What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country, for example)?
Shanghai is a coordinating city for the Education for Sustainable Development cluster of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. The city developed the Shanghai Community Action plan to target four priority areas: community health, environment, community building and vocational competence. The project addresses the challenges of sustainable urban development by enhancing community education, resulting in increased environmental awareness of citizens and their active involvement in sustainable development.
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
The Community Action Plan was developed within the Urban Development Framework 2017-2035 to increase sustainability in Shanghai. The initiative is monitored by the Municipal Education Commission. Community educators and researchers regularly evaluate the initiative’s impact by collecting qualitative data and tracking changes in residents' lives. A comprehensive collection and synthesis of the data measures how residents apply their knowledge on sustainability. The evaluation is conducted via interviews with the help of the ESD Quick Check Tool, developed as an additional monitoring instrument to assist comprehensive assessment of ESD activities. Most community colleges and schools are involved in spreading education and enhancing knowledge on sustainable development.
Some districts of Shanghai have integrated ESD into the district-level Lifelong Education Development Programme. District community colleges and local community schools conduct ESD events and make announcements using social media and other means of communication to inform more residents about planned activities. The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission provides training on ESD for educators, which allows them to explore and integrate ESD practices in the learning environment. The Commission also organizes academic conferences and publishes annual reports on lifelong education.
Shanghai Municipal Institute for Lifelong Education has been actively involved in implementing the programme, making announcements on the key events and achievements through their website.
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
Shanghai’s Municipal Education Commission’s Division of Lifelong Education was actively involved in developing the Action Plan. Educators implement local ESD projects under the Action Plan, among them representatives from community colleges and schools, relevant municipal departments, East People’s Republic of China Normal University researchers and staff from the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences.
Another agency involved in the project is the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, which promotes health literacy by distributing booklets and conducting health classes. In addition to the principal stakeholders, the Shanghai Cultural and Broadcasting Bureau and the Spiritual Civilization Office spread awareness about different activities organized within the framework of the project.
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
Promotion of the Action Plan in Shanghai helped identify three main challenges of the community: lack of knowledge on key terminology related to ESD, the limited content area of local ESD projects and a lack of cooperation between different fields of expertise. These challenges highlighted the need for special training in the form of seminars and workshops to enhance educators’ knowledge on ESD. Moreover, it brought forward the urgent demand of expanding the curricula to include more information and activities concerning the circular economy and the sustainable supply and demand chain. Finally, it emphasized the necessity of widening the scope of resources to include diverse fields of expertise to improve ESD projects.
Promoting the Shanghai Action Plan involved cooperation and communication with external stakeholders in the field. Shanghai participated in international meetings with other member cities, observing different ESD experiences and collecting data on diverse ESD practices that the city can modify and adopt. The active involvement of educational institutions makes sustainable development integral to community education; it ensures awareness among the residents and increases their engagement in local ESD practices.
References
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. 2021. ESD Implementation in Learning Cities. [Online]
Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379535 [Accessed 1 December 2021].