Summary: Youth Forum Preparatory Session on Peace
Small Group Discussion: Information, Education, and Sustainable Development
Version française
Introduction
It is important to know everyone’s motivations for attending this workshop in relation with his/her personal experience. Only 6 persons are attending the workshop.
- David Alfon: student in public health management at the University of Los Angeles. Interested in methods of transmitting information in a way that heightens public awareness in public health matters.
- Humberto Insolera: student researching education policies for handicapped people, particularly the deaf, as he himself is deaf. David will serve as an interpreter for Humberto via the written word.
- Francesca: teacher and member of a development educational group in Italy.
- Myriam Bouverat: discussion Moderator: works in the field of education toward sustainable development at the
Fondation Education et Développement in Switzerland.
- Two forum volunteers attended the workshop.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to specify with each participant whether we were all talking about education for, towards or in sustainable development! But the question is open!
Parenthesis
One of the participants to the workshop is deaf. David allowed communication via his laptop, and a colleague knowing the language of the deaf joined us later.
We touched on the question of handicapped people, and the deaf in particular, as related to access to communication means, starting with sign language.
The moderator shared her African experience, indicating that the majority of the population there uses a traditional sign language that allows communication between people of different idioms, but also with deaf people. She has noted that communication with deaf people is better in Africa than in our technologically advanced societies, where it is practically inexistent in the majority of the population.
Humberto aptly remarks that this is no reason for not enhancing the use of sign language on a universal basis and provide adequate communication means to all the deaf and hard of hearing.
Presentation of the approach taken by the Fondation Education et Développement
In order to establish a basis for discussion, the moderator presented a few key elements of the approach of education toward sustainable development that she uses within the Fondation Education et Développement (FED).
The FED is a national organization dedicated to fostering education in a global perspective in the three linguistic regions (French, German, Italian) of Switzerland. Its main activity themes are sustainable development, human rights, inter-cultural matters and peace.
Two principles constitute the basis of education toward sustainable development:
- Adopt a global perspective
A question of society can only be approached with one single perspective (economic, social or environmental), under one single angle. We have to analyze problems under different angles, to enable each actor to state his point, to place oneself beyond personal interests, to look at things from a distance. This allows a global perspective of a question such as, for example, water, or trade.
- Provide analysis tools
The problems of today’s world are complex and require training personnel and a certain number of tools:
- Teaching material based on a systemic approach
- Initial and ongoing training of trainers, teachers and multiplicateurs
- Project follow-up and advice
- Co-ordination of NGO and associations offerings in the field of education in a global perspective
in schools for Switzerland.
- Collaboration with similar networks at the European and, as far as possible, at the world level.
- Participation in the elaboration of curricula and teaching programmes so as to introduce trans-disciplinary domains such as sustainable development or human rights.
Definitions of sustainable development
There are hundreds of definitions of sustainable development and everyone has his/her personal idea of this concept. In general, however, in the minds of the majority of the population, the concept is related only to the environment and based principally on Western values. As for education, is even harder to find a common definition!
Of course, one can also question the notion of development...
This is why it is necessary to agree on a common basis.
A framework for communication
To educate toward sustainable development is to look, in any activity and action, for the best possible balance between the economical, social and environmental factors.
Our own values influence the way we perceive this balance. Thus we must first agree on a minimum of common values which will allow us to analyze a situation already on a local scale.
This simple model (fig.1) is only a an analysis and comprehension tool. It simply allows us to look at a problem without forgetting any of its aspects. It can also be expanded (fig.2).
Conclusions
We need to exchange ideas on our values, on the articulation of our interventions, of our communications, of our teachings. To remember that what is good for ourselves may not be good for others.
Education toward or in sustainable development must be multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary, cooperative, participative.
Leaders and trainers in the South should have access to this type of training within the WCSF or elsewhere. This is an opportunity to discuss underlying values of sustainable development and to foster the collaboration between NGO’s and UN Agencies we are striving to achieve.
NGO’s should also be encouraged to communicate in a global perspective toward sustainable development, rather than to specialize in a particular field. Problems are complex, and we must learn to deal with this complexity.
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