Integrating issues concerning sustainable development, in particular Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is a subject that has been on the agenda of the UNESCO TVET Programme for over a decade. The Second International Congress on TVE held in Seoul, South Korea in 1999 drew attention to the need to do so by recommending that TVET be re-oriented to sustainable development. Five years later, an international experts meeting held in Bonn, Germany in 2004 highlighted this subject. The Bonn Declaration that was issued at the close of the meeting captured the continuing importance of re-orienting TVET to sustainable development. This can be seen in references in several paragraphs to phrases and clauses such as ‘sustainable societies’, ‘sustainable industries’, ‘TVET initiatives that alleviate poverty...’, and ‘TVET initiatives…pivotal to human-centred sustainable development’ (UNESCO, 2004a). Going further than the Second International Congress, the International Experts Meeting produced concrete suggestions for action planning, comprising the following:
advocacy and vision building; support for the review and development of national TVET policies; guidelines for planning and implementation; capacity building and training programmes; learning support materials and resources and equipment; networking and partnerships in TVET; and ongoing monitoring, evaluation and research (UNESCO, 2004b).
The case studies are, in alphabetical order by country:
A survey of experiences and practices in current use for integrating education for sustainable development in TVET in Botswana, by Matthews Phiri;
Case study for Integrating Education for Sustainable Development in Model Youth Polytechnics in Kenya, by Joy Kasandi Kelemba;
A study of a current model for integrating education for sustainable development in centres of excellence in TVET in Kenya, by John Simiyu;
A case study of initiatives in the current use for integrating education for sustainable development in TVET in Malawi, by Modesto Sylvester Gomani;
A case study of practices for integrating education for sustainable development in TVET for the tourism industry in Mauritius, by Roland Dubois and Koontee Balgobin; and
A case study of practices for integrating education for sustainable development in TVET: the case of Mobile Mission Maintenance Vocational Training Centre, Ndola, Zambia, by Gabriel S. Konayuma.
