Honourable Premier
Minister van Schalkwyk
My colleague Tasneem Essop
Delegates and esteemed guests
Thank you for inviting me to address you today on the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
Your timing is excellent. As you may know, the United Nations has declared the period 2005 to 2014 as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as the international community seeks to ensure steady improvement of the quality of life for this and future generations on all continents, in a way that respects our common heritage, namely, the planet we live on.
The UN has appointed the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organisation, or Unesco, has the lead agency for promoting this decade.
While 2005 marks the start of this decade, we are pleased to say that the education policies of South Africa and the Western Cape are already in line with international thinking on the issues involved in many important respects.
Our challenge over the next decade will be to analyse the approach of Unesco and our colleagues in other countries to ensure that we find common ground and that education plays the role it must play to ensure equal access to a better life for all in a way that is sustainable in all respects.
The timing of this conference is also excellent in that this conference is the first step in achieving a programme of action for sustainable development in the Western Cape over the next 10 years.
This will make it easier for us to coordinate programmes on a local level with international programmes driven by Unesco, to ensure best international practice.
We will learn from international experience while contributing to developing examples of best international practice that hopefully others may find useful.
In this address, I will start by looking at what is happening on an international level, before moving onto what is happening in South Africa and Western Cape. I'll highlight areas of common ground and look at how best we can work with our colleagues internationally to meet our common objectives.
Decade overview
I will begin by looking at the background to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the concepts involved, the objectives, and how Unesco plans to implement its programme for the decade.
In short, according to Unesco, education for a sustainable future is about learning to:
- respect, value and preserve the achievements of the past
- appreciate the wonders and the peoples of the Earth
- live in a world where all people have sufficient food for a healthy and productive life
- assess, care for and restore the state of our Planet
- create and enjoy a better, safer, more just world
- be caring citizens who exercise their rights and responsibilities locally, nationally and globally.
Unesco's statement reflects a clear set of values and a holistic approach to sustainable development. Care and appreciation of our planet is central to these values. Other important values include our cultural heritage, the need to fight poverty, the importance of social justice and the need to safeguard human rights and responsibilities.
The concerns obviously resonate with our concerns in this country and our province as we seek to ensure a better life for all. We also believe that education is central to our efforts at achieving these goals in a sustainable way.
Background
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in resolution 57/254 in December 2002, and designated Unesco as the lead agency for promoting the decade.
The steps leading up to this proclamation date back as far as 1972, with the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm.
Over the years, the global community acknowledged that more exploration was needed of the inter-relationships between the environment and socio-economic issues of poverty and underdevelopment.
Thus the concept of sustainable development emerged in the 1980s in response to a growing realisation of the need to balance economic and social progress with concern for the environment and the stewardship of natural resources.
The UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, the Earth Summit, gave high priority in its Agenda 21 to the role of education in pursuing the kind of development that would respect and nurture the natural environment.
It focused on the process of orienting and re-orienting education in order to foster values and attitudes of respect for the environment and envisaged ways and means of doing so.
By the time of the Johannesburg Summit in 2002 the vision broadened to encompass social justice and the fight against poverty as key principles of development that is sustainable.
The human and social aspects of sustainable development meant that solidarity, equity, partnership and cooperation were as crucial as scientific approaches to environmental protection.
Besides re-affirming the educational objectives of the Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All Dakar Framework for Action, the Summit proposed the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as a way of signalling that education and learning lie at the heart of approaches to sustainable development.
The 2002 Johannesburg Summit broadened the vision of sustainable development and re-affirmed the educational objectives of the Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All Dakar Framework for Action, the Summit proposed the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and the United Nations General Assembly in its 57th Session in December 2002, proclaimed the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, for the period 2005 to 2014.
Concepts
The Rio Declaration from the World Conference on Environmental and Development 1992 began by stating:
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
The Johannesburg Declaration at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 built on this aspiration and expressed the commitment of world leaders "to build a humane, equitable and caring global society cognizant of the need for human dignity for all."
The summit reaffirmed education as the foundation of sustainable development. According to Unesco, there is no universal model of education for sustainable development.
A Unesco briefing document states that: "While there will be overall agreement on the concept, there will be nuanced differences according to local contexts, priorities and approaches. Each country has to define its own priorities and actions.
'The goals, emphases and processes must, therefore, be locally defined to meet the local environmental, social and economic conditions in culturally appropriate ways. Education for sustainable development is equally relevant and critical for both developed and developing countries."
Unesco is therefore being careful to allow space for local responses to the challenge of the decade. We certainly acknowledge this in South Africa and the Western Cape, and will seek to acknowledge Unesco's call as we develop our responses to our own challenges.
