Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T05:37:55.316Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Australia's Response to a UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2015

Daniella Tilbury*
Affiliation:
Macquarie University
*
Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) 2005-2014 provides a significant platform to enhance the profile of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in formal and informal learning spaces and ultimately to assist in transforming our future into a more sustainable one. The article presents a brief summary of Australia's response to the DESD since its announcement in 2003. It argues that if stakeholders interpret the Decade as “business as usual”, rather than as a chance to reflect on how to be more strategic and reach out to key decision-makers or how to be more effective in involving a greater number of stakeholders in learning and change for sustainability, then the opportunities presented by the DESD will be missed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006 

References

Australian Government (2005, 01) Extending the Vision: Australian Government Engagement with the UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014 Department of Environment and Heritage. Paper presented by Joan Cornish to the Victorian Association for Environmental Education DESD Forum, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) (2006). AVCC Policy on Education for Sustainable Development. Canberra: AVCC.Google Scholar
Environment Australia (2000). Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: National Action Plan. Canberra: Australian Government.Google Scholar
Australian National Commission for UNESCO (2005). Initiating the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in Australia: Report of a National Symposium, Melbourne: National Symposium, 7 07 2005.Google Scholar
Australian Government (2005). Extending the Vision: Australian Government engagement with the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014, Paper presented by Cornish, Joan, Environmental Education Section, Knowledge Management and Branch, Department of the Environment and Heritage at the VAEE DESD Form, Melbourne, 31 01 2005.Google Scholar
Australian Government (2006). Caring for our Future: The Australian Government Strategy for the United Nations Decade in Education for Sustainable Development, 2005-2014. Canberra: Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage.Google Scholar
Tilbury, D. (2005a). UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development: Implications for Curriculum Practice. The New South Wales Education Magazine, Term 4, 618 Google Scholar
Tilbury, D. (2005b). A Decade for Progress. Australia, The Curriculum Corporation Summer 2005, 56.Google Scholar
Tilbury, D. (2005c). The Ten Year Challenge. Ecos Magazine CISRO No.123 01-March, 1314 Google Scholar
Tilbury, D., & Janousek, S. (2006). Element 1: Summary of Documented Experiences in development of ESD Indicators. Report submitted by the Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability to the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage.Google Scholar
Tilbury, D., Janousek, S., Elias, D., & Bacha, J. (2006). Asia Pacific Guidelines for the Development of Education for Sustainable Development Indicators. Working Draft 1 08 2006, Bangkok: UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education.Google Scholar
United Nations Economic and Social Council (2005). Indicators for Education for Sustainable Development: Progress report on the work of the Expert Group. Geneva: ECOSOC.Google Scholar
United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) (2004). United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014: Draft International Implementation Scheme. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) (2005a). Consolidated International Implementation Scheme for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2004-2015). In Annex 1 Report by the Director-General On the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: International Implementation Scheme and UNESCO's Contribution to the Implementation of the Decade Bangkok (pp. 118). Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (2005b) Working paper: Asia-Pacific Regional Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development. Bangkok: UNESCO.Google Scholar