CONTEXT OF THE PRESENTATION

1. CONTEXT OF THE PRESENTATION The main part of thefindings and conclusions presented below was collected in 2003 within an international project coordinated by Borrowed Nature Association (Bulgaria). It was aimed at making an evaluation of the currentstatus, needs and potential of the EE and ESD in the countries of Southeastern Europe (SEE) through elaborationof a questionnaire-based survey and a review to support the work of the Kiev Ministerial Conference’2003, as well as the future EE and ESD strategies and activities in the SEE Region. In this aspect the survey eexamined the state of school education in ESD issues, with focus on EE components, since such data was scarce of even missing for some regions of the continent. Despite the expiry of this particular project, part of the conclusions are updated with new information in 2004 and even 2005. The following 5SEE countries are covered by the survey: Albania, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia & Montenegro The project outcomes were targeted at the needs of a number of direct beneficiaries, such as: Ministries of Education, Ministries of Environment, Governmental agencies, Local educational and environmental authorities, ESD and particularly EE experts, Teachers active in Environmental, Civic and Global Education, NGOs active in the education field and/or environment and/or social issues

2. Changes in the five SEE countries covered by the survey • A period of transition toward democracy and market economy. • Global changes in all spheres of social life. • Rebuilding and restructuring the social tissue. • The processes of interrelations between Man and Nature, i.e. between society and environment • are getting more and more important ! • The growing role of the environment is not always reflected in the process of elaboration of new • educationaltargets in the formal schools. Nevertheless, ESD gradually becomes part of the • educational strategy in all SEEcountries. Its flagship is definitely the EE, which in the same • time obtains broader scope because of the ESD comprehensiveness (see Ch. III.14 of the ESD • Strategy). ESD in these SEE countries is realized in the context of general educational reforms • expected to deliver an education built on the principles of democracy. These reforms are: • systemic – applied to all components and emphasizing on the following aspects: quality, • equity and efficiency; • continuous – focusing on the valorization of the actual results and ensuring the • necessary sustainability of the actions planned; • participatory – centered on the active participation of all strategic partners in order to • achieve the education and training system reform goals needed.

3. The most important development in the formal education reform is the promotion • of the idea of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The outcomes of the WSSD in • 2002 (Johannesburg) underpin the need tointegrate the sustainable development into • education systems at all educational levels in order to promote the education as a • key agent of change.This major statement is also a core idea of the ESD Strategy and • must be in the focus of any practical actions during the UNECE Decade of ESD! • The notion“sustainability” must become a natural part of everybody’s life and thus must be • included in regular schooling of children and youth as a compulsory part of their education, as • well as in training activities and as a part of a life-long learning process. • ESD should be based on an integrated approach to economic, social and environmental • development. Only this way the EE, civic education etc. can find their proper place! • ESD demands a shift of the educational culture towards a more integrative, process-oriented • and dynamic mode, emphasizing on critical thinking, lifelong learning and public participation. • Traditional teachers’ training and studies should be revised and sophisticated in order to • include aspects of sustainable development and consequent training with the aid of new • teaching methods. • -The leading role of the Ministries of Education and other relevant governmental bodies • should be strengthened and common visions between them should be reached.

4. So, the ESD can neither be limited to the classic topics of EE: climate change, biodiversity, nature conservation, environment, health, resources, waste etc., neither to civic education and other fields of the “new” education system. Therefore: • ESDmust not only prepare the young people for life, but it is a life-long process which must directly affect all generations; • ESD must become an integral component of all public policies, especially those concerning education, environment and economy; • At school level the ESD cannot be circumscribed as one single new subject, nor can it be given preferential status within any certain subject; • Being interdisciplinary and cross-boundary from European point of view, the time-scale required for ESD is a long-term one. We can hardly expect the ESD Decade to bring the process to its end.

