Victoria Elias , ECO-Accord (Russia)/ European-ECO-Forum

1. Specifics of the EECCA Sub-region with Regard to ESD Implementation:Good Practices, Needs and Possibilities Victoria Elias, ECO-Accord (Russia)/ European-ECO-Forum

2. ESD: conceptual background (theory) • ESD includes: • Environmental education • Economic background of SD • Social aspects and ethical values (integration into coltural, ethical background and ideology of modern society) • Continuinity of education and awareness and education for all ages • Establishing a model of responsible behavior aimed at SD in all spheres of life • Broad public raising on SD Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

3. Some specific characteristics of educational systems in EECCA (from ESD point of view) <+> • High scientific, methodological and organisational level • Centralised approach, state educational standards • Reach experience and high qualification of teachers • Established system of basis curricula • Traditions • Obligatory secondary education for all • Big experience in informal and non-formal education • Integration of citizens’ education, high commitment and readiness of all interested groups of the society to interaction and cooperation <-> • Lack of knowleadge and understanding of SD • Lack of resources, low salaries of teachers, brain drain and outflow of qualified stuff and young people from education sector in some countries • Insufficient cooperation of secondary and high schools and other sectors • Lack of motivation of teachers under the pressure of a bifg volume of required palns, reports, etc. • Difficulty of access to modern data • Problem of training and re-training Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

4. Development of formal ESD in EECCA (Practice) General approach: “Environmental Education for Sustainable Development” Pre-School • Rare author’s teaching programmes on EE • No ESD (an attempt to develop Local Agenda 21 for Kindergartens in Russia) Secondary • EE is included in curricula as a part of a number of subjects in all countries. ESD – only in authors’ programmes. • In informal education – EE everywhere, ESD – widely, but financial barriers remain Secondary professional • EE- much less, ESD – practically abscent Higher • EE - in all countries for environmentally “profiles” specialities • ESD – in selected universities mostly as a part of original authors’ programmes or in connection to EE Students and pupils research • EE – up to 5%, • ESD – less then 0.5% in general, but in a number of universities and schools – more (Institute for Problems of SD of Russian Chemical-Technological Univ., Yerevan State Univ., Moscow State Univ., Bishkek, etc.) Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

5. Awareness systems and non-formal ESD in EECCA • Various national materials, rich traditions and experiencein environmental awareness raising, but not ESD . • Main focus – nature conservation (biodiversity, pollution). In a majority of countries – Aarhus Centres (environmental information)or Information Centres of Ministries of the Environment • At local level – recourse centres are mostly established and supported by NGOs in the conditions of constant continuous fundraising • SD: a lot of information, but no offical portals-catalogues. Problem to assess the quality of materials (printed and available on the web in EECCA) • Insufficient coverage of SD problems by mass media Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

6. Legislative Support of ESD in EECCA countries • Mostly – EE is reflected in laws on environmental protection adopted in 1990ies • 2 countries – Armenia and Azerbaijan – laws on EE • Georgia (2005) –Parliament considers a possibility of a law on ESD • Mainly – EE – Ministries of the Environment (in Russia and Ukraine – passed to Ministries of Education completely) • In national programmes and plans – most often EE (Kazakhstan – EE Concept; Armenia – NEAP, Turkmenistan – Programme of biodiversity conservation, etc.) • There is no special progammes to support ESD • EE and ESD are declared to be conceptually separated only in Belarus (according to European ECO-Forum Review of EECCA Strategy Implementation, October 2006) Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

7. EE and ESDin international agreements of the EECCA sub-region • UNECE Strategy on ESD (March 2005) provided for conditions at national levels • EECCA Environmental Strategy – Strategic Goal 6.3 (May 2003) – inclusion of ESD in educational systems • Interstate programmes on EE and ESD in Central Asia • Perspectives: “Environment and Security”, SCP initiatives, sub-regional initiatives, etc. • ???- other sectors ? Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

8. Multistakeholder cooperation on ESD in EECCA Formally: • Since March 2005Multistakeholder bodies (councils, commissions) on ESD were established (f/ex.in Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine) • Interagency Commission on Implementation of the UN Decade on ESD was established in Armenia • Central Asian Working Group (CAWG) on ESD (cooperation of Ministries of Education and the Environment, academia, NGOs) • Hearings, meetings, consultations on ESD (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,Ukraine) • NGO progects are mostly supported by foundations and donor countries (partly – by states – Armenia, Russia, Ukraine) Really: • Cooperation is only at a starting point • Private sector, business /CSR - ??? Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

