WEEC2024 Day 2丨The Contradictions of ESD

前言

第十二届世界环境教育大会于2024年1月29日至2月2日在阿布扎比召开，主题是“连接人们，创造明天”（“Connecting People, Creating Tomorrow.”），世界环境教育大会（WEEC）是一个致力于环境和可持续发展教育的国际大会。大会旨在探讨如何通过环境教育应对气候变化、污染、生物多样性丧失等全球环境挑战，以及如何鼓励跨国界、跨文化和跨世代的协作。会议不仅限于传统的学术和实践交流，也鼓励采取创新形式，如艺术表演和互动活动，以丰富教育内容和参与体验。

绿色光年青年代表团已于1月28日抵达阿布扎比参会，本篇文章是绿光青年代表团成员高致同在参会第二天，对于“如何推进全球可持续发展教育”这一话题展开的思考与讨论：

About the Author

PHOTO: Gao Zhitong

Gao Zhitong is currently a student at Shanghai Concordia International School. He first connected with Green Light-Year during the 2018 "Take Xuesen Road Again" Northwest Environmental Protection Science and Technology  Research  Camp, where he stood out as the best debater and reporter (Link: 重走学森路18 | D1 高铁上“找茬儿”调研的营员们). He also participated in a meeting with the curator of the Qian Xuesen Museum (Link: “重走学森路”分享会丨一起康康孩子们参营后的变化！). In 2020, he joined the TrashTrack project team, collaborating with five other high school students. They used GPS trackers to investigate the final destinations of sorted waste in different communities in Shanghai (Link: TrashTrack小队科普丨MoniTour: 追踪电子废弃物的全球路线). Their findings were featured in a full-page article in the Jiefang Daily (Link: 新闻报道丨解放日报：追踪垃圾分类，追问更多可能性). He also encouraged his sister, who attends the University of Sydney, to write a popular science article for Green Light-Year about how American environmental organizations track the final destinations of electronic waste.

He is actively involved in social practice activities organized by his school and community, earning praise and trust from teachers in both contexts. He has served as a department head in the student council and has achieved notable successes in numerous activities.

The Contradictions of Education 

for Sustainable Development

Today at the WEEC conference, the focus of the discussion was fortuitously on how to get as many people around the world as possible to value and learn about Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In fact, even before the conference started, many had realized that there is a global deficit in education on sustainable development. 

As mentioned by Mirian Vilela, the Executive Director of Earth Charter International, in the plenary session at 9 a.m. today, UNESCO has been advancing the ESD agenda since 2005, following its initial mention in 2004. The ESD action plan framework, developed in conjunction with ministers of education, is already planned through 2030. The focus of the action plan framework is to ensure that more learners can cultivate knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes related to sustainability. Three years ago, UNESCO drafted the report "Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Vision for Education," which reiterated the desire and importance of integrating ESD into national educational curricula. The call to strengthen global ESD remains unceasing to this day.

PHOTO: Welcome address by the Secretary-General of the World Environmental Education Congress Network

From my perspective, this request still appears challenging to fulfill. Below I will briefly explore several key factors:

1. Cultural Differences and Values

Different countries, influenced by their historical and cultural legacies, possess unique value systems and cultural traditions. Education naturally becomes a means of transmitting these national values. For example, the collective education promoted in the East struggles in the individualistic Western world.

2. Political Factors

“History is the propaganda of the victors.” - Toynbee

Political systems can fundamentally alter a nation’s education system, depending on the country’s specific conditions. Some nations favor a more diverse and open educational system and environment, while others are more conservative, often using education to reinforce their political ideologies.

3. Inequity in Information and Technology

Countries have differing educational foundations, leading to difficulties in unifying education without shared information and technology.

4. Economic Disparities

Nations have varying economic strengths, which inevitably lead to unequal distribution of educational resources. Developed countries often have higher-quality educational resources, facilities, and faculty. Developing countries may face shortages of educational facilities and qualified teachers. In countries where the economy is collapsing or has collapsed, education seems to have become a luxury.

5. Communication Barriers

Different countries use different languages, and even within a single country, dialects, terminologies, and expressions can vary. This is one of the significant challenges to globalizing education, as language is a fundamental tool for disseminating education.

For these reasons, conferences on the globalization of certain educational aspects continue to be held in abundance and will likely not cease this century.

PHOTO: Prospect of ESD

Yet, people have not given up hope, as evidenced by the audience’s suggestion at today’s noon conference that we should change the way we solve problems. An appeal was made for a more proactive and radical stance in addressing and solving issues. Other audience members and experts on stage also shared their thoughts and potential solutions to this global challenge.

When this goal will be realized remains unclear. Furthermore, even if a global standardization of ESD is achieved, could it potentially lead to severe, turbulent side effects? This remains another timeless conundrum that, to this day, lacks a definitive answer.

PHOTO: Discussion on EE and ESD

Written by Gao Zhitong (Shanghai Concordia International School)

Image by Gao Zhitong, Gong Wenzhu

Designed by Zhang Zhiyuan

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