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This section showcases a range of examples of good practices.
The specific projects featured, illustrate how ESD, Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue can work synergistically. They were chosen because of the learning potential they offer to those who are at the start of their journey. The templates summarising the projects’ intentions, components and processes are available for download together with relevant images and supporting material.
Do visit our matrix of good practices to review the characteristics of the projects featured in this section.
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Disclaimer:
The ‘good practice’ examples featured in this database were chosen by the researchers of the International Research Institute in Sustainability (IRIS) based on a careful evaluation of the templates received and in light of the criteria defined in the guidance document.
While every effort is made to ensure the quality of the information contained in this webtool, this implies neither responsibility for , nor approval of the initiatives or opinions featured therein on the part of UNESCO.
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this webtool do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries
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Case Study from Australia
The Kurilpa Cultural Project: Connecting Sustainability and cultural initiatives in an Australian childcare setting.
Download Completed Template
Kurilpa Community Childcare Centre
The Kurilpa Cultural Project is an action research project undertaken at a childhood education centre in Australia. The project aimed to build a holistic understanding of sustainability across all aspects of service delivery. It engaged educators in critical reflection to assess the influence of their own cultural backgrounds on their thinking and practices, as individuals, and educators in early childhood settings. The project involved children in learning about cultural diversity in the context of sustainable development. The key topics explored included Reconciliation, embedding Indigenous perspectives, sustainability and multilingualism. The action research project invited transformative and participatory learning. It encouraged educators to become instigators of change within their centre as well as use their own practice as a basis for evaluation and improvement of sustainability and cultural diversity issues.
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Key Contact: Melinda Miller
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©UNESCO/Miller |
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Case Study from China
Community Education for Sustainable Development on the Tibetan Plateau
Download Completed Template
Shangri-la Institute
The Community ESD Project seeks to facilitate and support sustainability learning processes and initiatives to promote community participation in selected areas on the Tibetan Plateau and beyond. The aim is to enable communities of these areas to actively participate as citizens in the development and conservation of an ecologically sustainable, economically viable, socially just and democratic society. The project is located in an area with rich cultural diversity. Culture is a major concern of many of the communities which believe that their unique cultures need to be preserved and shared with others for common benefit. The project has used cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue as the basis for informing ESD and as integral parts of the planning and implementation stages. It has offered opportunities for communities with different cultural backgrounds, beliefs and philosophies to share and exchange ideas as well as set up common goals for a sustainable future in the region.
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Related Materials
Key Contact: Yunhua Liu
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© Lord Raleigh/Shangri-la Institute for Sustainable Communities |
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Case Study from Asia and Pacific Region
Stengthening the bonds between scientific literacy and human understanding: Local area networks to help build cross-border solutions for disaster management
Download Completed Template
La Trobe University
The Project aims to develop the scientific skills and competencies of young scientists in remote and developing locations in the Asia and Pacific region. It engages these young scientists, and their teachers, in projects which strengthen links between science and social practice in water management (including climate patterns) and biodiversity. Working from the principle that sustainable outcomes are linked with culturally embedded knowledge and skills, the Project facilitates and promotes local networks and links between local and remote communities. It promotes dialogues at local level through the use of local mythology, representations and oral histories. By sharing these understandings there is the possibility for better linking sustainability improvement strategies with traditional practices.
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Key Contact: Prof Margaret Robertson
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©Margaret Robertson/La Trobe University |
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Case Study from Mexico
Higher Intercultural Education For Sustainability In Rural Veracruz, Mexico
Download Completed Template
Universidad Veracruzana
This Project contributes to building a sustainable society through an articulated education and research strategy which integrates sustainability and cultural principles through community participatory processes. The Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural (UVI) acknowledges that there is the need for providing sustainability learning opportunities which connect cultural issues, students and local communities. It is hoped that through the project future professionals and their communities will be more capable to respond to sustainability issues such as water and forest management, food security or environmental health. The Project promotes the creation of intercultural spaces for UVI students and others from the local community so that visions for a sustainable future can be developed. Local knowledge on sustainability issues is valued and enriched with other sources of knowledge through intercultural dialogue.