5. The ESD is an action through education and education through action. • It requires: • -      Teaching understanding, observing and proceeding with care and attention; • -      Emphasizing on values, knowledge, skills, ideas, emotions, motivation; • -      Bringing together the proposals and component elements of possible future; • -      A sense of adventure and involvement in the learning process (as opposed to the • passive transmission of knowledge); • -      Methodological, didactic and organizational innovation involving all educational • providers working on projects in a spirit of true, open-minded research, crossing • over boundaries and laying down the foundation for new relations between all • subjects; • -      Changes in the traditional concepts of teaching and learning; • -      Co-operation between schools, other education players and the local community.

6. When evaluating the ESD situation in SEE, we were looking at: • Official documents in the field of Global Education. • Ongoingeducational transformations in the given SEE-country throughout • the last decade. • Functions of the Ministries of Education andthe existing educational • policies in the field of ESD. The National Coordinators had to find answers to • questions like: • Availability and status of National Standards for ESD in the given country? • Availability and status of any National Strategy and/or a relevant • Action Planfor ESD in the given country? Have any practical steps been • undertaken in this direction? • Curriculum analysis. • Educational materials and methods. • In-service and pre-serviceteachers’ training. • The role of the NGOs. • Existing good practices. • Analysis. • Elaboration ofrecommendations concerning the future ESD developments.

7. Educational developments The SEE countries under review do not represent a homogenous region, especially from the point of view of social transformations and hence the educational developments. Some of the differences have appeared due to the uneven social processes in the last ten years: Serbia and Montenegro (which formerly had the most developed system for EE before 1990s) only now are entering a period of educational reforms and are preparing accompanying changes in the field of EE and further on to ESD as a whole. Albaniaand FYRMacedonia have to overcome the heritage of the past and to change the basic functional parameters of their educational systems. Romania and Bulgaria not only are at the doorstep of accession to the European Union, but (at least on paper) have incorporated to a higher degree the modern ideas and practices into their education systems. But a lot remains to be done! Nevertheless, for the needs of analysis we have to say that these differences between SEE countries are ratherquantitative and cannot overshadow the fact that their educational systems are going through some similar developments. Such a process provides opportunities for a legitimate use of the comparative approach.

8. Common characteristics of the educational systems in each of these five SEE countries: -   An ongoing process of transformation of the educational systems; -   Very uneven process of educational changes due to a lack of resources; -   Very high dependency on ideas and resources from the Western countries; -   Not a thorough educational reform, but rather a mechanic connection between some elements of the communist model and new educational ideas. -   There is much more search for national and European identity in the field of education, than for some kind of regional or post-communist identity based on the challenges posed by the same background and problems. -   Everywhere the notions of democracy, autonomy and equal opportunities are introduced into the legal framework of the educational systems.

9. We have to stress that up to dateonly in Romania the EE has been officially declared a national priority, which is a good prerequisite to the ESD development.This must be achieved in all SEE countries! But apart of all the positive structural, institutional and value changes, the educational systems do remain very centralized. Everywhere the role of the Ministry of Education is crucial in the management of educational changes. The teachers throughout the region observed still do not possess real autonomy of decisions. On the other side, the parents and, respectively, the local community and the NGOs are notyet real educational partners of the government. In addition, there is a lot of resistance against deep educational reforms and transformations.

10. Strengths 1 • Introduction of EE into the curriculum, ensuring the necessary background for • thepromotion and realization of ESD framework docs – National ESD Strategies and • Standards; • Elaboration of education materials, improvement of school textbooks with • ESD elements; • Growth of the scientific capacities for curriculum development of ESD; • Thousands of initiatives and activities in schools for cooperation with NGOs • at local level; • Introduction of teachers’ training focused on the methodology • and content of ESD;

11. Strengths 2 • Extracurricular activities; •        Introduction of new interactive didactic methods; •        Focusing on the interdisciplinary character of the ESD and on its connections • with theeveryday reality and the local community life; •        Some partnerships within the government, and between the government • and NGOs; •        Presence of someNGOs who address the ESD at community and school levels • for changing the behavior and attitudes of pupils, students, parents and all • community members.

