“Education in interests of sustainable development invests into our future…Every responsible country should guarantee applying efforts for its development”, it says in the Action Plan of World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002.

 

In order to exchange experiences and discuss Ukraine’s achievements in this area a conference of academicians was initiated by the Institute of Pedagogic of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, Ternopil Regional Communal Institute of Postgraduate Education and charitable organization “Teachers for Democracy and Partnership”, and it brought together about 70 principals and teachers of secondary schools in Ternopil, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions.

 

The participants presented their results in the following areas:

1.    Conceptual issues of education for sustainable development.

2.    Reflection of strategy of sustainable development in the context of high and secondary schools.

3.    Draft education materials for sustainable development.

4.    Experience of fulfilment of education concept for sustainable development.

 

During the conference Olena Ursu, UNDP/MGSDP Governance and Sustainable Development Expert, presented activities of the United Nations System in Ukraine in general and activity of the UNDP/MGSDP in particular. Mainly, the project helps solving tasks of the UN 2005 -2015 Decade of Education for Sustainable Development through the following areas:

 

1.    “Learning by doing” education – technical and financial support for implementation of community projects to resolve local development problems.

2.    Pan-city education-informational campaigns via schools networks: trainings for teachers, pupils, events that involve volunteers and children art competitions: “Sustainable Development of Cities in Children’s Perception”.

3.    Development and dissemination of the educational course: “Sustainable Development of Society” for students.

4.    Teaching officials and local authorities’ employees on the variety of issues of local sustainable development.

 

Please view the detailed information in the relevant presentation, available on the following link.
 

The conference revealed that Ukraine is the only country to include sustainable development issues into education programs of all levels, starting with elementary school (“My Happy Planet” course), secondary school (“Lessons for Sustainable Development” course, developed within the framework of “Education for Sustainable Development in Action”, supported by the SIDA) and all the way to high education (“Sustainable Development of Society” course, developed under the UNDP support).