Facilitator: RCE Greater Western Sydney (Ms Helen Angelakis; Dr Brenda Dobia) The facilitators and participants in the Higher Education session found the list of 37 action items a little overwhelming to consider in the time available for discussion, especially considering several of the participants had not met before. The number of items on the agenda for this session contrasted with the 5 action items listed for the Schools and Youth session and 3 items for the session on Community. The group began by questioning what was happening at member institutions with reference to action item 8, promoting the embedding of sustainability into university strategic plans. The discussion progressed to also consider action items 5, 11, 14, 17, 15, 33 and 36. The following write-up summarises the issues discussed and the substantive proposals that emerged in relation to the relevant action items. In the context of action no. 8 - Promote to embed sustainability into the strategic plan of the university, the participants discussed the progress and potential for embedding sustainability, which appeared to be p rogressing well in some universities; less so in others. In India it was noted that the University Grants Council is responsible for implementation of a sustainability curriculum. There is a mandated compulsory subject in Environmental Education courses. This example demonstrated national commitment, but leaves open the question of whether institutions see the need for sustainability education beyond designated environmental education courses, and whether the central mandating of such courses enhances or hinders institutional commitment to deeper engagement with the sustainability agenda. A deeper consideration of issues such as these could be part of a research agenda. In Bangladesh at RCE Greater Dhaka there is a mandatory 4-month course on sustainable development developed by SD faculty, who are now creating a textbook. 8,000 students have taken the course over the 4 years it has been running. One of the important drivers of success is the personal commitment to sustainability education demonstr ated by the VC of IUBAT University. Regarding the action point no. 5, keep key power holders involved, i.e. leadership of institution, local and national policy makers, politicians in general, private sector - the group deliberated further by discussing th e example of IUBAT that showed the benefit of having strong leadership support and, by comparison, the challenge experienced elsewhere of engaging and maintaining such support. At RCE Greater Western Sydney there was strong support in the establishment phase of the RCE, but at VC and DVC level it has been more difficult to maintain engagement and efforts to embed sustainability have only recently begun to gain support. The delegates questioned whether the support emerging is based on a depth of understanding of the SDGs or whether it is thought of principally as a selling point. In this light there is a need for ongoing work to educate the institutional leadership on what ESD and the SDGs entail. As far as action point no. 1-RCE influence university leadership to infuse ESD into the curriculum- 11 Breakout Session on Higher Education Key discussion points:
10th Asia-Pacific RCE Regional Meeting Report
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