On the occasion of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, the leaders of the international academic community are called upon to commit to the development of sustainable practices for Higher Education Institutions. They are invited to sign on to a Declaration.
The Declaration that institution leaders are invited to sign also commits them to:
encourage research on sustainable development issues; “green” campuses
by, among other things, reducing the environmental footprint through
energy, water and material resource efficiencies in buildings and
facilities; support sustainability efforts in the communities in which
they reside; and exchange knowledge and experiences, and report
regularly on progress and challenges, through international frameworks,
such as the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the
international community committed to making every effort to ensure
sustainable development for the benefit of present and future
generations. The aim of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable
Development, or Rio+20, is to secure renewed political commitment for
sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining
gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on
sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges.
Higher Education Institutions educate and train decision makers, they
play a key role in building more sustainable societies and creating new
paradigms. As educational institutions, they have the mission to promote
development through both research and teaching, disseminating new
knowledge and insight to their students and building their capabilities.
Given the objectives of Rio+20, Higher Education Institutions have a
special responsibility to provide leadership on education for
Education for sustainable development aims
at enabling everyone to acquire the values, competencies, skills and
knowledge necessary to contribute to building a more sustainable
society. This implies revising teaching content to respond to global and
local challenges. It should also promote teaching methods that enable
students to acquire skills such as interdisciplinary thinking,
integrated planning, understanding complexity, cooperating with others
in decision-making processes, and participating in local, national and
global processes towards sustainable development.
Higher Education Sustainability Initiative for Rio +20
Anlässlich der diesjährigen UN-Konferenz für nachhaltige Entwicklung („Rio +20-Konferenz“) können Hochschulen und sonstige Einrichtungen der akademischen Bildung eine Deklaration unterzeichnen, mit der sie die Bedeutung und Notwendigkeit einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung ihrer Einrichtung unterstreichen.