9. ESD in EECCA – problems(formal education) • ESD promotion - educators, scientists,NGOs working on EE • ESD is understood as a «green problem», there is no conceptual ceparation of EE and ESD ***** • There is no legislative base for ESD.Low priority of ESD in educational programs and in national\state priorities • Support at national level – most often by Ministries of the Env. Or Ministries of the Env and Education (and similar regional and local bodies) – lack of motivation for cooperation • Weak multistakeholder cooperation ***** • Insufficient practical application of SD principles (estate management, procurement, energy efficiency, responsible consumer behavior) Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

10. ESD in EECCA - problems(formal education / 2) • Priority is given to translated materials. Quality assessment is a problem. • Outdating handbooks, limited access to modern data • Strong limits of curricula – lack of experience, materials, skills on interdisciplinary approach and use of interactive materials • Limited circulations of ESD teaching materials • Limited use of Higher education and research institutions’ opportunities • Lack of ESD-qualified teachers – problem of training and re-training , “brain drain” from education sector and from EECCA • “Paid – free” education problem - limited resources and opportunities of education institutions (especially schools) • Insufficient use of NGO capacities – problem of implementation in formal education, problem of getting official recommendation for the materials to be used for education purposes • Lack of private sector support Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

11. ESD in EECCA - problems(non-formal education) • Insufficient understanding of sense and tasks pf SD, limitation of SD to nature conservation and pollution prevention • Minimal coverage of SD in mass media • ESD does not belong to “hot” themes • Absence of TV programs and magazines on SD (only EE) • Decline of national documentaries production • Insufficient knowledge on SD by journalists • Social advertisement on EE – up to 2 %, ESD - no • The need to systemize the available resources and prepare modern awareness materials on SD • Theory and practice are not connecetd to each other (education, management and business) Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

12. Other problems • Lack of support to ESD at the state/national level. No “niche” for ESD in formal education (only EE) • Issue of stuffing (trained specialists) • Lack of understanding and interest from economists, sociologists, managers, psychologists and other “non-green” specialists • Gap and unequal opportunities between urban and rural areas • Insufficient interaction on ESD between secondary schools and higher education institutions • Insufficient legal awareness for ESD • Lack of financial resources • Other…??? Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

13. ESD in EECCA – NGO opportunities • High level of motivation and interest to ESD • Human resources (aslo coming from academia and education to NGOs) • Experience, interest to intersectoral cooperation • Participation in decision-making process (consultative bodies< multistakeholder groups, international cooperation) • Raising additional resources for ESD projects • Publishing activities, awareness campaigns on national languages • Opportunities to use different methods and forms of work to public • Support to educators • Perspectives to use NGO materials in formal education if necessary expertise and certification organised Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

14. Needs • Conceptual separation of ESD and EE. Attraction of support by economists, sociologists, psychologists, etc. • Legal support to ESD, inclusion of ESD into educational standards • Copperation btw Ministries of Education and Ministries of the Environment, other sectors of the society • Training and retraining of specialists for ESD • Development. Publication and re-publication of teaching materials for ESD , catalogisation of Internet resources (in Runet) • Exchange programs on ESD for EECCA • More active involvement of NGOs • Cooperation with mass media, using the opportunities of social adverticement on TV, radio, FM radio, external adverticement, etc. • Involving private sector in cooperation on ESD • Attraction of budgetary, extrabudgetary, donor financial resources, liberalisation of fiscal regime for those who supports ESD Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

15. Suggestions Call upon Governments and international organisations in the framework of the UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation (art. 67) • To develop (?) a regional Program of support to ESD in EECCA, including: • Trainings for national ESD coordinators, including multistakeholder cooperation, monitoring, assesssment, etc • Systematization of ESD resources, establishing national portals and EECCA portal on ESD • Sudents and professionals exchanges in EECCA • Trainings on ESD for decision-makers and educators • Involvement of NGOs in formal education • Support to research and awareness projects on ESD • Training for journalists • Awareness on sustainable consumption and production, support to SCP initiatives • Publishing and re-publishing of national ESD materials • Regular meetings of national ESD coordinators and their partners at EECCA level Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

16. Suggestions (2) To donors: • Establish a fund to support a Program for ESD in EECCA. Invite national gov’ts of EECCA, private sector, non-for-profit private foundations to participate in the Program.Prioritise ESD in international programs and projects in EECCA To education governing bodies: • Ensure ESD implementation in formal education, re-training, materials development… To NGOs: • Promote and actively participate in non-formal ESD development To private sector: …. To other sectors… Victoria Elias, Workshop for EECCA sub-region on UNECE Strategy on ESD implementation. 08.11.2006, Moscow

17. Thank you