The International Forum on Education for Sustainable Development （ESD） Dialogue 2008 Mid point event of DESD

Date

 4days- December 2 (Tues) to December 5 (Fri), 2008

Venue

 UN UNIVERSITY - TOKYO
(U Thant International Conference Hall, Elizabeth Rose Conference Hall)
Address: 5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan 150-8925

Organizers

 Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology-Japan (MEXT) The Japanese National Commission for UNESCO
 UNESCO

Co-Organizers

 The United Nations University (UNU)
 The Asia/Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO (ACCU)

Languages

English, Japanese
※Asia/Pacific regional Session (2nd Dec) is in English only.
 Luncheon Session (4th Dec) is in Japanese only.

Participants

• Representatives nominated by UNESCO Member States;
• Representatives and individual experts invited by the organizers, in particular from civil society;
• Participants selected through an open call for participation.

- Objectives -

 The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), which was proclaimed by the General Assembly in 2002 and launched in 2005, will mark the mid-point of DESD at the end of 2009. Since the inception of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), the international community has discussed the needs; fundamental concepts; and objectives of ESD, while recognizing its key importance for future generations. For the mid-point of the Decade, UNESCO and its Member States will have opportunities to discuss the achievements and challenges in the implementation of the DESD. The International Forum on ESD Dialogue 2008 will move beyond these efforts to define ESD, and seek to identify strategically conceptualized actions for the implementation and achievement of DESD objectives in line with the International Implementation Scheme (IIS).

 The IIS has identified many individual programs and covered various issues in different fields. It is impractical for UNESCO to carry out all these programs with the limited resources currently devoted to ESD. Consequently, in the second half of the Decade, ESD needs to identify and engage with a concrete approach that strategically focuses on projects or programs that correspond to different developmental stages of participating countries. This would encourage and enable the participating countries to take concrete actions, thereby becoming the driving force for the sustainable continuation of ESD. In other words, the purpose of the Forum for the second half of the decade will be to identify results-oriented strategic projects that correspond to various developmental stages, and to move the discussion from “what is ESD” to “what we must do now”. Furthermore, it will focus on partnerships with private sectors and NGOs to explore the possibility of a global cooperation/consortium on ESD.

 In addition, Asia-Pacific regional inputs to the mid-term will be reviewed by focusing on the examination of Best Practices and educational materials for ESD.

- Program -

 Tuesday, 2 December

 Asia/Pacific regional Session
 Asia/Pacific Review for the DESD Mid-Decade

 Wednesday, 3 December

 Opening Session
 Keynote Lecture
 Plenary Session Towards Promotion and Dissemination of ESD

 Thursday, 4 December

Session1 Formulation of Flagship Projects
 (Luncheon Session for National Private Sector)
Session2 Partnerships: Towards a Global Consortium

Friday, 5 December

Session3 ESD Research and Innovation
Plenary Session Summary session "Recommendations to the World Conference on ESD"
Closing Session

Conclusion and Recommendation to the World Conference on ESD:

Contact:

For general inquiries regarding The International Forum on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Dialogue 2008, please contact:

 Japanese National Commission for UNESCO

 URL: http://www.mext.go.jp/english/unesco/
 Email: jpnatcom@mext.go.jp
 FAX: +81-3-6734-3679

The Asia/Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO (ACCU)

 Email: general@accu.or.jp
 FAX: +81-3-3269-4510