provide tools and materials to support teaching and learning aroundsustainable development.One such resource is Resources for Rethinking (R4R), created by theNGO, Learning for a Sustainable Future, which is a free, online databaseof peer-reviewed, curriculum-matched teaching resources thatsupport active, interdisciplinary learning about key environmental,social and economic issues. R4R features over 660 print, electronic,and audiovisual resources published by not-for-profit, governmentand educational organizations. Teachers have reviewed the materialsbefore inclusion. The database can be searched by sustainabilitytheme, grade, subject, jurisdiction and language.Research on issues of sustainable development can be found inpost-secondary institutions, NGOs and governments. Research institutesand specializations at colleges and universities address specificaspects of sustainable development and are often involved in teachingand collaborations with public and private partners. The workof the Canadian UNESCO chairs demonstrates an internationalapproach to sustainable development research and dissemination.In 2009, the Canadian Council on Learning issued the documentMaking the Environmental Grade: The Benefits of Going Green in theClassroom, which assessed the research on how environmental educationimproves overall learning. The conclusions stressed how themulti-faceted nature of environmental education is a key componentof its effectiveness, as it allows for the integration of many techniquesconnected to good education, such as critical thinking, inquiry,hands-on learning and group work. The need for teacher professionaldevelopment and support from school and school division administratorswas also underlined.In autumn <strong>2010</strong>, CMEC will undertake an in-depth explorationacross Canadian faculties of education to assess how the faculties areincorporating ESD into their teacher and administrator training coursesand research and to identify what new teachers need (but are not yetreceiving) to implement ESD when they enter the school system.The province of Manitoba is working with one of Canada’s leadingsocial indicator experts to assess sustainable development knowledge,attitudes and choices among students, in order to gaugewhether investments in ESD are leading to sustainable lifestylesamong young people.Priority 4: support and guide the implementation of ESDsystem-wideESD is reinforced when entire educational jurisdictions are engagedin a systemic, inclusive and participatory approach that reflects ESDprinciples. The concept of involving whole schools in ESD and sustainabilitypractices is growing across Canada. In some cases, it reflects agovernment policy adopted by departments or ministries, includingeducation, and then by school boards and individual schools. It mayalso be a support and recognition programme at the ministerial level,or the initiative may come from the school division or institution.There are many examples in provinces and territories across Canadaof how schools are becoming sustainable and how provincial jurisdictionsare supporting the whole-school approach. The government ofBritish Columbia is working to become carbon neutral in <strong>2010</strong>, and itsMinistry of Education supports this goal in its operations and educationalactivities across school districts. The Climate Action Charterhas been signed by all 60 school districts in the province. In returnfor committing to actions such as reducing emissions from operationsand transportation and offering educational opportunities for students(in partnership with their parents) that promote sustainability andclimate action at school and at home, the school districtsare reimbursed annually for all the carbon tax they paidin the previous year.There are now 1,000 Brundtland Green Schools inQuebec, which act locally and think globally to helpcreate a green, peaceful, united and democratic world.The schools carry out projects to reduce, reuse, recoverand recycle and link their actions to sharing, cooperation,democracy, fairness, solidarity, peace, humanrights and respect.Manitoba is an area which has benefited from a sustainabilitypolicy introduced in April 2007. Manitoba’s GreenBuilding Policy requires all new provincially fundedbuildings, including schools with an area greater than600 sq. m. (6,458 sq. ft.), to meet a minimum Leadershipin Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification.Ontario has almost 1,000 schools that are part ofEcoSchools, a five-step programme to help schools playa part in keeping the natural environment healthy forfuture generations. The steps include establishing an ecoteam; assessing the needs of the school through a reviewthat determines where energy can be conserved; identifyingpriorities and developing an action plan for theconservation of energy; implementing the action planwith the involvement of the entire school community;and monitoring and evaluating progress. Programmeguides have also been developed to reduce energy use,minimize waste and redesign school grounds.Celebrating progressThe material presented above is just a few of the ESDinitiatives taking place in Canada, many of which arehappening at the individual, provincial and territoriallevel. There are clear signs of progress towards ESDintegration in Canada – illustrated by the increase inprovincial and territorial policies, curriculum frameworksand other documents that have addressed theconcepts of sustainable development and made themcentral to education. NGOs are increasingly involvedin programme delivery, teacher training, resourcedevelopment and research. Post-secondary institutionshave more programmes and research that address ESD.Indigenous ways of knowing are more fully integratedinto many curricula, especially regarding environmentalsustainability and relations to the land.CMEC has shown strong leadership in supporting,advancing and strengthening a pan-Canadian approachto the implementation of ESD. By introducing a pan-Canadian ESD Framework, CMEC sets forth a numberof strategies for collaboration and action, which willcatalyse achievement of the shared goal of ESD in allprovinces and territories.Despite the progress in ESD, challenges and obstaclesremain – especially in relation to the task of trulyintegrating ESD into education at all levels. Changein education is a slow and deliberate process, and theprogress made needs to be celebrated at the same timeas the obstacles and challenges are acknowledged.[ 83 ]
Promoting good practice in education forsustainable development: the recognition ofOfficial Decade Projects in GermanyGerhard de Haan, Professor for Educational Future Studies at the Freie Universität Berlinand Chair of the German National Committee for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable DevelopmentIncreasing the visibility of good practice in education forsustainable development (ESD), promoting innovativeapproaches to ESD, providing successful models that canbe emulated, and acknowledging the commitment of educationalpractitioners – these are the objectives for recognizing highqualityESD projects in Germany as Official Decade Projects.An award scheme for these projects substantially contributesto building momentum for the UN Decade of Education forSustainable Development (DESD) and can be easily replicatedin other countries. The award scheme in Germany was institutedin the context of the national implementation of the DESD,which is coordinated by the German Commission for UNESCOand its National DESD Committee on the basis of a unanimousresolution by the German Parliament and with support from theFederal Ministry of Education and Research.A wide range of activitiesESD equally affects learning in nurseries, schools and universities,in vocational and in-service training and at extracurriculareducational and cultural facilities, as well as in research institutes,businesses and public administration. ESD also takesplace outside educational institutions, such as in thefamily, among friends, through the mass media and inconsumer advice. A wide range of stakeholders practiceESD. Accordingly, among the over 1,000 initiatives thathave been awarded the title Official German DecadeProject so far, we can find:• Schools with a marked sustainability profile• University courses on sustainable management• Projects on initial and in-service vocational trainingfor sustainable construction• Initiatives for sustainable development in chemicalindustry careers• Environment centres and outdoor education centresthat move beyond environmental education andadopt ESD as an all-encompassing principle• Solidarity projects for school students, whichpartner with countries from the South• Cultural and media projects for children at nurseryschoolsImage: Freya Kettner, DUKPreparations for an award ceremony for German DESD Projects[ 84 ]
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TOMORROW TODAYUnited NationsEducati
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THE HONOURABLE DIANE MCGIFFORD, CHA
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ANNA TIBAIJUKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
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KONRAD OSTERWALDER, RECTOR, UNITED
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