We welcome Unesco's strong emphasis on culture in its documentation for the decade. The organisation states that we have to recognise the rich tapestry of human experience in the many physical and socio-cultural contexts of the world.
Education for sustainable development must reflect respect and tolerance, where contact with others is enriching, challenging and stimulating.
We have to acknowledge the value of our cultural landscapes as we seek to preserve our natural environments. Cultures must be respected as the living and dynamic contexts within which human beings everywhere find their values and identity.
Objectives and strategies
The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development pursues a global vision. According to Unesco:
"The vision of education for sustainable development is a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from quality education and learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future and for positive societal transformation."
This vision sets "a sustainable future" at the heart of our common human endeavour, but the vision will find expression in varied socio-cultural contexts, where positive societal transformation will be articulated in different ways.
The international decade will serves as a framework within which diverse and multiple actors pursue a shared agenda based on their commitment to the central vision. The proposed DESD objectives are to:
- Give an enhanced profile to the central role of education and learning in the common pursuit of sustainable development
- Facilitate links and networking, exchange and interaction among stakeholders
- Provide a space and opportunity for refining and promoting the vision of, and transition to sustainable development - through all forms of learning and public awareness
- Foster increased quality of teaching and learning in education for sustainable development
- Develop strategies at every level to strengthen capacity in education for sustainable development.
Unesco has developed a range of strategies to implement the programmes of the decade, along with mechanisms for monitoring progress and developing partnerships on all levels designed to achieve the objectives of the initiative.
South African context
At this point, I would like to look at what has been happening in South Africa and the Western Cape and how our objectives align with those of the international decade.
Prior to 1994, South Africa was a pariah on the world stage, and the values, which drove our approach to education, were far removed from those that were guiding education in other parts of the world.
At the time, we had 19 different education departments, offering differing standards of education with different expectations of our teachers and learners, in line with the roles learners from different population groups were expected to play in society.
Today we live in a new South Africa, committed to quality education for all and to building a new, democratic based on the values of our Constitution.
Over the past 10 years we have built a new, single education system, with a new curriculum designed to prepare all learners for the 21st century, in a democratic, just and caring society. The values we espouse in education are completely in line with those reflected in the call for a decade of education for sustainable development.
White Paper
It is worth noting that concerns for the environment and sustainability have been features of curriculum development from an early stage.
For example, in 1995, our national Department of Education introduced the White Paper for Education and Training, which provided the framework for the subsequent transformation of the education system in South Africa.
The White Paper has the following to say about environmental education:
"Environmental education, involving an interdisciplinary, integrated and active approach to learning, must be a vital element of all levels and programmes of the education and training system, in order to create environmentally literate and active citizens and to ensure that all South Africans, present and future, enjoy a decent quality of life through the sustainable use of resources."
We believe that environmentally literate citizens are able to assess the ecological sustainability of development, to work actively to reverse environmental degradation, and to manage and use the country's natural resources wisely and democratically.
They can use information, legislation and community action to protect and improve human and environmental health. Environmental education also contributes significantly to developing human and social capital, by helping to improve the quality of education generally, and for providing opportunities for social engagement.
Environmental education is ideally suited to active learning required in our approach to Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), while also strengthening links between schools and communities.
Environmental literacy is crucial in an emerging democracy. We have to have the knowledge, skills and values needed to consider development options appropriately and to inform sustainable patterns of living.
New curriculum
Our new curriculum for Grades R to 12 forms an important part of the transformation of education in South Africa. The curriculum is based on the principles of Outcomes-Based Education, or OBE, which provides clear benchmarks for assessing progress in each subject and grade.
The outcomes cover both the content of what is taught as well as the qualities our learners should develop to lead successful lives and to contribute to building our economy and society.
We have embedded environmental issues, including issues of sustainable development, in the content of the various subjects we offer. We require our learners to achieve well-defined outcomes in each grade and in each of these subjects.
In addition to outcomes in each subject, we expect our learners to achieve critical and developmental outcomes of a general nature that will help to sustain them in adult life and to contribute to building a successful society.
The outcomes include an awareness of the need to build sustainable futures. I will now list these critical and developmental outcomes. As you will see, they correspond well with the requirements of the decade of education for sustainable development.
The critical outcomes we require are the following:
- Firstly, learners must be able to identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking
- They must work effectively with others as members of a team, group, organisation and community and
- They must be able to organise and manage themselves and their activities responsibly and effectively
- Learners must be able to collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information
- They must be able to communicate effectively in a variety of ways; and
- Must use science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and the health of others.
