Education for Sustainable Development in small island developing states
Education for Sustainable Development in small island developing states
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were unanimously adopted at the United Nations General Assembly Summit in September 2015. The goals will come into force in January 2016 and will drive international development work for the next fifteen years. Whilst education drivers and outcomes cut across the entire agenda, Goals 4 specifically addresses education — ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The new agenda represents a fundamental shift in developing thinking by recognising the underlying and dynamic interlinkages between the three dimensions (social, economic and environmental), driving universal and integrated development across all countries, and promoting inclusivity, equity, quality and lifelong learning in education.
Given the importance of SDG4 within and across the Commonwealth family, the Education Hub hosted a related e- discussion. The objective of the three-and-a-half week discussion was to engage a wide range of education stakeholders from various professional and geographical backgrounds to critically reflect on SDG4 and explore actions to achieve this Goal.
The discussion reached out to 650 participants, comprising representatives from Education Ministries, development organisations, the private sector and academia. Responses were received from 10 countries spanning all five Commonwealth regions, and was moderated by Mr Vis Naidoo.
