Preparing education material on regional sustainable development issues

There is a need to strengthen information exchange by enhancing technologies and capacities necessary to promote environment and development education and public awareness. Countries should cooperate with each other and with the various social sectors and population groups to prepare educational tools that include regional environment and development issues and initiatives, using learning materials and resources suited to their own requirements.

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

The Eco School Programme is a European programme for environmental education and management, based upon a simple methodology which any school can adopt. Pupils are encouraged to use their environmental knowledge in the everyday life of the school. This strategy facilitates pupils to see the relevance of what they learn in the classroom. The Eco-Schools programme involves seven steps that any school can adopt. A committee in the school is the core of the Eco-Schools process.

The Green School Award project has been very successful. Schools are motivated to write green action plans that are published and evaluated on internet. An assessment is made to judge if schools have reached the targets agree upon. If so, they acquire a diploma, which is valid only temporarily: three years. This way, schools are stimulated to work continuously on sustainable development.