Education for sustainable development and global
citizenship
Education for sustainable development and global citizenship (ESDGC) seeks to integrate the principles of environmental, economic, and social sustainability in a framework where these values contribute to and inform the future development of higher education through the curriculum, the links between universities and society and through their management of the estate. ESDGC is consistent with the aspirations of the Welsh Government sustainability scheme One Wales One Planet, and supports the United Nations Decade of Sustainability 2005-2015.
Each university in Wales has appointed an ESDGC champion as the focal point of contact and coordination for developing this agenda. This group supported by the Higher Education Academy works to develop ESDGC collaboratively within HE in Wales. Projects include:
- The development of a Welsh sector curriculum audit which examined both the frequency and depth of ESDGC within the curriculum
- An analysis and comparison of ESDGC best practice within the HE sector
- The development of the United Nations Regional Centre of Expertise Wales Developed jointly by Swansea University and University of Wales, Newport
The development of Towards a Common Understanding and Development of ESDGC provides a briefing paper than can be used for HE staff students, those involved in strategic planning. The document is also intended for a wider audience to develop an understanding of the role that higher education can play in ESDGC.
The Welsh institutional ESDGC network aims to support institutions in keeping abreast of the numerous initiatives and developments that fall within the compass of ESDGC. This is coupled with a sense that it is difficult for colleagues within their home institutions to appreciate and embrace the full scope of ESDGC. This document is an attempt by the ESDGC network to present a succinct and as far as possible, jargon-free, holistic view of ESDGC. The document is aimed at all categories of staff and students within an HE institution.
In 2010 HEFCW provided funding for Swansea University and University of Wales, Newport to investigate an approach to baselining ESDGC within HE. This followed on from a recommendation contained in the earlier report An Analysis and Comparison of ESCGC Best Practice in HE. The resulting study sets out and tests a methodology which could be used to develop this approach within Wales. It is intended that this work will be further developed through the ESDGC HE Network Group.
