— BACKGROUND —
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all the countries to achieve by 2030 in order to transform the world for sustainable future. Education is acknowledged to be the most powerful means to raise awareness and knowledge about pressing global challenges that concern sustainability, amongst them human-induced climate change and global warming, environmental degradation, limited and recklessly exploited resources, poverty and unsustainable economic structures, demographic changes, etc. To facilitate the transition of the planet and the global society to a sustainable world, the SDGs demand that by 2030 “all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development…” (SDG 4 Target 7) and that “people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development” (SDG 12 Target 8).
In response to the challenges, faced by governments and populations around the world, a lot is being made to thoroughly equip education as a key enabler of the SDGs. But the problem is that the ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) efforts need education, which is sustainable itself. Focusing on education, SDG 4 stresses the criticality of ensuring high-quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Much still remains to be done to consolidate the transformative potential of the relevant national and international stakeholders.