From August 29-31, 2023, UNESCO organized the regional meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean of the ESD 2030 Network. This meeting was held in Santiago, Chile, and brought together representatives of Ministries of Education from all countries in the region to launch a regional network to promote education for sustainable development, within the framework of the SDGs, specifically SDG 4, target 4.7. The meeting was livestreamed through Zoom to a wider audience.
The UNESCO Chair on ESD with the Earth Charter was invited to participate in this network, as a strategic partners from civil society. AliciaJimenez presented the work that this Chair does in the areas of training and research, at the intersection between sustainability, education and ethics, in addition to providing input on the opportunities and challenges of implementing ESD in the region.
During the first and part of the second day of the meeting, representatives of the Ministries of Education presented the progress made in the implementation of the National Initiative proposals to promote ESD in each country. Subsequently, work was carried out in workshops, where subgroups identified opportunities and challenges for ESD in relation to climate action efforts, teacher training, youth empowerment, whole institution approach for sustainability and work with local communities.
A number of invited speakers presented thematic presentations, such as:
– Results of a regional study on the integration of the education and environment sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.
– Latin American Environmental Education Network – UNEP
– Climate Action and ESD Community of Learning and Practice – FFIAPP EUROCLIMA+
– Financing mechanisms associated with the UN that can be applied to the promotion of ESD.
At the end of this meeting, virtual exchange spaces will be created, and governments have been invited to promote ESD through national initiatives. Seed funding will be available for these initiatives.
This regional meeting and the exchange of experiences that occurred was very encouraging, hopefully the energy generated in this meeting will continue to fuel this ESD2030 Network, which in turn, will proactively work to transform education so that it enables the necessary paradigm shifts towards more just, sustainable and peaceful societies.
