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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development
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Education

Description

Education for all has always been an integral part of the sustainable development agenda. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 adopted the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) which in its Section X, reaffirmed both the Millennium Development Goal 2 in achieving universal primary education by 2015 and the goal of the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and at all levels of education by 2015. The JPOI addressed the need to integrate sustainable development into formal education at all levels, as well as through informal and non-formal education opportunities.

There is growing international recognition of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as an integral element of quality education and a key enabler for sustainable development. Both the Muscat Agreement adopted at the Global Education For All Meeting (GEM) in 2014 and the proposal for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the Open Working Group of the UN General Assembly on SDGs (OWG) include ESD in the proposed targets for the post- 2015 agenda. The proposed Sustainable Development Goal 4 reads "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all" and includes a set of associated targets.

ESD is closely tied into the international discussions on sustainable development, which have grown in scale and importance since, Our Common Future appeared in 1987, providing the first widely-used definition of sustainable development as the "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The crucial role of education in achieving sustainable development was also duly noted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, through Chapter 36 of its outcome document - Agenda 21.

The importance of promoting education for sustainable development and integrating sustainable development actively into education was also emphasized in paragraph 233 of the Future We Want, the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in 2012.

In 2005, UNESCO launched the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development which reaffirmed the key role of education in shaping values that are supportive of sustainable development, and in consolidating sustainable societies. The final report of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, Shaping the Future We Want, was launched at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, held in November 2014, Nagoya, Japan.

In the run-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) was created as a partnership of several sponsor UN entities (UNESCO, UN-DESA, UNEP, Global Compact, and UNU) aiming at galvanizing commitments from higher education institutions to teach and encourage research on sustainable development, greening campuses and support local sustainability efforts. With a membership of almost 300 universities worldwide, HESI accounts for more than one-third of all the voluntary commitments that came out of the Rio +20 Conference, providing higher education institutions with a unique interface between policy making and academia.

Displaying 31 - 45 of 47
Title Type Date
A/65/279 - Mid-Decade Review of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014 Secretary-General Reports 11-Aug-2010
A/RES/59/237 - United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Resolutions and decisions 24-Feb-2005
A/RES/57/254 - UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Resolutions and decisions 21-Feb-2003
A/CONF.199/20 - Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development Background papers/Special studies 4-Sep-2002
E/CN.17/2001/PC/7 - Education and public awareness for sustainable development Secretary-General Reports 14-Mar-2001
E/CN.17/2000/8 - Implementation of the work programme on education, public awareness and training Meeting reports 7-Feb-2000
E/CN.17/1999/11 - Education and Sustainable Development Secretary-General Reports 24-May-1999
E/CN.17/1999/10 - Education and Sustainable Development Secretary-General Reports 29-Jan-1999
E/CN.17/1998/6/Add.1 - Areas for Policy Action by Governments to Accelerate the Development, Transfer and… Meeting reports 24-May-1998
Background Paper No. 27 Background papers/Special studies 20-Apr-1998
E/CN.17/1998/6/Add.2 - Education, Public Awareness and Training Secretary-General Reports 6-Mar-1998
E/CN.17/1998/6 - Capacity-building, Education and Public Awareness, Science and Transfer of Environmentally… Secretary-General Reports 5-Mar-1998
E/CN.17/1997/2/Add.26 - Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training Meeting reports 24-May-1997
E/CN.17/1996/14/Add.1 - Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training Meeting reports 24-May-1996
E/CN.17/1996/14 - Promoting Education, Public Awareness and Training Secretary-General Reports 25-Feb-1996
Displaying 31 - 45 of 65
Title Category Date Sort descending
Uruguay Poverty eradication; Sustainable agriculture, food security, and nutrition 5-May-2014
Romania Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Jordan Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Japan Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Canada, Israel and United States of America Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Poland Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Australia, The Netherlands and United Kingdom Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Iran Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Palau Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Denmark, Ireland and Norway Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Southern Africa Region Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Bangladesh Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Montenegro and Slovenia Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014
Sweden Health and population dynamics; Education and life-long learning 5-May-2014