• Develop a draft implementation scheme[1] and establish its relationship with the various educational processes already in existence, especially the Dakar Framework for Action and the UN Literacy Decade (UNLD).
  
  
• This implementation scheme is to be developed in consultation with the United Nations and other relevant international organisations, governments, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.
  
  
• The ultimate objective is to provide recommendations for governments on how to promote and improve the integration of education for sustainable development in their respective educational strategies and action plans at the appropriate level.

UNESCO’s mandate is to accelerate reforms in education and co-ordinate the activities of all stakeholders in education through wide-ranging strategies which include:

• Clarifying the concept and key messages of education for sustainable development;
  
  
• Reviewing national education policies and re-orienting formal education systems;
  
  
• Incorporating education into national strategic and action plans for sustainable development;
  
  
• Educating to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns;
  
  
• Promoting investments in education;
  
  
• Identifying and sharing innovative practices;
  
  
• Raising public awareness.

It is the role of UNESCO to provide a clear presentation of the framework from the start and to mobilise action among stakeholders over the ten years. An international decade such as the DESD serves as a framework within which diverse and multiple actors can pursue a shared agenda based on their commitment to the central vision. The actors become stakeholders then they accept, adopt or buy into a part or the whole of the decade’s vision or if they are affected by it.

Strategy and Implementation

An initiative as broad and as far-reaching as the DESD requires strategies that can be applied at all levels and in all contexts, that will serve to implement the vision of ESD over the ten-year period.  The following section looks at the seven strategies for DESD implementation.

The Seven Strategies

1.     Advocacy and Vision Building

Progress of the Decade objectives requires growing global awareness of social, environmental, cultural and economic issues.  A vision of what it means to live and work sustainably will help ESD take root, making local realities become global commitments.  Implementing ESD requires widespread advocacy and a responsible media committed to encouraging informed and active citizens.

Advocacy will involve active participation of governments and civil society.  Local level schools and other educational institutions may be involved, as a part of ESD, lobbying governments and actively organising projects on behalf of ESD issues.  Dialogue and debate amongst stakeholders must be inclusive of all participants as it helps progress a common agenda of learning and understanding.

2.     Consultation and Ownership

A solid vision of ESD provides the basis and foundation for projects and action to take place, but it will only do so to the extent to which stakeholders at every level own the vision.  Ownership depends on consultation and participation in policy formation and the planning of initiatives and activities.  Governments have a particular responsibility to initiate consultative processes and establish forums for debate.  Information and activities must be appropriately promoted and relevant consultation of ESD objectives must be made accessible through all levels, involving all likely stakeholders.

3.     Partnership and Networks

Education for Sustainable Development is fundamentally cross-sectoral and engages a wide variety of institutions.  The effectiveness of the Decade will depend on the strength and inclusiveness of the partnerships, networks and alliances which it is able to develop among stakeholders at all levels.  Connections and networks will drive the Decade’s objectives because it is too great and complex for any one institution—national or international—to promote on its own.

Exchange of programmes and projects must be consistent and focused on ESD aims and values.  Stakeholders and partners will need to meet regularly to exchange ideas and information.  This will make sure Decade objectives do not stray too far from those outlined in the ESD vision.

4.     Capacity Building and Training

In order to strengthen the implementation of ESD throughout the Decade, it is essential to ensure that partners and stakeholders acquire and constantly improve their capacity and skills.  The key areas of capacity-building and training include the following: communication and awareness-raising; planning, management and evaluation; training and retraining of educators; tools for analysis; instructional content and materials; and instructional methodologies. 

5.     Research and Innovation 

Research is the basis for understanding what issues ESD must urgently address. This will provide the assembling of information, the evaluation of progress and for seeking innovative solutions.  Efforts include setting out baseline studies, exploring the specific nature and methods of ESD, practical links of ESD with other aspects of learning, carrying out longitudinal studies and looking at institutional arrangements.

No standardised programme for ESD can or should be proposed because ultimately DESD aims to see ESD implemented in thousands of local situations on the ground.  Research and innovation is helpful in sketching out a number of scenarios of what high-quality ESD would look like, for instance in schools of different kinds.  Ultimately, research will provide the resource and the guide for how ESD is best carried out from the local to international level.

6.     Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)

Information and communication technologies are the lifeline of any international initiative such as a UN Decade—as a means of linking distant partners, storing data, sharing information and news quickly as possible and as a way of administering a large logistical enterprise.  However, accessibility to ICTs are not universal and issues such as cost, lack of technological advancements, infrastructure and energy supply contribute to a potential technological divide.  The importance of local knowledge and accessibility to ICTs means that those individuals on the ground will make creative use of information and communications—no matter how new or how old the equipment in use is.

7.    Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation will become a key strategy to ascertain the changes, differences and impact of the Decade.  From the use of such information we will be able to gauge progress and identify whether or not projects and plans are being implemented effectively in the agreed Decade framework.  The key aspect of monitoring and evaluation will be the identification of suitable, relevant and measurable indicators at every level—locally, nationally, regionally and internationally.  Evaluation will measure qualitative and quantitative methods necessary to track the Decade.