Education for Sustainable Development:  Cure or Placebo?

 David V. J. Bell, PhD(dvjbell@rogers.com)

 Professor Emeritus and Former Dean,

Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University

Chair, Learning for a Sustainable Future(www.lsf-lst.ca)

Facing Forward - Looking BackCharting Sustainable Development in Canada

1987-2007-2027

Ottawa, Ontario October 18th – 19th 2007

OutlineWhere Have We Been?

– Our Common Future and Agenda 21– ESD in Canada

Where Are We Now?– UNDESD and UNECE– Canada’s Response

Where Are We Going?– Cure or Placebo?– What we need to do over next 20 years

Our Common Future• Strengthen basic education• Communicate effectively with people: “The changes in attitudes, in social values, and in

aspirations the report urges will depend on vast campaigns of education, debate, and public participation.”

• A new kind of education also needed: “Education should therefore provide comprehensive

knowledge, encompassing and cutting across the social and natural sciences and the humanities, thus providing insights on the interaction between natural and human resources, between development and environment.”

Agenda 21• Education mentioned in every chapter • Ch 36 “Promoting Education [formal], Public

Awareness [informal] and Training [non-formal]”

• 4 thrusts:– improve basic education (especially in the

developing countries)– reorient existing education to address SD

(strengths approach)– develop public understanding and awareness– provide training for all sectors of society

including business, industry and government.

Other ESD Milestones

• International Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability (1997 – Thessaloniki, Greece)

• UN CSD reviews Ch. 36 of Agenda 21(1998)• WSSD (2002)• UNDESD (2005 – 2014)

– UN University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) initiatives (including Regional Centres of Expertise on ESD)

ESD in Canada • Brundtland hearings led to NTFEE• NTFEE recommends round tables• NRTEE establishes LSF in 1991

– Jack McLeod (former CEO of Shell) Chair– Jean Perras Executive Director

• UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair in “Reorienting Teacher Education Toward Sustainability” established at York University in 1999– Chuck Hopkins appointed

• EC “Framework for Environmental Learning and Sustainability Education in Canada” (for WSSD)

Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF)

• A national, bi-lingual, non-profit organization founded in 1991

• Required to self-fund• Promotes, through education, the knowledge,

skills, perspectives and practices essential to a sustainable future

• Partners with business, community, educators, students, and governments across Canada to encourage sustainability action projects

OutlineWhere Have We Been?

– Our Common Future and Agenda 21– ESD in Canada

Where Are We Now?– UNDESD and UNECE– Canada’s Response

Where Are We Going?– Cure or Placebo?– What we need to do over next 20 years

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

(UNDESD): 2005 to 2014 • March 2005 - UN Economic Commission

for Europe (UNECE) High-level meeting of Environment and Education Ministries adopted: – ESD Strategy – Vilnius Framework for its implementation

• The Canadian delegation: – Gerald Farthing CMEC (formal)– Diane Rochon, Ministère de l’Éducation Québec– Suzan Bowser, EC (non-formal)– David Walden, Canadian Commission for

UNESCO (informal)

UNECE StrategyGoal: to develop and incorporate ESD into the

formal, non-formal and informal education systems.

Objectives:• ensuring policy, regulations & operations support

ESD; • promoting ESD though formal, non-formal & informal

learning; • equipping educators with the competence to include

SD in their teaching; • ensuring that ESD tools & materials are accessible; • promoting research & development of ESD; and • strengthening cooperation on ESD at all levels;• fostering conservation, use, and promotion of

knowledge of Indigenous Peoples in ESD.

Partnering to Respond to UNDESD

• Environment Canada

• Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (MECY)/Manitoba Advanced Education and Literacy (MAEL)

• Learning for a Sustainable Future

ESD Strategic Initiatives

• Provincial/Territorial ESD Working Groups

• National ESD Expert Council • Canadian Sustainability Curriculum

Review Initiative • ESD Resource Database • Youth Taking Action Forums • Sustainability Model School Project • Sustainability Education Academy

OutlineWhere Have We Been?

– Our Common Future and Agenda 21– ESD in Canada

Where Are We Now?– UNDESD and UNECE– Canada’s Response

Where Are We Going?– Cure or Placebo?– What we need to do over next 20 years

Education: Cure or Placebo?

• What’s the disease? (“You’ve got humans!”)

• Is it really that bad?

• Does education really help? Or does it buy time for more Business As Usual?

Some Ancient Chinese Wisdom

If you are thinking a year ahead, sow seed, If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking one hundred years ahead, educate the people. 

Kuan Tzu Chinese Poet, c. 500 B.C.

Looking Back 100 Years• population (about 2 billion)

• global governance (few countries, many empires, national economies)

• technologies (automobile and telephone just beginning to have an impact)

• miniscule “civil society sector”• environmental awareness

• no concept of global climate change• little understanding of pollution or its impacts on health• few concerns about biodiversity, deforestation• no one imagined seeing planet earth from space

Looking Ahead 100 years – How will we:

• Meet basic needs for food, water, shelter, and energy of 10 billion people?

• Stabilize the climate by reducing GHG emissions globally by more than 60%?

• Reduce proportion of the world’s population living on US$2 per day or less? ( currently nearly half -- 3 billion)

• Achieve a low carbon “factor 10” economy? – shift from “take-make-waste” production cycle to

“cradle-to-cradle”? (There’s no waste in Nature)

• Achieve a more peaceful, “secure” world?

What do we need to do?

• Do we need a culture shift?

• Is this sufficient or merely necessary?

• What would it entail?

• Where should we be in 20 years?

What will this require?

