Talk with Aline Bory-Adams, UNESCO Paris
Gerd Michelsen spoke with Aline Bory-Adams
As chief of the section for Education for Sustainable Development at UNESCO, you are the "task-manager" for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). What, exactly, are your responsibilities?
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???Großansicht des Bildes???Schoolchildren in class in Adwa, Ethiopia © UNESCO / Niamh Burke???aural:Bildende???
As the Lead Agency for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO has two related roles to play. The first one is of leadership, which is to catalyse, coordinate and support the global processes initiated under the International Implementation Scheme (IIS). Particularly in supporting the re-orientation of national education systems and policies in support of sustainable development and encouraging civil society, the private sector and the media to respond to the imperatives of sustainable development. The second role is as a substantive implementer of the Decade. Through its programme sectors, UNESCO helps to facilitate an enabling environment for the achievement of the objectives and goals of the DESD.
The Secretariat for the DESD is ensured by the Education for Sustainable Development Section, which I am heading. The DESD Secretariat is located in the Division for the Coordination of UN Priorities. ???aural:Bildanfang???
???Großansicht des Bildes???Desertification in Chott El-Djerid (Tunisia) © UNESCO / Felipe Alcoceba???aural:Bildende???The main role of the DESD Secretariat is to promote the vision of the DESD in facilitating discussion among stakeholders and within UNESCO. The main areas of work for the DESD Secretariat are: International coordination of the DESD; Cooperation and mobilization of ESD networks; Supporting the development of teaching and learning resources for ESD; Supporting inter-sectoral collaboration in UNESCO’s response to the DESD; Supporting the publication and dissemination of ESD good practices and guidelines; Monitoring and Evaluation.
What results can you see after the first two years of the Decade?
The first two years of the Decade have put in place the mechanisms to facilitate and guide the implementation of the DESD at the global, regional and national levels. For instance, reporting, monitoring and evaluation frameworks are being developed at regional level in Europe and Asia-Pacific. To advise on the monitoring and assessment at the global level, UNESCO has set up a Monitoring & Evaluation Expert Group (MEEG) for the DESD.
The UNESCO Action Plan for the DESD guides the programmatic contribution of UNESCO to the DESD under the leadership of the Education Sector, coordinated by the Intersectoral Working Group (IWG) on ESD. The IWG provides overall coordination and facilitates strong inter-sectorality in ensuring that ESD is embedded effectively in the programmes of UNESCO, keeping in mind the other organizational priorities notably: Education for All, Education for HIV and AIDS and Literacy.
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???Großansicht des Bildes???Hagara Elementary School in Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) © UNESCO / Rocky Roe???aural:Bildende???
The UN Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) for the DESD has been established and it ensures coordination among the UN Agencies in the implementation of the DESD. The IAC had its first meeting in UNESCO Paris (mid-June 2006). The second meeting will take place during the CSD 15 session in May 2007 and will be hosted by UNICEF.
Furthermore, to facilitate the work of UNESCO in setting strategic directions and mobilization of partners, UNESCO Reference Group on the DESD has been established. The first meeting of the Reference Group was held on 19-20 October 2006 at UNESCO headquarters.
To advance the thinking of how research can create a foundation for the DESD, a joint UNU/UNESCO meeting was held in Paris on 20-22 February 2006 to set the stage for a strategic research agenda for the Decade. The overall purpose of the workshop was to exchange information and experiences on research and development issues in ESD and to initiate work on the development of a research agenda for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Specifically, the meeting addressed the need for coherence in the development and steering of a research agenda for the DESD which links research on ESD to the needs of all types of formal/non-formal/informal learning environments and policies and practices.
These are only a few examples of the types of cornerstones, which have been put in place at the global level to ensure solid foundations upon which the DESD can rest. Of course much has happened at regional and country levels. Regional strategies for ESD have been developed or are in process in all regions. Many events dedicated to ESD and the DESD are taking place at the regional, sub-regional and national levels, for which our DESD Secretariat is often solicited to provide documents or technical inputs, suggest speakers, or to participate. The DESD website as well as our quarterly "DESD Progress to date", seeks to give visibility to local, national and international Education for Sustainable Development activities, initiatives and events, and to allow for exchange of information and resources.
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