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Appeal
The Educational community, worldwide,
greets with hope all efforts of the World Leaders meeting in
Johannesburg to ensure Sustainable Development on Earth at the
outset of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium.
The purpose of the present appeal is
to call upon Governments and all major Decision Makers to
Re-Affirm their commitment to Education, which should be
considered as the prerequisite for any attempt to alleviate
poverty, make livelihoods decent and approach Sustainable
Development.
In the mind of most of us who sign
this plea, reaffirmation of already agreed commitments to reach
unmet targets cannot be considered as real progress. However, as
educators working in the real world, we are realists and we strive
for substantial improvements in practice, not only in theory.
Therefore, re-affirmation and concretisation of commitments is
frequently more useful than a single enthusiastic statement.
Governments recognized the critical
importance of Education for promoting Sustainable Development
already in Rio and in Agenda 21, Chapter 36. During the
International Conference of Thessaloniki (1997) it was concluded
that in order to successfully establish the three pillars of
Sustainability (Environment, Economy, Society) all available tools
should be employed including: regulation/legislation and
strengthening of institutions; economic instruments and incentives
etc.; and technological/scientific information. The solid
foundation for all the above is undoubtedly Education.
We herewith basically refer to two
aspects of Education, as cited also in various documents and
declarations:
[1]
-
"Education for All" (EFA),
which according to the Dakar Framework for Action and the
Millennium Declaration concerns primary schooling for all children
everywhere, boys and girls alike.
-
"Education for Environment and
Sustainability" or "Education for Sustainable Development" (EfES or
ESD), which according to article 36 of Agenda 21 and the
Thessaloniki Declaration should be strengthened and included
directly and indirectly, in school curricula and at all levels of
formal, non-formal and informal education.
In this way, appropriately tuned
Education for Environment and Sustainable Development emerges as a
crucial political instrument that facilitates economic
development, reinforces social values and social cohesion and
ensures integrity of the natural environment and of biodiversity.
The ultimate goal is to achieve
peaceful coexistence among peoples, with less suffering, less
hunger, less poverty in a world where people will be able to
practice their rights as human beings and citizens in a dignified
way. At the same time, the natural environment will be facilitated
to play its regenerating role by avoiding biodiversity loss and
waste accumulation in the biosphere and the geosphere. Richness in
diversity in all sectors of the natural, cultural and social
environment is a basic component for a stable ecosystem and for
the safety and resilience of every community.
These ideas are not new. Actually
they have been stated, recycled and elaborated further by many
thinkers, politicians and educators in order to become accepted as
a common ground for more and more individuals, groups and
communities with multiple backgrounds throughout the world. This
expanding "ownership" of ideas, concepts and expressions by people
of different origins, who, while "sharing" also keep their
distinctive identities, is the key element to continuity and
progress secured by education.
This process, in the course of
history, allowed for progress by channelling the transfer and
successive change of the role of pioneers and forerunners from one
group to another, from one nation to the other, and from one
civilization or culture to another.
In the context of Sustainability,
vis a vis the 21st century, Education is called upon to
perform an additional task: To provide a safety valve for the
future of mankind, in a period when uniformity and interrelated
communication systems are the main expressions, tools and symptoms
of globalisation. Our planet is shrinking; the intrusion of
particular models and the selection of learning themes reflects a
cognitive as well as cultural approach, which seems to be
alarmingly linear and uniform, thus vulnerable, just like all
natural products deriving from intensive monocultures.
We, the formal, non-formal and
informal educators who sign this appeal to Governments,
International Organisations, Social Partners and all Major Groups
that will meet during the Johannesburg WSSD in August-September
2002, CALL UPON them:
1. To
recognize and re-affirm the vital role of Education in
building Sustainable Development and thus place it at the top of
their priorities as a political and developmental goal
to facilitate and support all other efforts.
2. Such Education should
aim at Peace and Justice
and should respect and encourage
cultural diversity
and differentiations in learning subjects and methodologies.
3. To
re-affirm their commitment
[2] to:
-
Expand
and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education for
urban and rural communities.
-
Ensure
that by 2015 all children everywhere, boys and girls alike are
able to complete a full course of primary schooling of good
quality while girls and boys will have equal access to all levels
of education.
-
Achieve a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015,
especially for women.
4. To
re-affirm their commitment
[3]
to ensure that appropriate education for Environment and Sustainable
Development (EfES or ESD) is included and integrated at all
levels. This implies:
-
reorienting formal
education towards sustainable development.
-
increasing public awareness on the problems, their roots
and suitable ways to address them.
-
promoting appropriate training.
-
supporting the work of relevant NGOs and other groups who act as
informal educators at various levels
5. To act accordingly
so as to provide for the means
(institutional frameworks and financial resources). Therefore, to
allocate at least 5% of GNP for Education, by the year 2007.[4]
6. To
review the progress obtained
by all stakeholders and report on the follow-up of these
commitments in a major international conference on Education to be
organised before 2007.[4]
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