<P><FONT color=#33711E><STRONG>Plenary Session 3: <br>Innovative Practices in ESD</STRONG></FONT></P>
Rainbow Room, 5th Floor
11:00-12:00
Keynote Address:
European Experiences and Perspectives on Reorienting Curricula to ESD
Dieter Gross, Senior Consultant for Sustainable Future Instruction, Association of German School Geographers, Germany
European countries have established a roadmap, the UNECE, for implementing the principle of sustainable development in all education sectors. This is a concept designed for the national launching processes within the ESD Decade as well as being a strategy to cope with the challenges of economic, environmental and cultural change. ESD will be the key to cope with these challenges because it is a prerequisite for changing mental models, accepting responsibility and getting action competence. Globalization has increased the pressure on individuals to be more responsible since governments are often no longer prepared to provide guidance on global issues. For example, European efforts to reorient curricula to ESD are inadequate. The problems include: first, that ESD still perceived as Environmental Education supplemented by social aspects; second, that initiatives are sectoral rather than cooperative; and third, that methods are used which do not promote values. There is an urgent need for greater cooperation between all stakeholders and for a change in people’s mental models towards making decisions based on values. In response to this situation, an approved national model curriculum for ESD may be a step in the right direction.
Download the paper (pdf, 320kb) and presentation (ppt, 2.3mb)