International Workshop on Education for Sustainable Development "Horizon 2015"
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On February 27 and 28 2012, fifty international ESD Experts conferred with each other on the future of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The two-day workshop in Bonn, Germany, was organised by the German Commission for UNESCO in cooperation with the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the City of Bonn and the German Savings Bank Association.
The Workshop "Horizon 2015" was intended as a follow-up to the international meeting on the UN Decade hosted by the German Commission for UNESCO in autumn 2006. This workshop was the starting point of Germany's strong involvement in the international ESD cooperation, as it led to the Bonn Conference in 2009. This milestone event welcomed 900 representatives from 150 states and featured the adoption of the "Bonn Declaration".
Three years after its adoption, spring 2012 was a timely moment to take stock of the "Bonn Declaration" implementation. Furthermore, the future of ESD beyond the end of the Decade is being discussed in Germany and many other UNESCO Member States alike. The German Commission for UNESCO contributed to this ongoing international discussion by conveying the International Workshop 2012 with a view to develop perspectives for ESD beyond the end of the UN Decade.
Participants included members of the advisory board of the Bonn World Conference and representatives from selected UNESCO Member States as well as the private sector, the media and individual experts. Background information on the origins of the Decade, its current structure and implementation milestones have been presented by Charles Hopkins, UNESCO and United Nations University Chair at York University, Canada. Mr Hopkins is an advisor to UNESCO and UNU and played major roles in both the Rio and Johannesburg UN Summits on Sustainable Development. Another ESD expert attending was Sweden's former Deputy State Secretary Carl Lindberg, who has been serving as a Special Advisor to the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO on ESD since November 2005. Several participants from the African continent also attended the meeting, such as Ms. Yah S. Kialain, Secretary General of the Liberian Commission for UNESCO.
UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
The United Nations proclaimed the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development for the years 2005 to 2014. The aim of this world-wide educational initiative is to enable each human being to acquire the values, knowledge and skills necessary for shaping the future according to the concept of sustainable development. UNESCO is the lead agency for the Decade at international level, while the German Commission for UNESCO coordinates the activities in Germany in particular.
Supporters:
City of Bonn
German Savings Bank Association
Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and the Media of North Rhine-Westphalia
European Union
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