - APCEIU

The broader goal of gender equality is a societal goal to which education, all other
social institutions, must contribute.
4) Cultural diversity and intercultural understanding
Many opportunities for education and sustainable human development are
undermined by the lack of tolerance and intercultural understanding, upon which
peace is funded.
5) Health
A healthy population and safe environment are important pre-condition for
sustainable development.
6) HIV/AIDS
The ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa and rising incidence in Asia
undermine sustainable development and educational processes.
7) Governance
At local, national and international levels, sustainable development will best be
promoted where governance structures enable transparency, full expression of
opinion, free debate and broad input into policy formulation.
(2) Environmental perspectives
1) Natural resources (Water, energy, agriculture, bio-diversity)
Humanity is dependent on the goods and services provided by ecosystems. Thus,
the protection and restoration on the Earth’s ecosystems is an important
challenge.
2) Climate change
ESD must bring to the awareness of learners the crucial need for international
agreements and enforceable quantified targets to limit damage to the atmosphere
and check harmful climate change.
3) Rural transformation
Educational activities have to be linked to the specific needs of the rural
community for skills and capacities to seize economic opportunities, improve
livelihood and enhance the quality of life.
4) Sustainable urbanization
Cities not only pose potential threat to sustainable development but also hold
promising opportunities for social and economic advancement and for
environmental improvements at local, national, and global levels.
5) Disaster prevention and mitigation
Sustainable development is undermined where communities suffer disaster or are
threatened by them.
(3) Economic perspectives
1) Poverty reduction
Poverty reduction is the central concern of the economic element, but must be
understood in relation to the other three elements: social, environmental and
cultural.
2) Corporate responsibility and accountability
ESD must build a balanced awareness of these economic and financial forces and
enable learners to take action to increase public accountability and responsible
commercial practice.
3) Market economy
One basic challenge is to create global governance systems that harmonize the
market more effectively with environmental protection and the goal of equity.
7. UNESCO International Implementation Scheme of ESD (2005)
- Emphasizing UNESCO’s leadership role and the implementation process -
The notable points in UNESCO-IIS of ESD (2005) clearly presents four major thrust of ESD derived from
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