UN Decade Timeline
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Would you like to know more about the origins of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and how it is being implemented in Germany? Use the timeline to find key dates and facts on the international background of the UN Decade and the activities in Germany that are part of it.
1987: Publication of the Brundtland Report
The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), under the leadership of the former Norwegian Prime-Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, published the Brundtland Report. This perspective report on long-term global sustainable development without harming the environment has had a significant influence on the international debate about development and environmental policy.
1992: United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (UNCED) and Agenda 21
At the conference, more than 170 governments decided on a development and environmental policy action programme for global sustainable development – Agenda 21. This instrument implements the Brundtland Report internationally. Chapter 36 describes reorienting education as being key to a meaningful strategy of sustainability.
2002: Rio+10 World summit – Johannesburg and the proclamation of the world decade of Education for Sustainable Development
Ten years after Rio, the international community met in Johannesburg for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. It gave a decisive impetus to reinforcing the topic of Education for Sustainable Development. Acting on the conference’s recommendation, the United Nations General Assembly decided to declare the years 2005 to 2014 the world decade of Education for Sustainable Development. As part of this, the UN Member States made a commitment in December in a resolution to undertake particularly intensive efforts in these ten years to embed the guiding principle of sustainable development in all areas of education. UNESCO was mandated as the Lead Agency with coordinating the UN Decade and in 2003 organised broad consultations to prepare the International Implementation Scheme (IIS) for the UN Decade.
2. Implementing the UN Decade in Germany 2003: German Commission for UNESCO - Hamburg Declaration
At the 63rd General Assembly, the German Commission for UNESCO decided on the "Hamburg Declaration". The Declaration calls on all stakeholders at Federal, State and local level and economic, research and educational and civil society institutions to join together in an "alliance for learning sustainability". The intention was to jointly develop a plan of action for the UN Decade, as well as programmes and coordination mechanisms to implement it.
2005: Publication of the 1st National Plan of Action
The National Plan of Action defines embedding the idea of sustainable development in all areas of education as the overarching aim of the UN Decade. It is supplemented by more than 60 concrete education policy measures and inspection criteria for implementation. The Plan of Action and catalogue of measures are regularly evaluated and updated.
2006: International Workshop on the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
50 experts from all over the world met at the invitation of the German Commission for UNESCO and the Ministry for the Generations, Family, Women and Integration of the German state of North Rhine Westphalia in Bonn from 28th – 29th November to exchange views on the state of play of the implementation of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The conference proceedings are available in English and group together the most important outcomes.
2007: International conference and launch of the Internet portal
The international conference "UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development – the Contribution from Europe" took place on 24th – 25th May in Berlin in the scope of the German Presidency of the EU Council. The primary objective of the conference was to identify the European contribution to the global UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development project and to thus consider Europe’s global responsibility. The event was organized by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Women’s Issues, Berlin, the Senate Department for Education, Science and Research, Berlin, and the German Commission for UNESCO. More than 200 representatives from all the EU countries, other world regions and international organisations took part in the conference. One of the German Commission for UNESCO’s own contributions to the UN Decade is the Internet portal for Education for Sustainable Development. The ESD portal provides information on topics and stakeholders, teaching and learner materials, competitions, Education for Sustainable Development events and on implementation of the UN Decade in Germany and internationally. A quarterly online magazine, the “ESD journal”, is published on the portal, reporting on current ESD aspects.
2008: Nationwide Days of Action and new version of the National Plan of Action
For the first time ever, the nationwide Days of Action are taking place as a German National Committee initiative with more than 320 different events. The new version of the National Plan of Action, which was published in 2005, appeared in September 2008 with 66 measures for implementing the UN Decade nationally.
2009: World Conference
The "World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development – Moving into the Second Half of the UN Decade" was held in Bonn, Germany, from 31st March to 2nd April 2009. UNESCO and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, organised the conference in cooperation with the German Commission for UNESCO. 700 participants coming from over 150 countries, adopted the Bonn Declaration on 2 April 2009.
2011: National Plan of Action Revised
Since September 2011 the third edition of the National Plan of Action is available. It contains updates of subgoals and the strategy for the second half of the decade, designed by stakeholders. The focus lies on a compilation of important papers on political conventions that have been published before the start of the decade or have been written during the course of the decade.
2012: International Workshop, follow-up actions and Rio+20
February 2012: International Workshop "Horizon 2015": Fifty international ESD Experts conferred with each other on the future of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The two-day workshop took place in Bonn, Germany. The participants adopted a set of Bonn recommendations for ESD beyond 2014, in which the experts ask the UN to adopt a resolution at its 69th Session in 2014 to maintain the momentum provided to ESD by the Decade and ensure that there is no gap between the end of the Decade and the beginning of follow-up activities in 2015. April 2012: Concepts for follow-up activities to the UN-Decade ESD at national level are being developed: In a resolution the German Bundestag requests the German government to commit itself to follow-up activitiesto the UN-Decade. June 2012: Rio+20-summit and the key role of Education for sustainable development: The final report of the Rio+20-summit emphasis the importance of education for sustainability. Important tasks are assigned to educational institutions. The member states of the United Nations are asked to increase their efforts in bringing ESD into people's minds outside the educational sector. UNESCO's role as driving force is especially mentioned.
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