TABLE OF CONTENTS - The Professional Green Building Council

Theme C: Education and Market TransformationESD is a lifelong process, fostering broad cooperation and engaging outsideassistance is essential to long-term and widespread success. To enhance teachingprofession, the formal and non-formal educational sectors should work together toaccomplish local sustainability goals.4. HERITAGE CONSERVATION – THEME FOR GOODPRACTICE OF ESDIn past, people used to compartmentalize our living environment within broadareas of concern (environmental, economic and social). These compartmentshowever have to dissolve. This applies in particular to the various problems(population, air pollution, income disparity, etc) that have seized public concern.These are not separate problems but all one. Reorienting education tosustainability requires recognizing that traditional compartments and categoriescan no longer remain in isolation from each other.The inherent complexity of sustainability however is difficult to communicate insimple messages. It is important for those promoting ESD to choose those casesand examples that are most easily understood by the students. Start with issuesthat students feel and understand at the local level. That is both valuableknowledge in itself and, if need be, a basis for moving on to more complex andglobal understandings.The programme “Transforming Our Community Heritage” hence adopts thetheme of “Heritage Conservation” as a platform to bring together schools, parents,community and professionals in transforming our community heritage and itscontext/surrounding to enhance sustainable developments. Heritage buildings andlandmarks which form part of our living environment, also contribute to anattractive townscape. They should be preserved to provide a variety of buildingdesigns, to sustain memories of the past and to foster a sense of belonging andidentity for the community. The key to building a quality living environment is to658