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Key Contact: Helio M. García Campos
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Case Study from UK
Linking Karma to Climate Change (The K2CC Project)
Download Completed Template
The Lotus Trust
The K2CC Project is designed to help the British Hindu community reduce their ecological footprint by linking sustainability actions to scriptural injunctions. The Project acknowledges that standard educational messages, couched in the thought patterns of middle England, may not be the best way to reach the hearts and minds of Hindus. It seeks to construct a cultural resonant sustainability message built on the traditions, cultural beliefs and authorities of the Hindu community in England. Different initiatives and educational experiences have been organised in various Hindu festivals and forums engaging this community in acting towards sustainability through connecting sustainable development with spiritual believes.
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Key Contact: Martin Haigh
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©Sheila Chauhan/Lotus Trust |
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Case Study from China
Water School for a Living Yangtze - Phase 1 (2008-2010)
Download Completed Template
Shangri-la Institute
The Water School for a Living Yangtze aims to restore the ecological integrity of the Yangtze River through effective public participation in sustainable water resource management. Through participatory learning and action initiatives by schools and communities, the Project aims to foster environmental stewardship in selected watershed of the Yangtze. The strong focus on regional specific resources allows for local conditions, community needs and cultural heritage to be identified and incorporated within the learning. Through enhancing place-based learning, communities and students are able to directly learn from their environment and simultaneously understand their cultural values. Active learning, creative expressions and intercultural dialogue are also promoted to envisage sustainable futures and collaboratively discuss viable options for achieving sustainability.
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Shangri-la Institute - Water School
Related Materials
Key Contact: Duojie Caidan |
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@Alexina Liao/Shangri-la Institute for Sustainable Communities |
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Case Study from Mediterranean Region
HYDRIA: Collection, Storage & Distribution of Water in Antiquity - Linking Ancient Wisdom to Modern Needs
Download Completed Template
Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Developments
HYDRIA is an awareness and sensitisation website about water related cultural diversity which primarily targets citizens of the Mediterranean countries. HYDRIA uses water as a vehicle to unfold the diverse and common, tangible and intangible Mediterranean cultural heritage. The website showcases several case studies from the Mediterranean countries. These are presented via a series of texts, photographic material, as well as 2D animations. In these case studies, links are made to cultural elements that depict how societies evolved around water resources. HYDRIA highlights these links through the “ESD lenses”. It presents the water related cultural heritage making connections to today´s concepts, principles and challenges of sustainability.
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HYDRIA Project
Key Contact: Ms Iro Alampei |
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© MIO-ECSDE/Stelios Lekakis |
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Case Study from Canada
The Human Factor – Personalizing a Global Challenge through Museum Exhibits and Programs
Download Completed Template
Royal Saskatchewan Museum
As cultural stakeholders and a key part of the informal education system, museums attract millions of visitors every year and provide unique spaces for reflection, discussion, and learning. The Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Canada was motivated to develop The Human Factor exhibit and its programs which reflect the institution commitment to become an agent of social change. The main objective of The Human Factor exhibit is to foster consciousness and empowerment around the fact that humanity’s ecological footprints are challenging limits and knocking systems out of balance. The Project aims to instil a sense of wonder and concern about the global ecosystem and the different phases of human and cultural development, to encourage critical reflection about our dependence on nature and human communities, and to stimulate discussions and actions to negotiate sustainable pathways.
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Key Contact: Glenn Sutter |
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© Royal Saskatchewan Museum |
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Case Study from Ethiopia
Connecting youth with culture, nature and themselves for sustainable life
Download Completed Template
MELCA
This Project promotes the role and value of indigenous knowledge, traditional practices and lifestyles in achieving sustainability in Ethiopian communities. The Project uses an intergenerational learning approach to engage students in schools in understanding their own cultural background, respect the traditional values and practices of their communities, and become change agents for cultural diversity and sustainability. The students are taken to natural spaces and are involved in critically reflecting upon their cultural assumptions and how these relate to nature conservation and sustainability. Elders from their communities talk to them about biodiversity and tell them stories which are rooted in their cultures. Students have the opportunity to learn about traditional practices, but also to confront them with the scientific knowledge learned at school.
