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Key Message

National and local learning agendas should be agendas for change—helping citizens to live sustainably.

Manitoba and the UN Decade for Education in Sustainable Development

Contributing to education in our home province

What's New?

  • Sustainability Policies at the School Division Level in Manitoba: The status of policy development and its relationship to actions in schools (PDF - 511 kb)
    This report, prepared with the support of the Province of Manitoba and presented to Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, looks at how sustainability policies at the school division level in Manitoba intersect with what happens in schools. The authors observe a "real movement" among many Manitoba schools to promote sustainability.

  • Conference Report: Choose the Future: Education for Sustainable Development (PDF - 2.2 mb)
    Held in Winnipeg, Canada, November 26-28, 2008, this international conference was planned for everyone who understands that education is required to sustain our future."Choose the Future" stands as a major contribution to Canadian activities supporting the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). These proceedings present abstracts of the keynote presentations and the concurrent sessions that took place over the three days. This conference was a project of the Manitoba Education for Sustainable Development Working Group. The Science Teachers Association of Manitoba (STAM) was a major sponsor and partner in the conference.

  • Measuring Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours toward Sustainable Development: Two Exploratory Studies
    (PDF - 445 kb)
    The United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development seeks to encourage changes in behaviour towards sustainable development. Work is underway around the world to integrate SD concepts and values into the learning process. But how do we measure whether behaviours are changing as a result? This paper is a first attempt to devise standardized tests for knowledge, attitudes and behaviours toward sustainable development, in adults and students.


Manitoba and Canada work on the Decade

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (MECY) has taken a leadership position nationally in working with Learning for a Sustainable Future and Environment Canada on activities for the 2005 to 2014 Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, established by the United Nations.

A National ESD Expert Council has been established, together with the creation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) provincial working groups. MECY has started to pilot provincial activities as a showcase to other provinces. The Manitoba ESD Working Group is focusing on education and training institution policies, school activities, K-12 curriculum, and learning outcomes and resources. IISD is working with MECY to develop materials for senior education officials (principals, trustees, superintendents, etc.) and educators in order to build awareness and support for ESD activities, and provide tools for their participation.

IISD's three major interests are:

IISD is particularly interested in the challenge of assessing changes in societies in knowledge, choices and attitudes that can be attributed in some measure to the work of the UN Decade. We have initiating research into how to establish a baseline of sustainable development awareness, and what will be required to monitor that baseline over the next few years. Measuring Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours toward Sustainable Development: Two Exploratory Studies (PDF - 445 kb) is a first attempt to devise standardized tests for knowledge, attitudes and behaviours toward sustainable development, in adults and students.

About the UN Decade

During the UN Decade, UNESCO, the appointed task-leader, will be assisting governments, educators and all relevant stakeholders to develop innovative and culturally relevant strategies for ESD. ESD does not imply creating a new educational program, but requires the re-orientation of educational systems so that they integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects of learning, and encourage change in behaviour that promotes justice and sustainability for all.

UNESCO has translated this into four objectives.

1. Facilitate networking, linkages, exchange and interaction among stakeholders in ESD.

2. Foster an increased quality of teaching and learning in education for sustainable development.

3. Help countries make progress towards and attain Millennium Development Goals through ESD efforts.

4. Provide countries with new opportunities to incorporate ESD into education reform efforts.

UNESCO: Education for Sustainable Development: United Nations Decade (2005–2014) is the official UNESCO site tracking ESD activities around the globe.

Other international actors on ESD