ESD Expert Net in Germany
The ESD Expert Net is incorporated in Germany through its members for all relevant areas of education and different actors in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). As an active and formative ESD partner in Germany and beyond, the network plays a committed and successful role in the widest variety of processes and practical activities. Through the support and organisation of the network activity of Engagement Global, the work of the ESD Expert Net in Germany is closely linked to the commitment of civil society towards global justice and sustainable development.
At the regional level, ESD Expert Net members work on the formation of curricula and standards for schools. They were, and still are, involved in the setting up of structures and networks within the states and develop regional concepts and offerings to establish ESD. Examples here include the “Schuljahr der Nachhaltigkeit” (Frankfurt, Hessen), “BNE erlebbar machen!” and the „Regionalen Netzstellen Nachhaltige Entwicklung (RENN)”.
Based on the international ESD Expert Net concept of Training of Trainers (ToT), network members also offer regular training for multipliers in the field of ESD for different target groups (school and post-school).
At the national level, ESD Expert Net members represent their institutions at expert forums as part of the “Education for Sustainable Development” world programme of action (WPA). Furthermore, they are also involved in the creation of the National Curriculum Framework on ESD that was republished in 2016 at the behest of the FMC and the Conference of Ministers of Education.
The university network in Austria is a contact that goes beyond Germany.
ESD Expert Net in India
The India ESD Expert Net is a collaborative network of practitioners including members from civil society, organisations, business, media, universities, freelancers and consultants to transform education to achieve the global development agenda. Established in the year 2009 when ESD movement was witnessing a paradigm shift from Environment Education to ESD, the network was uniquely positioned to catalyse this shift.
- The multi-stakeholder expert group from India at its inception included the members from the following organizations Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
- The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
- Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER)
- National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
It also included a representative from the MoEF - Ministry of Environment and Forest, (now referred to as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change)
Inspired by the work in the international think tank as well as a result of various collaborative efforts, the Indian expert group has developed and tested new concepts and instruments to foster, promote for Education for Sustainable Development and it is primarily contributing via the following activities/areas:
Curriculum Support and developing pedagogy
A special ESD - Capacity Building Course for Textbook Writers has been developed by BVIEER and NCERT to develop concepts for infusing ESD in existing textbooks
BVIEER with support from the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board conducted a series of special ESD-Trainings addressing Biodiversity Conservation concerns in five different geographic zones in Maharashtra. Teachers, community members and leaders, forest department personnel and local experts together identified sets of school activities to contribute to biodiversity conservation taking into account environmental, social and economic aspects
Apart from these programmes, BVIEER is also into the rural school education programme teaching ESD and biodiversity conservation in 48 rural schools in parts of Pune district Maharashtra
Capacity Building of Educators, NGO Professionals on ESD
Based on the international core curriculum the expert group has conducted ESD Capacity Building Courses for Teachers, Teacher educators and Practitioners focusing on ESD at school level and building on Whole School Approach
Furthermore, the Indian Expert Net members offered the course with adaptions for particular types of multipliers:
- TERI has developed adaptations of the ESD Capacity Building Course for Teachers and Practitioners for specific regions in India, in particular for the North East and the South
- CEE offered an ESD training Module for Multipliers: Whole School approach to ESD which has successfully been tested for CEE educational staff members and partner organisations
All in all, capacity of five hundred multipliers including teachers, NGO professionals, government officials and field animators have been built in fostering and promoting Education for Sustainable Development in the country. Follow-up measures for all capacity building courses helped to evaluate and refine the training concepts, methodologies
International and national dialogues on ESD
Three international conferences have been hosted by the Indian expert group, which gathered a diverse audience including practitioners , policy makers and schoolteachers on creating awareness on the concept of ESD. The first one on “Education for sustainable development as modern education” in Pune 2011, second one as an “International Seminar on ESD: Understanding Present Trends, Pedagogy and Challenges” in New Delhi 2011 and a third one “A Dialogue on School Education for Sustainable Development” in Ahmedabad 2013
In October 2013, TERI organized the “National School Educators’ Conference 2013 Innovation and Leadership for ESD” which has been co-sponsored by the Global ESD Programme
CEE organized the International Conference on ESD for transforming Education for Children and Youth in September 2016
Youth Leadership on ESD
A group of young professionals from India have participated in two phases of the one-year international ESD Leadership Training. With their newly acquired capacities they actively contributed to ESD dialogue in India by designing and implementing series of remarkable innovations projects presenting a broad range of ESD approaches at school, community and university level. These young professionals are now active members of the Expert Net group
The members are actively contributing to the new age leadership programme for young professionals called the mentorship for ESD Leadership soon to be launched by the Expert Net
International Mandates: Global Action Programme on ESD
The ESD Expert Net is making a tangible contribution to two priority action areas of the Global Action Programme on ESD, which seeks to generate and scale-up concrete actions post DESD in ESD and intended to make a substantial contribution to the Agenda 2030. The Expert Net is represented in the areas of Policy Support (Partner Network 1), and Mobilizing Youth (Partner Network 4). The organisations are collaborating with other partners to scale up the ESD action at all levels and in all areas of education, and in all sustainable development sectors.
ESD Expert Net in Mexico
ESD Expert Net in Mexico was set up in 2009, when experts in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) were convened as part of a project of co-operation with the German Federal Government. The aforesaid was devised with the aim of setting up a network of professionals from South Africa, Germany, India and Mexico committed to developing projects of co-operation.
As part of the projects generated, contribution was made to creating capacity in the country by means of "Training of Trainers” (ToT) on the subject of ESD; preparing a guidance manual for these ToTs as a result of the co-operation of the four countries, which is used as consultation material for any person interested in the subject. And, finally, organising an Education for Sustainable Development Leadership Training (ESD-LT), from which emerged two generations of pupils who, years later, did join the Network as Experts, and which is currently made up of nine members belonging to basic education schools, further education establishments like the University of Veracruz, the Iberoamerican University of Puebla and the University of Guanajuato, as well as organisations like DAHCS Technology in Saltillo, among others.
Contributions to the development of ESD
From 2012, innovation projects on the subject of ESD were implemented, developed by both generations of Leaders in EDS, and their implementation was completed in 2013. ESD Expert Net in Mexico gave several ToTs in different states of the country, with the involvement of CECADESU (Centre of Education and Training for Sustainable Development), the MOE (Ministry of Education) Schoolteachers' Centre, NGOs (Non-governmental Organisations) and Universities, in 2013.
In 2015, the 10th annual meeting of ESD Expert Net was held in Saltillo, Mexico. 55 members of the network attended. In this context, the 1st Worldwide Meeting of Sustainable Actions, Educating Resilient Societies, was held, attended by over 800 people from different organisations: governmental and university institutions as well as civil associations, from 6 countries. Similarly, various members took part in the Workshop on reflections concerning Education for Interculturality and Sustainability in Xalapa Veracruz. As part of the meeting, the Declaration of Saltillo was drawn up, which is an official contribution to the Objective of Sustainable Development (OSD) 4.7 by the United Nations.
ESD Expert Net in South Africa
Coming soon