• ESD as basic, general education for the 21st century

• Reorientation of all professional and technical post-secondary education

• Improved non-formal ESD in all sectors (especially governments?)

• Strengthened informal ESD including in advertising

Funding for ESD• Complicated by the division of powers• Budget cuts, shifting priorities in EC• Lack of an overall GoC approach• Variable support from provinces and

territories• Result:

– Canadian government providing much less funding than many other UNECE countries

– Some national initiatives funded by LSF!

Is there any hope?

• “A pessimist is an informed optimist.”– Russian proverb

• “Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.”

– David Orr

The Aboriginal Thanksgiving AddressFinally, we acknowledge one another, female and male. We give greetings and thanks that we have this opportunity to spend some time together.

We turn our minds to our ancestors and our Elders. You are the carriers of knowledge, of our history. We acknowledge the adults among us. You represent the bridge between the past and the future.

We also acknowledge our youth and children. It is to you that we will pass on the responsibilities we now carry. Soon, you will take our place in facing the challenges of life. Soon, you will carry the burden of your people.

Do not forget the ways of the past as you move toward the future.

Remember that we are to walk softly on our sacred Mother, the Earth, for we walk on the faces of the unborn, those who have yet to rise and take up the challenges of existence.

We must consider the effects our actions will have on their ability to live a good life.

Appendix: Additional slides

• UNECE Vision

• Elements of Canada’s strategy

STRATEGY FOR EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

VisionOur vision for the future is of a region that embraces common values of solidarity,equality and mutual respect between people, countries and generations. It is a regioncharacterized by sustainable development, including economic vitality, justice, socialcohesion, environmental protection and the sustainable management of natural resources,so as to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability offuture generations to meet their needs.

Education, in addition to being a human right, is a prerequisite for achieving sustainabledevelopment and an essential tool for good governance, informed decision-making andthe promotion of democracy. Therefore, education for sustainable development can helptranslate our vision into reality.

Education for sustainable development develops and strengthens the capacity of individuals,

groups, communities, organizations and countries to make judgements and choices in favour

of sustainable development. It can promote a shift in people’s mindsets and in so doing enable

them to make our world safer, healthier and more prosperous, thereby improving the quality of

life. Education for Sustainable development can provide critical reflection and greaterawareness and empowerment so that new visions and concepts can be explored and newmethods and tools developed.

National ESD Expert CouncilMission: Promote a Canadian culture of sustainability by

developing and strengthening collaboration and leadership in education and training.

Goals: 1. Strengthen, promote & communicate ESD

activities in Canada2. Provide leadership & support innovation in ESD.3. Identify & address gaps at a national level4. Disseminate ESD research 5. Monitor & report on ESD progress 6. Funding of NESDEC and Provincial WGs.

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National Expert Council

Sub-committees

Steering Committee

ProvincialWorking

Group

Territorial Working

Group

ProvincialWorking

Group

Provincial Working

Group

Provincial Working

Group

National Agencies

International Agencies

National ESD Expert Council Structure

Secretariat

Provincial/Territorial ESD Working Groups

Goal: To support and foster a culture of ESD in each jurisdiction

Objectives:• Build ESD into the formal/non-formal and informal

education culture• Establish strategic collaborations between governments,

education sector leaders, business, and community NGO’s• Bring together stake-holders for policy input, debate,

exchange, planning• a sense of urgency and the latest science on critical

sustainability issues

• Pilot Working Group established in Manitoba June 2005• Groups now in B.C., Alberta Sask., Ont., N.B., N.S., and

Nunavut

Canadian Sustainability Curriculum Review Initiative

Goal: To infuse ESD into School curriculum policy and instructional methods

Objectives:• Identify fundamental concepts, skills, values, and

instructional methods for the following themes:– Energy - Transportation

– Climate Change - Citizenship & Community– Ecosystems - Human Health Environment – Water - Indigenous and Local Knowledge– Biodiversity - Food and Agriculture

Youth Taking Action Forums

Goal: To empower youth to take action on important sustainability issues in their schools and communities.

Objectives:• Increase awareness and understanding of local

sustainability issues • Empower youth by engaging them in community-based

action projects that develop their leadership skills.• Increase the teaching of sustainability issues • Enhance the capacity of local NGO’s to deliver

sustainability programs.• Share and celebrate success.

Education for Sustainable Development Model School

Project

Vision: To inspire the effective integration of excellent ESD practices into Stouffville District Secondary School as a model of ESD for schools across Canada

A commitment to sustainability is evident in:• School Culture: the school mission, improvement plan, extra-

curricular activities • School Operations: the way the school is run is sustainable• Physical Surroundings: the building and the surrounding area

are consistent with the goals of sustainability• Curriculum: curricular expectations and instructional strategies facilitate ESD learning

Sustainability Education Academy for Education

Leaders• Goal: to motivate and equip senior education officials

to lead the integration of ESD as a core value in all aspects of formal education including: policy, curriculum, teaching, learning, professional development, and the sustainable management of human, physical and financial resources.

• Three day Seminar modeled after Sustainable Enterprise Academy

• In partnership with LSF, Schulich School of Business, York U. Faculty of Education, and the UNESCO Chair in ESD.

Resources for Rethinking: ESD Resource Database

Goal:• To provide teachers with tools to facilitate the effective integration

of ESD into formal school programs (K-12) across Canada

Objectives:

• Improve access to resources by providing teachers with a searchable ESD resource database, that links resources to all provincial/territorial curricula.

• Provide quality resources by ensuring all resources are professionally reviewed by classroom teachers.

• Enhance capacity of ESD publishers to produce quality resources for teachers.