Working Paper: Asia-Pacific Regional Strategy for ESD
UNESCO Bangkok co-hosted a Workshop: Regional Strategy for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) in Asia-Pacific with UNU/IAS and UNEP to assist in the development of a regional strategy. The workshop was held in Bangkok, Thailand 1 – 3 February 2005 and was generously supported by the Japanese government.
The workshop tried to enhance ownership during the Decade by encouraging early consultation of, and contributions from, various stakeholders including international agencies, governments, media, the private sector and civil society. Participants drafted key sections of the draft strategy, an open document adaptable to the changing needs of the Decade (2005-2014).
Outlining UNESCO’s approach to the implementation of the DESD in the Asia-Pacific will facilitate the strengthening of regional Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) networks, partnerships and programmes. Further, it will enable stakeholders across all sectors to better coordinate their ESD activities to generate programmes and initiatives contributing to the advancement of ESD in the region, rather than duplicating efforts.
The workshop (and subsequent published strategy) are informed by the numerous events, consultations and initiatives launched by UNESCO and other agencies and universities in the region during 2004 and early 2005. Most importantly, the development of the strategy is a direct product of UNESCO Bangkok’s key ESD initiative - the Japanese Funds In Trust project “A Situational Analysis of ESD in the Asia-Pacific region”. The formation of the strategy also benefits from the UNECE strategy for ESD as well as, of course, reference to the draft International Implementation Scheme.
The Working Paper is available for download in English, Chinese and Japanese language.