South South Policy Forum on Lifelong Learning as the Key to Education for Sustainable Development

South South Policy Forum on Lifelong Learning as the Key to Education for Sustainable Development

To reinforce UNESCO’s commitment to support the DESD, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), the Indonesia Ministry of National Education, and UNESCO Jakarta Office jointly organized this three-day Policy Forum on Lifelong Learning as the key to Education for Sustainable Development, in Jakarta, Indonesia from 21 to 23 April 2008.

Experts and high level education practitioners from Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa came together to share ideas and experiences on how their countries are linking economic, social, and environmental sustainable development with formal, non-formal and informal learning; to exchange concrete innovative practices, initiatives and projects directed to achieving holistic ESD goals;.

Key items for discussion were:
• conceptual clarifications of lifelong learning and our vision of sustainable development;
• the essential competencies in education for sustainable development;
• the changes called for in learning and teaching culture so as to further sustainable development;
• the institutional architecture of lifelong learning.

The focus of this forum was therefore on the potential role of non-formal and informal learning modalities in promoting sustainable development at the global, regional, national and local levels. These include projects for socially disadvantaged groups, farmers’ cooperatives, community-based organisations, trade union educational schemes, and learning on the job in the informal economy. Such learning modalities play an essential role, especially in countries where formal education is not accessible to all.

The outcomes of the dialogue include: a Strategy Paper by participating countries informing future policy and practice; a permanent professional network to support its implementation; and a forthcoming monograph to document and guide good practice, entitled Shaping Sustainable Futures: Learning for Life in the 21st Century.

@ http://www.unesco.or.id/activities/education/412.php
@ UIL - http://www.unesco.org/uil/