By Saquib Hanif

Karachi, March 20: One would have thought that a cutting edge concept such as Education for Sustainable Development would not be a big draw, especially during the working week. But that was clearly not the case with the conference on ESD organized by IUCN- the World Conservation Union Pakistan in collaboration with UNESCO Islamabad.

The two-day event kicked off on March 20 at Avari Towers, Karachi. The conference attracted over 150 people from all over Pakistan who attended the concurrent workshops with keen interest. The purpose of the workshops was to establish ESD linkages with key sectors such as education, civil society, media and business.

Given it vast network and global outreach, IUCN managed to invite internationally renowned ESD specialists, including Frits Hesselink from IUCN’s Commission on Education and Communication and Shivani Jain from the Centre of Environment Education (CEE), India. The conference was part of a series of initiatives to promote ESD in Pakistan during the UN’s Decade of ESD (2005-14).

The concept of ESD has evolved from that of environmental education (EE). While EE focused on green issues and change among individual attitudes, ESD is an all-inclusive concept that goes beyond formal education to include sustainable development imperatives by effecting a paradigm change in collective thinking.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Guest Dr. Hamida Khuhro, Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy, stressed on the key role played by education in promoting sustainable development. According to Dr. Khuhro, integrating sustainable development was crucial for developing nations such as Pakistan to sustain economic growth and well-being.

For his part, Frits Hesselink discussed the principles underpinning the concept of ESD with specific reference to his experiences in other parts of the world, especially the Netherlands. For the ESD movement to gather speed, Hessilink added, there was an urgent need for “deep change” at various levels of society, including government, business, civil society, academia and media.

Dr. Imtiaz Alvi of the World Bank mapped the scope of sustainable development in Pakistan as well as challenges faced by organizations such as IUCN Pakistan. Country Representative IUCN Pakistan Sohail Malik spoke briefly about the organization and hoped that IUCN’s partnership with UNESCO Islamabad would result in taking the ESD agenda forward. In her wrap-up of the inauguration ceremony, Zohra Rehmat Ali, Coordinator Education Programme, focused on IUCN Pakistan’s efforts to promote ESD at the federal, provincial and district levels and the relevant resource material developed for the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of the education sector.

The major outcome of the conference was the formation of a National Forum on ESD that would advocate for ESD and act as a focal group to support relevant multi- sectoral work in the country. The national conference also provided IUCN Pakistan the opportunity to launch Azsarenau Sochiyay Inkar Kijyay, Kum Kijiyay, that has been adapted and translated into Urdu from an English publication titled Rethink Refuse Reduce developed by the Field Studies Council, UK. The publication will be used as a manual for teachers and trainers across the county.