Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

from the National Committee for the DESD. The jury represents abroad range of stakeholders from public administration through nongovernmentalorganizations to individual experts, and individuallyexamines each application. Successful projects earn the right to use thelabel Official German Decade Project for two years. In an award ceremony,of which around four per year are held, they receive a diploma,a banner and a stamp with the German logo for the DESD, which theymay use for their public relations activities. On average, between 50and 60 per cent of all applications are evaluated favourably. At the midpointof the DESD, over 1,000 projects had been recognized.Benefits of the award schemeThe award scheme significantly raises the profile of ESD, especiallyat a local level. While presence in the national media remains a challengefor the DESD, hundreds of articles have appeared on individualdecade projects in the local press. The German DESD coordinationunit assists projects in their communication efforts, distributes theirachievements through the Internet and printed materials and voicestheir interests and needs with regards to political representatives.Moreover, while no precise figures are available, we can assume thatthe projects function as role models, which has encouraged otherstakeholders to initiate projects or to develop their existing projectsfurther. The visibility of these projects all over Germany also facilitatesnetworking between initiatives. The award scheme makes it easy forthose who are looking for partners to identify high quality projects.The stricter criteria for reapplication also contribute to improving thequality of ESD in general. Projects have also reported that the qualitycertificate that the award entails has helped them to acquire fundingfrom third parties. Finally, the award gives recognition to the manyindividuals active in ESD who often work on a voluntary basis.From the point of national implementation of the DESD, the costbenefitratio, as it were, of the award scheme is excellent, which makesthe scheme easily replicable in other countries. Limited resources arerequired for the staff in the coordination unit to review applications andorganize the jury and award ceremonies. The outcome with regard toquality development and visibility for ESD is very positive. The projectshave also drawn the attention of other partners who started their owninitiatives for supporting good practice on the ground. For example,the drugstore chain dm, together with the German Commission forUNESCO, has already twice run a scheme through which over 1,000small projects are supported with 1,000 Euros each. Moreover, DecadeProjects serve as excellent examples when arguing for a broader inclusionof ESD in the curriculum. Internationally, the projects also serve as‘ambassadors’ for practical work on ESD in Germany.One of the challenges that remain to be tackled is a stronger investmentinto the quality development of the projects. The quality of theprojects is generally rather high. However, many of them appreciatewhen they are offered guidelines and suggestions how they canexpand and develop their understanding of ESD, for example, withregard to integrating a more complex view of sustainable developmentor with regard to their public relations measures. Local networkingalso needs to be strengthened. The latter is one of the areas in whichwe want to focus in the coming years when we, again with supportfrom the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, attempt to buildlocal networks and thus create regions for sustainable learning.Cities and local authorities for the DecadeIn addition to the Official German Projects for the UN Decade, the awardcategory for ‘Official cities and local authority districts of the UN Decade’Example one: Official Decade Project, YOOW –Young and Old for One WorldThe Berlin-based project, Young and Old for One World(YOOW), encompasses several generations. Senior citizenswork together with marginalized young people and renovateout-of-use machines and work benches. The machinesare then used by partner projects in Sierra Leone in theirtraining facilities. For example, young seamstresses inSierra Leone use sewing machines repaired by YOOW toopen their own business.Example two: Official Decade Project,Sustainable Student Company RGS WoolProduction, marketing and sales – at the student companyRGS Wool of the Rudolf Graber School for Children with SpecialNeeds in the town of Bad Säckingen, Germany, everything is inthe hand of fifth to tenth graders. The students, over a periodof several years, deal with sheep farming and wool production,from processing to the finished product and the sale of sheep’swool as environmentally friendly material. The wool is used tofill cushions and as an insulation material for solar-poweredcookers. Leftovers are composted and returned to nature’slifecycle. The students run the company themselves and, inaddition to learning about the sustainable use of resourcesand global interdependencies, they also acquire social andeconomic skills.Example three: Official Decade Project, TheChildren’s Rain Forest GroupThe Children’s Rain Forest Group at the Edith Stein Schoolin Ravensburg, Germany has been working to protect theforests in the tropical areas of Costa Rica and Ecuadorfor almost 20 years. Among other activities, they collectmoney to purchase endangered forests and supportlocal environmental organizations. In addition, the teampromotes sustainable orchards in Germany. Cooperatingwith development organizations, they also produce juicefrom homegrown apples and fair trade mangos and passionfruits, thus supporting sustainable farming.Example four: Official Decade Project, teachingand practising sustainability at Alexander vonHumboldt high schoolThe Alexander von Humboldt high school in Hamburg,Germany, has integrated sustainable development intoits school programme. Issues such as climate change,sustainable consumption and conflict management areregularly and systematically integrated into lessons. Theschool has also been officially audited for its sustainablemanagement activities. It continuously works to reduce itsuse of natural resources. Since 1994, the school has beenawarded the title of Eco-school in Europe every year.was introduced in order to contribute to integrating ESD ata local level. In order to obtain the award, the city or localauthority district, among other things, must have madethe formal political decision that ESD is part of its politicalagenda; it should be active with relation to the four objectivesof the National Plan of Action; it should define objectives andactivities in ESD that relate to the existing educational setupin the city for the next two to five years; and specify whicharea of ESD is of particular importance for the local community.On the whole, the activities of the city or local authoritieswith reference to these criteria must be well above average. By2010, 11 cities and local authorities had received the award.[ 86 ]