- Learners must demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation.
Our curriculum statement lists five skills or "developmental outcomes" that our learners must acquire. These are the ability to:
- Reflect on and explore different strategies for effective learning; and the ability to
- Participate as responsible citizens in the life of local, national and global communities
- Learners must be culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts
- They must explore education and career opportunities; and
- They must develop entrepreneurial opportunities.
As you can see, these outcomes correspond closely with those proposed by Unesco. As a result, it will be relatively easy for us to align our national programme to that of the international decade of education for sustainable development.
Western Cape
I will now turn to developments in education in the Western Cape and will look briefly at how they relate to the decade of education for sustainable development and our initiatives on the national level.
The vision of the Provincial Government of the Western Cape is to provide a Home for All. Our strategy for achieving this vision is iKapa Elihlumayo, to "grow and share the Cape".
IKapa Elihlumayo recognises that we cannot grow and share the Cape unless we develop the human and social capital we need to make this possible.
Sustainable development in the Western Cape will obviously depend on the extent to which we develop our human and social capital. The provincial government announced the iKapa Elihlumayo strategy in 2003 to "mobilise the resources of government in the fight against poverty, improve the living conditions of our people and fight for the expansion of the economy".
In November 2003, a Provincial Growth and Development Summit representing government, business, labour and civil society agreed on a Framework for Growth and Development in the Western Cape.
The Framework declares that an integrated and coordinated Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS) should be directed towards poverty alleviation and transformation which should form the basis for sustainable growth and development.
In 2004, the provincial government designed the Western Cape Education Department, or WCED, as the lead department responsible for developing our human capital.
The WCED has developed a comprehensive Human Capital Strategy with a special focus on youth to guide long-term strategic planning for education in the province.
The strategy draws attention to the huge challenges we face as we seek to provide quality education for all. By necessity, the strategy emphasises the need for transformation, to ensure access, redress and equity in education delivery.
To some extent, the Western Cape is fortunate in that we have succeeded in meeting the United Nations' Millennium Goal by providing universal primary schooling for all.
However, we have to celebrate this achievement with caution as we analyse the quality of this education across the board. Our studies of Grade 3 and 6 numeracy and literacy skills show that we have some way to go before we can demonstrate that all primary school learners are enjoying the same quality of education.
We are particularly concerned at the high drop out rate of our high school learners. Of those who start school in Grade 1, only about 50% reach Grade 12.
There is a clear connection between poor performance in primary school and the dropout rate in high school. Poverty and race are the two factors most strongly associated with both, which in turn demonstrate the ongoing need for redress and equity in our efforts to ensure quality education for all.
Our strategy covers every stage of education, from early childhood development to general and further education and training, education for learners with special needs, adult basic and further education and training, and learnerships.
We do not manage higher education because this is managed on a national level, although we work closely with higher education institutions to ensure clear articulation between further education and training and higher education.
We are grappling with very real and stark issues as we seek to provide quality education for all in the Western Cape and the country as a whole.
The vision of education for sustainable development adopted by Unesco for this special decade certainly resonates with all of us involved in education in the Western Cape.
As mentioned earlier, this vision is a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from quality education and learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future and for positive societal transformation.
We have expressed our work as developing human and social capital, where our learners acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes they need to lead successful lives, and contribute to building successful communities and a successful nation.
We have a deep understanding of the complexities involved in ensuring a sustainable future, based on the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes of our citizens. These complexities include our physical, natural, social, economic, political and cultural environments.
Our success as a nation thus far reflects our capacity to manage these complexities, and in fact, to celebrate them. South Africa and the Western Cape reflect the rich cultural diversity of the world at large.
While celebrating the success of our nation to date, we are also well aware of the potential for conflict, especially if we fail to address the vast discrepancies between rich and poor wisely and purposefully.
In 2004, South Africa celebrated the first 10 years of democracy. We have much to celebrate because we have built the foundations we need to build a successful nation.
We have a tried and tested democracy. Our Constitution defines the values we need to build a society we can be proud of. Our economy has seen consistent growth. The world looks on South Africa as an inspiring example of a successful transition from oppression to democracy.
As we enter the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, we do so mindful of the need to sustain our achievements thus far, and build on these successes for a sustainable future. But we do so mindful that what we have to sustain goes far beyond the physical environment, but certainly includes it.
We have to start with our people. We therefore fully endorse the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, and look forward to working with our colleagues in the family of nations as we seek to build better lives for all, sustainably.
Thank you
