Education for Sustainable Development

Education for Sustainable Development teaches the knowledge, skills, and values needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Building a sustainable future includes understanding how our actions affect the environment and society and learning how to make better choices for the planet and future generations. UNESCO and its global network of national commissions are working to provide guidance to governments and educators on how to integrate ESD principles into school systems, and to encourage communities, schools, and youth not just to learn but to take steps towards real-world change.

With support from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), CCUNESCO is developing Teaching a Green Mindset: Education for Sustainable Development Actions in Canada, a toolkit that explores the holistic, transformative, and transdisciplinary elements of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED). As a basis for this project, CCUNESCO and its partners are undertaking a national environmental scan to assess the current state of ESD in Canada. This scan will serve to identify ESD initiatives and best-practices, as well as gaps and challenges within formal and informal K-12 educational settings.

The toolkit will position ESD within the context of UNESCO’s global framework for the implementation of ESD beyond 2019, the Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development adopted by UNESCO in 2023, and broader programs and frameworks including Canada's federal strategies on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), transforming education, and greening education. The project also seeks to share and promote current ESD initiatives in Canada and internationally. The toolkit recognizes the essential role of Indigenous knowledges and their diversity in shaping the future of education and will therefore have a strong focus on Indigenous and Land-Based Education (ILBE).

CCUNESCO is developing the toolkit in collaboration with two advisory committees: an Expert Working Group on ESD and the Expert Working Group on ILBE. These groups include diverse rights holders such as local and regional representatives from Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations, youth leaders, and academics. The committees provide insights on both topics and offer direction on developing educational resources for educators by sharing successful case studies on ESD in Canada.

Through the dissemination of the toolkit and related materials, CCUNESCO aims to provide educators with practical resources to foster sustainability awareness as well as guidance on incorporating the ILBE framework respectfully in non-Indigenous contexts.