The National ESD-Awards

The aim of the National ESD-Awards (German: "Nationale Auszeichnung – Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung") is to honor outstanding German Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) actors and initiatives and offer them a platform and more visibility in order to broadly transfer ESD to learners of all generations and the local level. Thus, the awards contribute to the United Nations’ Decade of Action as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. ESD for 2030 represents the kick-off of the ESD Awards that were established in 2016 but have been renewed in 2020. The renewal explicitly fosters actors and initiatives contributing to the SDGs and to the transfer of ESD into society in applying transformative learning approaches.

From 2016 to 2019, the German Commission for UNESCO and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research awarded local authorities, learning spaces and networks for their exemplary implementation of ESD as part of the UNESCO Global Action Program on Education for Sustainable Development: a total of 309 initiatives (148 learning spaces, 30 local authorities, 131 networks) were honored.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Commission for UNESCO award actors and initiatives three times a year. An application is possible at any time.

The National ESD-Prize

In addition to the National ESD-Awards, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Commission for UNESCO award the National ESD-Prize (German: "Nationaler Preis – Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung"), worth a total of 100,000,- EUR, once a year starting from 2022. The Prize is an initiative within the framework of the UNESCO Program ESD for 2030 and constitutes a contribution to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Commission for UNESCO are looking for diverse German actors and initiatives who are particularly committed to Education for Sustainable Development. A high-ranking jury with great expertise in ESD honors three actors in three categories and in addition awards an ESD newcomer. A total of ten prizes are awarded, each with prize money of 10,000,- EUR:

• Category 1: Places of ESD
• Category 2: ESD Multipliers
• Category 3: ESD Educational Landscapes
• Category 4: Newcomer

The winners are presented at a festive award ceremony on 24 January - the International Day of Education. The livestream as well as a review of the award ceremony will be shown at the BNE-Portal.