Posted by Team E4S
We are delighted to announce that as of Monday, October 15th 2012, our project Education for Sustainability will move into its third phase.
Education for Sustainability is a global initiative, started in September 2011 by Nektarina Non Profit, to put sustainability on the curriculum of every school. It brings together communities and individuals, governments, organizations, businesses and the educational community itself to ensure children have the skills to become citizens of a sustainable world.
At any stage of human development and progress, education played the major role. Without education change is seldom possible.
Today we find ourselves at a point where our planet has been severely damaged, from its ecosystems, to the ozone layer. Today it is clear that if we are to have any chance of preserving this planet for the future generations, we need to focus our time, effort and resources on educating people - children and youth in particular - on sustainable development, sustainable living and sustainable future.
The project Education for Sustainability aims to help introduce Sustainable Development (and/or any similar subject that may have a different name, but focuses on sustainable living, practices and futures) in schools’ curricula in countries and regions where that is not yet the case.
Education for Sustainability project targets Ministries and Departments of Education, Schools’ Councils and Boards – the decision makers when it comes to “official” education. However, at the end of the day, education and its imprint on each individual impacts greatly the society as a whole. That is why we are also addressing local communities, parents’ groups and general population – we need their help (and yours) to reach our goal.
Implementing the Project
We are working with local experts, agencies of environment, civil society organizations, schools and volunteers on understanding the local circumstances of any given country, and on compiling, presenting and sharing data, research and facts that will help us explain and advocate the purpose of the project – introducing Sustainable Development in schools’ curricula. The preparatory phase for the project started in September 2011 and was completed in May 2012. During the preparatory phase an extensive research was done on environmental issues in each country, on its educational system, legislative framework and decision making process. We also used that period to develop a network of partners, local experts, communities and civil society organizations that will work with us on the implementation of the project. The content phase started in May 2012, and was completed in September 2012. During that time we launched project's website and worked on its content, including the project's Wiki.
Finally - we have reached the phase where we are entering a constructive dialogue with the Governments and Ministries of Education, working together with them, but also with schools, local communities and international institutions on finding the best way to provide children and youth with an opportunity to learn about sustainable development and sustainable way of life during their formal education. This implementation phase will last until the end of 2015. We will start by focusing on European countries, and then move towards other continents, Asia, Central and South America and Africa in particular.
We are proud by what we have accomplished thus far, and even prouder to say that 65% of all activities related to this project are performed by volunteers and experts working pro-bono. We are extremely grateful to them, but also to everyone on our full-time team- without their perseverance, hard work, ideas, brainstorming, arguments and mutual challenges, we wouldn't have gotten this far.
We are also so very proud to have all of you as our supporters, partners, backers and, most importantly, friends. THANK YOU. We appreciate your help and support, and we will appreciate them even more in the months and years to come, in our joint effort to make formal education more environmentally and future oriented.
Forward, upward, onward!
Your E4S Project team together with the fab volunteers
Photo credits Nektarina Non Profit, taken at Doha, Qatar