12. Weaknesses 1 • Quite well outlined in Chapter V.5.67 of the UNECE ESD Strategy. Nevertheless, the • list below is identified during our survey in 2003 and 2004. Many of our findings are • similar to those in the Strategy: • Legislative gaps and weaknesses in the educational laws; • Education is extremely centralized and programs are outdated, which • constitutesa serious obstacle to the incorporation of EE at school; •          The qualification of teachers is generally often inadequate, especially in • rural areas. Logically, their qualification in ESD (and particularly in EE) is not an • exclusion from this rule; • Lack of clarity in the messages from the Government • (locally-nationally-globally); • Lack of interdisciplinary training know-how (practical teaching methods; • implementation methods); lack of trainers and ToT; lack of financial and material • resources; • 

13. Weaknesses 2 • Conservative didactic approach; • Low teacher values - ethics and moral of teachers is often not meeting the ESD • values; • Poor motivation for the teachers involved in the process - time pressureand • low salariesaffect both the students and the teachers; •          Teachers engage in disloyal competition and don't communicate well between • each other; • Lack of practical activities in classes; • The curriculum is overloaded and does not provide students with skills for the • real life; •          The materials and practical guides are inappropriate; •          Shortage of school financial resources.

14. Weaknesses 3 • Lack of coordination between the responsible institutions; • Poor media coverage; •          NGO activities remain far from the requirements of schools; •          NGOs are active mainly in the capital and in some big cities, but not in • rural areas; • Low co-operation between schools and universities (university students with • sustainable development backgroundshould be encouraged to do their practice in • kindergartens, primary and secondary schools); •          Poor co-operation of educational institutions with the local authorities.

15. Conclusions and Recommendations – Part 1 1. What we need first of all is an officially declared commitment of the national authorities concerning the ESD. 2.National Environmental Education Standardshave to be elaborated in Albania, FYR Macedoniaand Serbia & Montenegro, before moving further to ESD. 3.The formal school is (and will remain) the focal point of ESD efforts. That’s why it is necessary to provide support for school management, teachers and NGOs involved in school and outdoor activities. 4. The research data is very clear on the fact that the educational materialsin SEE are quite insufficient both as quality and quantity. We observe a real gap between the educational materials produced by dozens of NGOs and the materials published with the direct support of the Ministries of Education. 5. In order to endorse ESD, the attitudes and behavior of all educational actors (pupils, students, university students, teachers, local authorities, businesses, media) have to be changed!Of course, this cannot be done at once, but must be speeded up!

16. Conclusions and Recommendations – Part 2 6.Thedevelopment of community support for ESD is a problem everywhere. ESD programs and a vital model of sustainable ESD practice can be realized only within a pro-active community! 7.Coordination between the institutions is still a problem! 8. The dissemination of the good ESD practices is important, because:           - The ESD is in fact a new idea, which is still not well known to the conventional educational audience, and even less (or not at all) to the general public; - The amount of in-service teacher training is still very limited;           - The process of dissemination of good practices is an important step towards awareness-building and making the ESD legitimate among teachers, educational managers and educational authorities.

17. Conclusions and Recommendations – Part 3 9. Theenvironmentaldevelopments in SEE, as a rule, greatly depend on the efforts and activities of the NGOs. The same is more or less valid for EE and ESD. If we want to have a successful ESD Decade in SEE, the governments must very seriously look at the UNECE Strategy on ESD, the Framework of the Decade and to elaborate feasible action plans relevant to the specific national situations. 10. The mass-media are in debt to environmentalists and to the EE. The same is even more true for the ESD and must be changed. 11.The recent status of almost complete dependency on foreign aid in the these five SEE countries, combined with the absence of real domestic financial support, should not be tolerated anymore. It is destructive for the development of ESD policies in SEE. The governments must start to mind twice the ESD when calculating the national budgets for education! 12.TheEuropean dimension must be very high on the agenda.