United Nations Division for Sustainable Development- Sustainable Development Issues - Education

EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

Section X, of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) adopted by WSSD reaffirmed both the Millennium Declaration goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015 and the goal of the Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and at all levels of education by 2015. The JPOI addressed the need to integrate sustainable development into formal education at all levels, as well as through informal and non-formal education opportunities.

Following the WSSD recommendation, the General Assembly, at its 57th Session (2002), proclaimed a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development - DESD (2005-2014) and designated UNESCO as lead agency for its promotion. The Decade was globally launched in New York on 1 March 2005. Prior to the launch, UNESCO developed an international framework for implementing DESD and later drafted an International Implementation Scheme. The General Assembly, at its 59th session (2004), took note of these developments and requested that a mid-term progress report on the implementation of DESD be submitted at its 65th session (2010).

The International Implementation Scheme was approved by the UNESCO Executive Board session in September 2005.

Education, Public Awareness and Training is the focus of Chapter 36 of Agenda 21. This is a cross-sectoral theme both relevant to the implementation of the whole of Agenda 21 and indispensable for achieving sustainable development.