What does education for sustainable development mean?

    Of course that by the end of this process we will all have a better understanding of the real meaning of Sustainable development, however at this point I am still a little confused. The first definition that I have found  is the one proposed by UN (United nations) which is the most commonly reffered to as the Brundtland definition, 

"Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Report of the world commission on Environmental and development: Our common future, www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm). 

    Does that mean we all have to stop consuming and using any natural resource at any price so our future generations will them be able to consume and use? Or is the case where we have to make wiser decisions on how we use those resources such as water, energy, fossil fuels and so on? I guess we can all see the result of a generation of unsustainable people where the only objective was to consume consume and consume again without any concerns about the environment. Climate change, shortage on food and water supplies, starvation and a lot of other examples are a result of our ancestors, so from now on, is up to us a generation of knowledge and understanding to make better decisions and to take ownership of our actions. It is on this scenario that Education for development will help us to become better citizens, to really know our own values and put in check our actions towards a better future. 

    During our first workshop, we were asked to describe changes that we would like to see in our world that would help make it a more sustainable place. Lots of different ideas had emerged from that dynamic such as change on consumerism habits, the way we generate energy, a more equity world, less injustice, better conservation of our fauna and flora. Different views and expectations, but all with a common goal SUSTAINABILITY. All that process is a path on defining sustainable development to each one of us because it can have different meaning to different people of different culture and values, however the process of defining Sustainable development is a process of sharing our views, interactions within people and communities, process of continuous learning and education. So this whole process of visualising a better future is a process of sharing ideas, setting common goals, developing communication skills and making sure that all of us are on the same page. 

    To help us define EFSD, we need to understand first what are the core components of it, how do you implement the idea of EFSD and what are the results of the program. We had a very interesting activity where we were given quotes about Sustainable development and had to find within those quotes content, process and outcome related to EFSD. I have a photo below that illustrates that activity.

    Every single one of those orange cards work as a "brick" on the process of conceptualization and importance of EFSD, they are the content. The blue cards are the processes which are used to get the content or message across to learners or facilitators. Finally the green cards are the results of the process of education for sustainable development. From this point we can start to understand some of the key purposes of the EFSD such as empowering people to through their actions bring about the change, to motivate and provide skills to individuals where they can be part of their community change and also to empower individuals to assume responsibility for creating a sustainable future.
    So how do we engage a group of directors or executives or even a whole company to find a definition for sustainable development? How about a community here is Australia, where you can find individuals from all different backgrounds? How do we get all that diversity with different beliefs values and culture to have a common goal? My answer is to make them ask questions to themselves about their community where they live in, if, for example, the park where their children play is inviting and available to all for all. On the corporate side, making employees part of the decision making process or the new vision that the company wants build is part of the process. EFSD is inclusive, it is about diversity and it is about engaging and empowering. Getting people talking about problems can instigate them to be self aware about the challenges that they will face in the future, but also will make them more creative and educated to come up with more sustainable solutions.

    EFSD shifts the way that education in all levels has been provided until now. It is about understanding the real cause of problems, encourages people to evaluate themselves other then set certain rules and values to be followed, it empowers people to be the "agents of change" of their communities and society. 

    A lot of information isn't it? Does that make us all think believe that our actions today will set our own tomorrow? Wouldn't be much easier if we all could make the right decisions when making use of our resources? Unfortunately not, we are human beings and we all need that extra motivation and engagement to be able to create a more sustainable future. Education for Sustainable development provides exactly that extra kick where all levels of our society can be stimulated to develop the necessary skills to work collaboratively and shift to sustainability thinking and action.

    On the posts to come we are going to work on the components of education for sustainability that will help us have a better understanding on how this other way of thinking can change our future and world.