Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship

ESDGC is about preparing individuals for the challenges facing planet Earth in the 21st Century and beyond.

“Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) develops people’s skills to take action that improves our quality of life now and for future generations.

At the start of the twenty first century there are several crucial questions/issues facing people in all societies throughout the world. These include:

·         How to preserve and protect the environment, reduce pollution and manage natural resources in a sustainable way

·         How to reduce the inequalities that exist between different peoples in all parts of the world and protect their human rights

·         How to develop peaceful and harmonious communities by promoting understanding between people who are different from one another.

Our current behaviour is unsustainable at all levels from nations to individuals – it is producing a degraded environment, economic inequity and instability, and social problems and estrangement. The many attempts to address issues singly has led to the realisation that they are inextricably linked. We will only achieve a better, secure, future for us and our children by considering the economy, the environment, and society together in decision making. ”

(Extract from the Welsh Government website)

ESDGC has seven main themes which identify with the real world. These themes should be incorporated into the lives of every individual each day.

The seven themes are:

Wealth and poverty

• Levels of wealth and poverty
• The gap between the rich and poor both locally and globally
• Basic needs and quality of life
• The interdependent causes and impacts of poverty
• How wealth is created
• The perceived and real value of goods, services and relationships
• Fair Trade
• The right of future generations to access resources

Health

• The importance of caring for self and others
• The relationship between health and quality of life
• Nutrition and sources of food
• The impact of drug abuse on individuals and others
• The value of different relationships
• The impact of environment on health
• The importance of access to clean water

Natural environment

• Biodiveristy
• Endangered species
• Conservation and the restoration of habitats
• Human dependence on ecosystems
• The interdependence of ecosystems
• The impact of human activity on natural environments
• Genetic modification Stewardship of resources and habitats
• The role of natural environments in relation to quality of life

Climate change

• Scientific evidence relating to climate change
• The causes of climate change
• The greenhouse effect
• Global warming
• The potential impacts and uncertainties of predictions
• The precautionary principle
• Preventative and adaptive responses
• The impact of collective and individual actions
• Ways of bringing about change
• The impact on future generations

Identity and culture

• Personal and regional histories
• Welsh language, culture and heritage
• The impact of other cultures on Wales
• How identities and culture influence actions
• What constitutes a community
• Challenging stereotypes
• Recognition that people hold different values
• Recognising and challenging discrimination and prejudice
• Peaceful resolution of differences

Choices and decisions

• Democratic and non-democratic decision making at different levels
• How to participate in decision making at different levels
• How to present a point of view
• The inter-connected consequences of making decisions
• The role of Governments
• How to be a participant in civil society

Consumption and waste

• Renewable and non-renewable resources
• Energy, food and water
• Sustainable materials and design
• The waste hierarchy
• Ecological and carbon footprints
• Supply chains
• The rights of future generations to a quality of life
• Quality of life versus standard of living
• Reassessing values
• Resolving conflicts over resources

Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship is about:

• The links between society, economy and environment and between our own lives and those of people throughout the world
• The needs and rights of both present and future generations
•  The relationship between power, resources and human rights
• It is about values and skills. It is an ethos that can be embedded, an attitude to be adopted, a value system and a way of life. It links the environment and the people who live in, and from it.