Bonn Memorandum 2009
Sustainable Lifestyles
Education for Sustainable Development
Education must help to raise awareness of sustainability, not only through formal channels but also through non-school and informal learning. The Bonn Declaration - the outcome document of the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in spring 2009 - therefore refers to all levels of education*. From the thematic context of the Bonn Symposium, we highlight the following demands contained in the Bonn Declaration:
- Sustainable development issues must be incorporated, using an integrated and systemic approach, in formal education as well as in non-formal and informal education at all levels, in particular through the development of effective pedagogical approaches, teacher education, curricula, learning materials, study programmes and the promotion of research.
- Education leadership development must be promoted, and the significant contribution of non-formal education and informal learning as well as vocational and workplace learning must be recognised.
- Education for sustainable development must become an integral part of the corporate policies of private sector actors, particularly in vocational education and workplace learning.
In Germany, the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development has initiated various processes which must now be taken forward and expanded:
- From 2004-2008, the nationwide “Transfer-21” programme brought education for sustainable development to as many as 10% of German secondary schools. It established durable advisory and support structures and provided training for multipliers. The Transfer-21 approach must be revived and its scope significantly increased. Similar programmes should be launched outside school-based educational settings as well.
- The “Cross-Curricular Framework for Global Development Education in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development”, adopted by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, shows how education for sustainable development can be integrated into the curriculum.
- The German National Committee for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development has already recognised more than 800 projects as “Official German Projects for the UN Decade”. They include projects at all levels of the education system, with themes such as water, sustainable consumption and energy, school exchange programmes with developing countries, and Internet platforms (see www.bne-portal.de). The good practice demonstrated by the projects must be implemented throughout the education system.
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* The Bonn Declaration is an interim outcome of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), which is coordinated by UNESCO and aims to help people to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge, and strengthen their ownership, responsibility and motivation, to make informed decisions for a sustainable future (see www.bne-portal.de).