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Key Contact: Million Belay
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Image courtesy of MELCA-Ethiopia
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International Case Study
ARTiculating Values: Youngsters act in EuroMed. Creative & peoples-connecting value debate (ART)
Download Completed Template
Interkulturelles Zentrum
ARTiculating Values seeks to promote intercultural dialogue amongst youth from the EU member states and MEDA-countries to share visions and pathways for a more sustainable world. The Project has also involved youth coming from different social contexts (cultural minorities, migrants, etc.). Through training sessions using creative expressions, critical and creative pedagogies, as well as creating intercultural and social learning spaces, the Project has engaged young people in critically reflecting upon their own values and worldviews, questioning cultural assumptions and sharing common goals to achieve a more peaceful and sustainable society.
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Related Materials
Key Contact: Rebecca Luise Zeilinger
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© Interkulturelles Zentrum |
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Case Study from Spain
Living, learning and acting for the future in a historically and culturally significant city
Download Completed Template
Universitat de Girona
This Project focuses on the sustainability learning experiences offered through the teacher education programme at the University of Girona (Spain). The programme aims to train future educators as professionals who will transmit a body of knowledge related to the sustainability and cultural heritage of the city of Girona and experiences related to it. It offers opportunities to future teachers to learn how to know and live, and how to foster a sustainable urban centre in Girona, a historical and cultural city in Catalonia, Spain. Different initiatives are designed so as to encourage students to reflect critically on the social and cultural dimensions of sustainability in the context of the city of Girona; learn about the different cultures which have influenced and shaped the cultural heritage and living of this city; and, engage learners in envisioning a sustainable city.
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Key Contact: Rosa Maria Medir
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Case Study from Argentina
Education for Sustainability Programme
Download Completed Template
Universidad San Andrés Education for Sustainability Programme
The Education for Sustainability Programme is a school project in Argentina which facilitates the process of embedding ESD and cultural diversity in specific practices, initiatives and content in a school context. Project-based and action learning are the key methodologies and pedagogies used to enhance the commitment, ownership and active participation of students and teachers, so they can become real change agents for sustainability. This learning process is based on the creation of intercultural dialogue and participation spaces where the development of human creativity is possible in different areas: critical thinking, futures thinking, acting with local and global responsibility, participating in democratic decision-making processes, understanding different cultural worldviews, challenging cultural assumptions, and freedom of expression.
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Key Contact: Damasia Ezcurra
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©UNESCO/udesa |
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Case Study from Brazil
Programa Certificação “Turismo CO2 Neutro” (Tourism Carbon Free Certification Program)
Download Completed Template
Associação Movimento Mecenas da Vida
The Brazilian Project aims to reorient tourist practices towards sustainability through collectively reducing and neutralizing the CO2 emissions generated by the tourism industry. The Project involves various stakeholders including local farmers, tourism companies and tourists and provides them with intercultural dialogue spaces where they can question and challenge traditional farming practices and tourist business models. Through these spaces and other educational and awareness activities, stakeholders define common goals to move towards sustainability within their region and become change agents implementing transformative actions which improve nature conservation and tourist practices.
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Key Contact: Eva Arbat
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©Movimento Mecenas da Vida |
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Case Study from Japan
Education for Sustainable Development and Cultural Diversity in Montsebu, Hokkaido, Japan
Download Completed Template
Mopetsu Sanctuary Network (in Japanese)
This Project encourages sustainable development practices through empowering the Ainu, an indigenous people in Northern Japan, and promoting the right to recovery of their ancestral lands and natural resource use. A network called Mo-pet Sanctuary Network (MSN) was set up and includes local members, indigenous and non-indigenous people, as well as different NGOs to discuss visions and pathways towards sustainability. Ainu people have been actively involved in decision-making processes of local development. This process is relevant to ensure that diverse people from different cultural backgrounds can live together and respect each other. The project has also raised awareness about the importance of Ainu indigenous knowledge and values to move towards sustainable development.
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Key Contact: Fumiko Noguchi |
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