Over 700 people and 50 government ministers representing 150 countries adopted the Bonn Declaration at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Bonn, Germany, in April. ECO-UNESCO, Ireland’s environmental education and youth organisation, attended the prestigious conference.
Elaine Nevin National Director of ECO-UNESCO said, “There are hundreds of people from all over the globe sharing ideas on how education systems can create a more sustainable world. Education is one of the key ways we can address global environmental challenges, like Climate Change.”
The Bonn Declaration strengthens the role of UNESCO and member states implementing national strategies during the final half of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2015).
Over the next five years the Bonn Declaration calls on national organisations to “involve youth in the design and implementation of Education for Sustainable Development; to engage the commitment, solidarity and potential of youth and their organisations and networks in enhancing Education for Sustainable Development and fostering young people’s ownership of Education for Sustainable Development questions and issues.”
Education for Sustainable Development is seen as a critical tool in creating a more sustainable environment. It examines the various social, economic and environmental factors that underpin poverty reduction, civic participation and governance both locally and globally. In Ireland the discussion paper on National Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development was launched in December 2007.