UNESCO: Cultural Diversity in Education for Sustainable Development

6th January 2011

A thematic programme “Mainstreaming Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue in Education for Sustainable Development” was established as a contribution to the UNESCO Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). Within this framework and in order to celebrate good practice within the DESD, UNESCO funded the “Best Practices on Cultural Diversity in Education for Sustainable Development” project which is to showcase innovative approaches which bridge links between cultural, socio-economic and environmental learnings.

The International Research Institute in Sustainability (IRIS), based at the University of Gloucestershire, has been commissioned to undertake this UNESCO initiative. The project will investigate what constitutes best practice and document concrete ways in which culture can be a key component of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) policies, programmes and projects.

IRIS researchers have been asked to collate a range of ESD good practices which integrate cultural principles, learning objectives and pedagogies in their planning, design and implementation. The information captured will be used to develop an analytical report and webtool which will be available to stakeholders to support the integration of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in a wide diversity of ESD initiatives.

UNESCO is pleased to invite you to participate in the “Good Practices on Cultural Diversity and Education for Sustainable Development” project. If you would like to be involved in this project, you will be asked to complete a template to showcase your initiative. The template will be posted on the project website and will inform the UNESCO report of experiences. Your participation in this project will allow other stakeholders seeking to integrate cultural diversity in ESD practices to learn from your policy, programme or project.

For more information about this UNESCO project and opportunities of participation, please contact IRIS researchers:

Prof Daniella Tilbury
Email: dtilbury@glos.ac.uk

Ingrid Mulà
Email: Ingrid.mula@gmail.com