South-East Asia ESD Coordination and Capacity Building Workshop
Manila, Philippines
9-12 September 2008
“Quality education is at the heart of any sustainable development possible for our country.”
- H.E. Joao Cancio Freitas, Minister of Education and Culture, Timor Leste
The South-East Asia ESD Coordination and Capacity Building Workshop in Manila, Philippines was conducted for countries in the UNESCO Jakarta Cluster. The workshop was the third in a series of consultations, sponsored by the Japanese Funds in Trust, to assist UNESCO Member States in the Asia-Pacific region in building additional capacity for ESD leadership, programme coordination and monitoring. Approximately 15 participants, comprised of ESD focal points from the senior policy level in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Timor Leste, contributed to this event.
Workshop discussions were guided by the Asia-Pacific ESD Astrolabe (draft 3), a tool for building capacity for ESD and coordinating ESD initiatives at the national and subregional level.
Lessons Learned
Countries in the UNESCO Jakarta Cluster are beginning to engage in clear strategies for ESD – moving beyond ESD in theory to ESD practice – by identifying clear thematic national SD priorities, linking priorities to education and learning in policy, building interministerial support for ESD, discussing financing and engaging key stakeholders at the national level in the Decade.
Workshop discussions emphasized several factors, or lessons learned, required to move ESD forward in the Jakarta Cluster, such as:
1. The importance for cross-sectoral collaboration to establish ESD linkages with other Ministries and stakeholders outside of the Ministry of Education;
2. The need to learn about processes for putting ESD onto the policy agenda to engage other stakeholders and “decision-makers” in ESD, particularly potential partners already engaged in quality education initiatives through EFA;
3. Financial resources and drive for ESD should not be left to the government. Multilateral / bilateral donors and the private sector have the potential to be primary contributors to ESD programmes and initiatives;
4. Further capacity building is needed to support curriculum development, content integration, teacher education, indicator development and monitoring. Before developing curricula and indicators, fostering a vision and establishing long term goals for ESD are needed to provide direction; and
5. Focusing ESD, initially, on 3-4 key thematic priorities can assist to build: 1) an understanding of the causes and impacts of key issues, including their interlinkages; and 2) capacity for addressing key issues at both the community and individual level. Initial ESD structures and materials established could then provide a basis for addressing sustainable development more broadly, including additional priorities as they emerge.
Country Presentations
Prior to the workshop, national delegations were asked to prepare a presentation to share the following: 1) their national sustainable development priorities, 2) an example of ESD in action, and 3) challenges and lessons learned towards implementing ESD to date.
Brunei Darussalam
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Timor Leste
Workshop Resources
ESD in the Asia-Pacific Region: Taking Stock and Setting Direction
National Sustainable Development Priorities: A Basis for ESD Coordination and Monitoring
The Head, Heart and Hands of ESD
Example Issues, Skills, Values and Learning Characteristics for ESD
Monitoring – National ESD Monitoring System Development
Monitoring – A Quickguide to Developing National ESD Indicators
Monitoring – Country Update Progress Report 1-4