The SAMOA (Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action) Pathway was adopted by UN Member States at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), 1 to 4 September 2014. The SAMOA Pathway recognizes the importance of investing in the education and training of people to build resilient societies and economies, leading to full and productive employment, social protection and fair work for all.

 

ESD is especially important for SIDS as they are under direct threat from climate change and ESD empowers communities to make informed decisions on sustainable lifestyles that are rooted in both science and traditional knowledge.

You can find out more about UNESCO’s engagement with the SAMOA Pathway for Small Island States here >>

Over 300 organisations and individuals from more than 70 countries have already made a commitment in support of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD, which will be launched next month at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan (10-12 November).

If you would like to make a GAP commitment, please click here >>

52 young ESD leaders have now been selected to attend the UNESCO ESD Youth Conference taking place on November 7 2014. More than 5000 applications were received from 180 countries. These young leaders come from all corners of the world, including Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Oman, Morocco, Fiji, India, Moldova, the United States of America, Brazil and Jamaica.

You can check out the draft programme of the ESD Youth Conference here >>

Find out how GIZ, Germany's leading provider of international cooperation services, has been working with experts from India, Mexico, Germany and South Africa to develop an ESD programme, aimed at improving the implementation of ESD at all levels, from local to international.

The programme resulted in over 1200 teacher trainers in four countries receiving training and the development of an international train the trainer resource toolkit. Furthermore, 39 young professionals received extensive ESD leadership training to enrich the expert network. 

Click here to watch a video where participants in the GIZ project talk about their experiences and the value of ESD.

GIZ is a federal organisation that supports the German Government to achieve its objectives in the field of international cooperation.

 

Reducing the risk of disasters represents an urgent need as well as an enormous challenge for many countries. But the impact of disasters can be substantially reduced if populations are well-prepared and equipped with the knowledge and capacities for effective disaster management.
 
The UNESCO and UNICEF publication, Towards a Learning Culture of Safety and Resilience, is based on case studies from over 30 countries. It is aimed at education planners and curriculum specialists to help them incorporate Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in their planning and delivery. The publication is the most comprehensive resource of its kind to date, advocating a holistic integration of DRR into the curriculum.

Click here to find out more and to download a copy.

To mark World Food Day (October 16) and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17), the UNESCO Associated Schools (ASPnet) will be organizing a series of local activities around the world to show how students can take care of the earth and help eradicate poverty.

If you are a student, teacher or an education expert, you can find out more by visiting ASPnet in Action!

At the recent 32nd Annual Conference of the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) in Windhoek, Namibia, 450 participants - representing all 15 countries in the Southern African Development Community - addressed a range of ESD-related themes. These included the five priority action areas of the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP): policy, educators/trainers, youth, whole institution approaches and local communities. EEASA is now planning to make a GAP launch commitment.

The conference was organized by the University of Namibia in cooperation with the Namibia Environmental Education Network, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture and UNESCO.

Find out more about the EEASA conference here >>