NATIONAL CAPACITY NEEDS SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT > MINUTES

 

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Government Building #3,
Republic Square,
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel: (3741) 583 920
Fax: (3741) 583 932
ncsa@nature.am

Executor: Association "For Sustainable Human Development" / UNEP National Committee.
Financial  and information support: OSCE Armenia and UNDP (UNDP/GEF Program "Armenia National Capacity Self Assessment).
Information support: Pan-European Ecoforum (section "Education for Sustainable Development") and UNDPI.

The Caucasian regional workshop "Education for Sustainable Development" was held on December 22-23, 2003 in Yerevan, in the conference hall of UN/Armenia.

Participants:
65 people participated at the workshop: representatives of the education system and nongovernmental organizations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Russian Federation, as well as representatives of the RA Government and National Assembly, international organizations and mass media.

  • Foreign participants: representatives of Pan-European Ecoforum and Center "Eco-Accord" (The Russian Federation), Scientific Center "Biorhythm" and "Azerbaijan Society of Regional Research" (Azerbaijan), "Green Union of Georgia" and "Movement for Sustainable Development of Georgia" (Georgia).
  • Local participants: Yerevan  representatives of ministries and departments, Universities, secondary schools, key NGOs, reporters; Regions of Armenia  representatives of Universities, schools and local NGOs from Hrazdan, Sisian, Martuni, Noemberyan, Alaverdi, Giumri and Stepanavan towns.

Opening speeches were made by: Mr. Vladimir Pryakhin (Head of OSCE mission in Armenia), Mrs. Liz Grande (Resident representative of UNDP and UN coordinator in Armenia), Mr. Vardan Aivazyan (Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia), Mrs. Victoria Elias (co-chair of Pan-European Ecoforum), as well as representatives of delegations from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.

The workshop was targeted at:

  • familiarizing participants with documents adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (UN, Johannesburg, August-September 2002), UNESCO, the Conference of Ministers of Environment of the UN ECE Region (Kiev, May 2003), UN General Assembly (December 20, 2002) and other international materials in the sphere of "Education for Sustainable Development",
  • exchanging experience on activities in the sphere of formal and informal education for SD;
  • drafting a plan of joint actions for the oncoming Decade of Education for SD and submitting it to UN.

The Agenda of the workshop is attached.
Participants of the workshop received folders with stationary and the following materials:

  • "UN Decade of Education for SD (January 2005-December 2014). International scheme of implementation". UNESCO, July 2003 (in English).
  • "Life-long Education  on the way to implementation of the goals of the UNESCO Program "Education for All" and decisions of the Fifth International Conference on Education for Adults" (Sofia, November 2002).
  • "Statement of the Ministers of Environment of UN ECE countries on education for SD" (materials of the Fifth Conference of Ministers of Environment "Environment for Europe", Kiev, May 2003);
  • "Frameworks for activities in the sphere of education for SD after the Kiev Conference" (Materials of the Ninth session of the UN ECE Committee on Environmental policy, November 2003);
  • A CD with materials on global environmental conventions and other information prepared by UNDP/GEF "Armenia. Assessment of National Potential".

In the process of the workshop the following materials were also distributed:

  • "UNESCO and International Decade of Education for Sustainable Development" (2005-2014)" ("Contact", International bulletin of UNESCO on scientific-technical and environmental education, #1-2, 2003);
  • "Comments of the Center "Eco-Accord" to the UNESCO Draft Plan of the International Implementation of the DESD";
  • "OSCE strategy document for the economic and environmental dimensions" (in English);

In addition, participants of the workshop received as many copies as they wanted of the following publications by the Association "For SHD":

  • "Earth Charter" in Russian and Armenian;
  • Textbook for Universities "Concept of Sustainable Development: Theory and Practice";
  • Ecobulletin #1-2 "Results of the World Summit on Sustainable Development";
  • The Code "Sustainability in Sports" in Armenian;
  • "Guidelines on Local Agendas 21 for cities of countries in transition (based on the experience of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia).

The two days comprised of presentations of reports and statements (in accordance with the attached agenda), as well as a discussion around the received information and possible future cooperation in the framework of the UN Decade "Education for SD".

A decision was made to create a workgroup for development of a Plan of joint activities for DESD. The Resolution adopted by the workshop and submitted to UNESCO is attached.

Ecobulletin #5 with the materials of the workshop is being developed.

The workshop was broadly covered by mass-media.

A cultural program was organized for the foreign participants during their stay in Yerevan (sightseeing, a visit to the brandy factory, a tour to Garni-Geghart).

The financial report has been submitted to OSCE earlier.

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