Mobilizing for sustainable development
Sustainable development has been high on the political agenda since the 1992 Earth Summit. A vital measure for promoting sustainable development is developing the capacity of all stakeholders through education.

Goal and focus
The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Programme works on research and capacity development to integrate Education for Sustainable Development components into curricula at all levels of education and in all sectors of the society by the end of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), which runs from 2005 to 2014.

The goal of the Programme is to help in the creation of the global learning space for ESD by the end of the Decade.

The major components of the ESD Programme are:

• Advocacy and dissemination of ESD and DESD principles;
• Promotion of regional/local approaches through Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE);
• Strengthening ESD activities of higher education institutions;
• Developing online learning for ESD; and
• Training teachers and trainers on ESD.

Download a concise presentation of the ESD Programme, its initiatives, achievements and latest developments presented at the UNU-IAS board meeting (pdf file, 1.2 MB)

The network

The ESD Programme has been closely collaborating with the Ubuntu Alliance – eleven of the world’s foremost educational and scientific/technological institutions who signed the Ubuntu Declaration at the Johannesburg Summit in 2002 to:

• Strengthen collaboration between science and technology researchers and educators;
• Better integrate science and technology into educational programmes for sustainable development; and
• Strengthen cooperation between formal and non-formal education.

The programme is also working closely with UNESCO, the designated lead agency for the DESD and is exploring possible joint actions with relevant organisations.

Finally, the ESD Programme is, among other activities, promoting Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) which are networks of existing formal, non-formal and informal education organisations mobilised to deliver ESD to a regional community.

View the FAQ: Education for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade on ESD

For further information:
Yoshihiro Natori
Senior Fellow
E-mail: natori@ias.unu.edu

Zinaida Fadeeva
Research Associate
E-mail: fadeeva@ias.unu.edu

Sampreethi Aipanjiguly
Communications Coordinator
E-mail: aipanjiguly@ias.unu.edu