Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

of ‘sustainability’ that is most often associated with environmentalsustainability. It addresses whether actions taken by humanity aredegrading the Earth’s carrying capacity to the point where the planetwill no longer be able to sustain its biodiversity. 2 Sustainability isnot only about surviving injustice, wars and violence. Rather, it ismulti-dimensional (integrative, ethical and active), as it is only withan inclusive perspective that humanity’s consciousness, communicationand actions at any level will begin to be transformed.Emerging Gulf urbanizationAccording to official statistics concerning the development of the GulfStates, this decade has seen qualitative and quantitative leaps. For acountry like the United Arab Emirates, urban development is a majorconcern of policymakers, planners, public officials and environmentaladvocates. The United Arab Emirates has been progressing steadily on thepath of growth and development over the last three decades, propelled byan oil-rich economy. Although not affluent in other natural resources, thecountry has scored high on development indices in recent years due tounprecedented economic growth, high per capita income and vigoroussocial development. The nations in the Arabian Gulf region have emergedas a hub of commerce, stability, security and peace. According to the2005 Human Development Index Report compiled by the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP), the Gulf States have risen substantiallyin rank among the developed nations of the world. Because of theireconomic growth and relatively open immigration policies, the GulfStates have attracted large numbers of people from all over the world,particularly from Asia and Europe, and have urbanized rapidly over acomparatively brief time frame. Prominent cities like Dubai, Manama,Doha, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh have expanded to several times their previoussizes, even as recently as the 1970s and 1980s. Today, these citiesfeature prominently on the global map of emerging places.Education and global issues:How does education connect Gulf cities to the world in the age ofglobalization? According to numerous researchers, the challenge forcontemporary cities aspiring to development is reflectedin the ability to be well connected and networked withthe rest of the globe. Part of this connectivity is associatedwith awareness of global problems and threats.The world is struggling with the unsustainable courseset by Western society just as other regions are strivingto imitate that course. We are facing climate change,rising populations, drought, floods, hunger, intensifyingstorms, depleting resources, destruction of humanand non-human habitats, the potential of rising sealevels and the realization that we cannot maintain agrowing economy within a finite world. Interestingly,research studies have shown that new generations in theGulf are well exposed to global issues. A typical childis connected to the world in real time via Blackberry oriPhone. Availability of Internet for children and youth inthe Gulf is similar to that in some of the most developedcountries in the west. Gulf children and youth also travelextensively, accompanied by their parents or alone.ESD: Gulf universities’ experienceThere are urban planning departments in all six Gulfstates. 3 It is worth looking at the nature of theseprogrammes, and their philosophy, vision and mission,to understand their ties with sustainability concepts andprinciples. An important quality of ESD is that of envisioning– being able to imagine a better future. Thepremise is that if we know where we want to go, wewill be better able to work out how to get there. Thisrequires critical thinking and reflection – learning toquestion our current belief systems and to recognizethe assumptions underlying our knowledge, perspectiveand opinions. Critical thinking skills help people toexamine economic, environmental, social and culturalstructures in the context of sustainable development.Image: Basil D SoufiThe American University in Sharjah (above), the University of Sharjah and Ajman University opened departments of design and architecture[ 164 ]