Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Description of the programme / policy

This programme focuses on integrating sustainable development concepts into education systems at all levels. The goal is to promote sustainable development through education.

Main objective of the programme/policy

1. Empower Learners: ESD aims to empower learners of all ages with the knowledge, skills, values, and agency to address interconnected global challenges. This includes issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable resource use, and inequality.
2. Promote Informed Decision-Making: ESD seeks to enable individuals to make informed decisions and take both individual and collective actions to bring about positive changes in society and to care for the planet.
3. Lifelong Learning: ESD is considered a lifelong learning process and an integral part of quality education, spanning different stages of life and encompassing cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral aspects of learning.
4. Enhance Learning Dimensions: ESD enhances the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral dimensions of learning. It encompasses not only learning content and outcomes but also pedagogy and the learning environment itself.

Specific objective of the programme/policy

1. Advancing Policy: UNESCO supports the development and implementation of policies related to ESD.
2. Transforming Learning Environments: It works to create educational settings that promote sustainability and address issues such as climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable lifestyles.
3. Building Capacities of Educators: UNESCO focuses on training and empowering educators to effectively teach ESD.
4. Empowering and Mobilizing Youth: The organization aims to engage and mobilize young people to take an active role in addressing sustainability challenges.
5. Accelerating Local Level Action: UNESCO encourages local-level actions related to sustainability and ESD.