Participants in the ESDA symposium. (Photo: UNU)

From 25 to 27 February, 15 African and 20 Japanese university-based experts in teaching sustainable development met at UNU Headquarters in Tokyo to launch a three-year UNU project on Education for Sustainable Development in Africa (ESDA). The aim of this project, seed-funded by the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, is to develop and test a post-graduate programme of education for sustainable development in Africa. The basis of the programme will be a network to be established between African and Japanese universities under UNU auspices.

The three-day conference was opened with keynote speeches from Prof. Hiroshi Komiyama (President, University of Tokyo), Prof. Calestous Juma (Professor of the Practice of International Development, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University), and Prof. Said Irandoust (President, Asian Institute of Technology). Participants discussed the particular sustainability challenges that Africa faces, and what is needed in higher education to meet these challenges.

The final day of the conference featured  a public symposium on “The Role of Universities in the Promotion of Education for Sustainable Development in Africa.” This symposium, organized jointly by the UNU Institute for Sustainability and Peace and UNU Institute for Advanced Studies, featured sessions on “Sustainability Challenges in Africa” and “Education for Sustainable Development in Africa”.

Prof. Akito Arima, former Minister of Education, Japan, and former President of the University of Tokyo,  delivered the keynote address.  Prof. Arima highlighted the critical role that universities must play in preparing future generations for sustainable development tasks.

An video of the symposium can be viewed online at http://c3.unu.edu/videoportal/? 231.

The ESDA project, carried out as part of UNU’s plan to soon begin awarding postgraduate degrees, also represents one of the UNU’s contributions to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).

Links:

• More information on Education for Sustainable Development from UNU-IAS

• Video of the public symposium