The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development

At the time when the UN member states were preparing to conclude negotiations on the global post-2015 agenda and launch a set of sustainable development goals, UNESCO has conducted the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Aïchi-Nagoya, Japan, on 10-12 November 2014. The conference has declared the Global Action Programme (GAP) on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), an action to mainstream ESD and include ESD in the post-2015 development agenda. The main background of this conference concern on the deep economic and social inequalities, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, disruption caused by natural disasters and climate change. At this time education must play a decisive role in providing learners across the world with the knowledge, skills and values to discover solutions to today’s sustainability challenges. This carries benefit for present and future generations. More than 1,000 participants gathered for the three-day conference under the theme “Learning Today for a Sustainable Future.” Among them were 76 ministerial-level representatives of UNESCO Member States, NGOs, academia, the private sector and UN agencies, as well as individual experts and youth participants from 150 countries.

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) took place from 2005 to 2014, with the goal of emphasizing education in all its forms (formal, non-formal and informal) as an indispensable element for achieving sustainable development. In November 2014, as the official follow-up to the DESD, UNESCO launched the Global Action Programme (GAP) for ESD with the overall objective to scale up action on ESD worldwide. Two basic and very important objectives of GAP on ESD are: 

1. Reorienting education and learning so that everyone has the opportunity to acquire the values, skills and knowledge that empower them to contribute to sustainable development; and 

2. Enhancing the role of education and learning in all relevant agendas, programmes and activities that promote sustainable development. 

The GAP focuses on generating and scaling-up action in five Priority Action Areas: 1. Advancing policy; 2. Transforming learning and training environments; 3. Building capacities of educators and trainers; 4. Empowering and mobilizing youth; 5. Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level. Due to its strong linkages with sustainable development, the GAP on ESD provides an excellent framework for understanding the types of education, training and public awareness initiatives conducive to enable people of all ages to understand and implement solutions for solving the complex problems presented by climate change. UNESCO’s work on Climate Change Education (CCE) within the framework of its GAP on ESD aims to make education a more central and visible part of the international response to climate change; to support countries to integrate CCE into their education and training systems; and to support countries in achieving a smooth transition to green economies and resilient societies through education and training.

The framework is based on Result-based Management (RBM) to strengthen transparency and accountability, as well as help track outcomes systematically according to objectives. The guidelines are divided into 4 phases and 10 steps:

Phase 1 is initiation, including 4 steps as follows (1) Establish coordination (2) Gain a strong conceptual base (3) Take stock of existing national policies and policies (4) Create a monitoring and evaluation plan. Phase 2 is planning, including 3 steps as follows (1) Assess needs and delivery capacities (2) Create draft strategic plan (3) Conduct stakeholder consultations. Phase 3 is implementation, including 2 steps as follows (1) Establish cross-sector partnerships for implementation (2) Mobilize financial and technical resources. And phase 4 is monitoring, evaluation and reporting, including one step (1) create a monitoring, evaluation and reporting plan.

The principal objective of these guidelines is to facilitate the implementation of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) at the national level, in accordance with the Doha Work Programme on Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This common objective is anchored in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in its Article 6 pertaining to education, training, public awareness, public access to information, public participation and international cooperation (referred to popularly as Action for Climate Empowerment – ACE), as well as in Article 10 (e) of the Kyoto Protocol and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement.

The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration calls on all nations to implement the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) to move the ESD agenda forward. According to Mr Qian Tang, Assistant Director-General for Education of UNESCO, The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration was able to share successful initiatives from all over the world, to help government representatives and other key stakeholders formulate new goals and objectives. The Aichi-Nagoya Declaration has shaped these into a Roadmap for ESD that will implement the Global Action Programme. The Declaration also ensures that the outcomes of the Conference will be taken into account at the World Education Forum 2015 to be held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, a continuation of the Education for All (EFA) movement and the Millennium Goals on Education, and many of its goals were based on a review of progress made since the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar. 

Reference

1. UNESCO, World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development calls for renewed commitment by all countries, accessed on 26 May 2017, see: http://en.unesco.org/news/world-conference-education-sustainable-development-calls-renewed-commitment-all-countries

2. Global Education Magazine, Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development: Shaping the Future We Want, accessed on 26 May 2017, see: http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/aichi-nagoya-declaration-education-sustainable-development-shaping-future/ 

3. UNESCO, World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development calls for renewed commitment by all countries, accessed on 26 May 2017, see: http://en.unesco.org/news/world-conference-education-sustainable-development-calls-renewed-commitment-all-countries  

4. Wikipedia, Education for Sustainable Development, accessed on 26 May 2017, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_for_sustainable_development 

5. UNESCO and UNFCCC (2016), Action for Climate Empowerment: Guidelines for Accelerating Solutions through education, training and public awareness, UNESCO - UNFCCC, pp. 4-6. Link: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002464/246435e.pdf 

6. Ibid, pp. vii

7. Ibid, pp. xii

8. Ibid, pp. 2

9. UNESCO, World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development calls for renewed commitment by all countries, accessed on 28 May 2017, see: http://en.unesco.org/news/world-conference-education-sustainable-development-calls-renewed-commitment-all-countries

10. Global Education Magazine, Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development: Shaping the Future We Want, accessed on 26 May 2017, see: http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/aichi-nagoya-declaration-education-sustainable-development-shaping-future/

11. Wikipedia, Incheon Declaration, accessed on 28 May 2017, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incheon_declaration