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The Plan addressed the need to
allocate national and international resources for basic education, for
improved integration of sustainable development into education and in
bilateral and multilateral development programmes, and urged improved
integration between publicly funded research and development and
development programmes. Following WSSD recommendation, the General Assembly,
at its 57th Session (2002), decided to adopt a decade of education for sustainable
development,
starting in 2005.
Education, Public Awareness and Training is
the focus of
Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 which is a cross-sectoral theme
considered both relevant to the implementation of the whole of Agenda 21
and indispensable for achieving sustainable development.
Following the adoption of Agenda 21 in 1992, decisions relating to
education, public awareness and training were taken by the Commission on
Sustainable Development at its fourth
(1996),fifth (1997), sixth
(1998), seventh
(1999) sessions, by the United
Nations General Assembly at its Special Session (1997), and at the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002).
In 1996, the Commission on Sustainable Development adopted an
International Work Programme on Education, Public Awareness and Training
for Sustainability in order to give added impetus and visibility to this
theme. The Work Programme was further elaborated in 1998 at CSD-VI
(Decision 6/3) and its implementation was re-emphasized in 1999 at CSD-VII (Decision 7/4).
The Work Programme adopted in 1996 provides a framework for action in
particular at the national level, but also within the UN system and with
others in the international community. It is set squarely in the
perspective of the integrated implementation of the recommendations of
all the major UN conferences and post-Rio conventions, since education
was an important theme taken up by each of these events. The Work
Programme is to be implemented in a spirit of partnership and
innovation. It encourages the identification and sharing of best
practices and the forging of linkages with the Work Programme on
Changing Production and Consumption Patterns. The review of national
education policies and the integration of education and awareness into
national strategies and plans for sustainable development are also
called for.
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