Citizens Managing Change
Introducing a forum to communicate ideas and achievements for life long learning in a '2030 carbon-free culture'.
Introducing a forum to communicate ideas and achievements for life long learning in a '2030 carbon-free culture'.
2030 Sustainable Development Goals
2030 Sustainable Development Goals
At the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015, 193 state and government leaders adopted the declaration on Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development2 , at its core are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and its 169 objectives. A new feature is the detailed breakdown in different spheres of activity and the target groups, because the SDGs are addressed to all nations, the so-called “developed” countries as well as developing and emerging countries. Thus Germany appears as a developing country. The implementation of the 17 SDGs by 2030 can succeed only through societal rethinking and a change in our political and personal patterns of behaviour.
At the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2015, 193 state and government leaders adopted the declaration on Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development2 , at its core are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and its 169 objectives. A new feature is the detailed breakdown in different spheres of activity and the target groups, because the SDGs are addressed to all nations, the so-called “developed” countries as well as developing and emerging countries. Thus Germany appears as a developing country. The implementation of the 17 SDGs by 2030 can succeed only through societal rethinking and a change in our political and personal patterns of behaviour.
Global Learning
Global Learning
Global Learning is an interdisciplinary educational concept which can be understood as a pedagogical response to the sustainable development needs of our global society. At its centre is the interaction between the local and the global level, with action-oriented lifelong learning as the aim, with the acquisition of skills so that one can orient oneself in this globalised world and live responsibly. Correspondingly broad is its interface with areas such as human rights education, fair trade, environmental education, intercultural learning or sustainability . Global Learning is based on the fact that people today live and interact in a globalised world. The challenge for education is to provide learners not only with opportunities to learn, but to reflect on their own opinions and roles in this intertwined global society. The prerequisite to sharing and possibly arguing for one’s opinions are skills and tools: information gathering, forming of opinion, contributing to a culture of debate and possibly dispute, forms of political participation and intervention, dealing with media and/or elected representatives. These are all features of lifelong learning that cannot be incorporated effectively into schooling.
Global Learning is an interdisciplinary educational concept which can be understood as a pedagogical response to the sustainable development needs of our global society. At its centre is the interaction between the local and the global level, with action-oriented lifelong learning as the aim, with the acquisition of skills so that one can orient oneself in this globalised world and live responsibly. Correspondingly broad is its interface with areas such as human rights education, fair trade, environmental education, intercultural learning or sustainability . Global Learning is based on the fact that people today live and interact in a globalised world. The challenge for education is to provide learners not only with opportunities to learn, but to reflect on their own opinions and roles in this intertwined global society. The prerequisite to sharing and possibly arguing for one’s opinions are skills and tools: information gathering, forming of opinion, contributing to a culture of debate and possibly dispute, forms of political participation and intervention, dealing with media and/or elected representatives. These are all features of lifelong learning that cannot be incorporated effectively into schooling.
Lifelong Learning
Lifelong Learning
While there is a general consensus that lifelong learning plays a crucial role “in addressing global educational issues and challenges”, applying this principle to tackling the literacy challenge appears to be complicated. First, there is still a large gap between policy discourse involving Agenda 2030 – Education and Lifelong Learning in the Sustainable Development Goals and International – International Perspectives in Adult Education and practical reality. Second, lifelong learning laws, legal regulations and public policy initiatives tend not to make explicit references to literacy and, third, lifelong learning is frequently understood as something which only starts after somebody has become “literate” or achieved basic education. Nonetheless, the recognition that learning never stops over a person’s lifetime also applies to literacy learning: the acquisition and development of literacy takes place before, during and after primary school. The same is true for life-wide learning taking place at home, work, school and other spaces in the community. In other words, the development of reading and writing skills should be closely associated with activities which are relevant – or even essential – for human development. Instead of aiming for the “eradication of illiteracy”, ensuring the achievement of literacy and numeracy for all entails the development of “literate families”, “literate communities” and “literate societies”. This embraces the challenge of changing the attitudes of entire societies towards literacy: the consideration of what people do or can do with literacy and the creation of literate environments and societies must guide related action, a rationale already reflected in a UNESCO position paper on literacy published over a decade ago (UNESCO 2004).
While there is a general consensus that lifelong learning plays a crucial role “in addressing global educational issues and challenges”, applying this principle to tackling the literacy challenge appears to be complicated. First, there is still a large gap between policy discourse involving Agenda 2030 – Education and Lifelong Learning in the Sustainable Development Goals and International – International Perspectives in Adult Education and practical reality. Second, lifelong learning laws, legal regulations and public policy initiatives tend not to make explicit references to literacy and, third, lifelong learning is frequently understood as something which only starts after somebody has become “literate” or achieved basic education. Nonetheless, the recognition that learning never stops over a person’s lifetime also applies to literacy learning: the acquisition and development of literacy takes place before, during and after primary school. The same is true for life-wide learning taking place at home, work, school and other spaces in the community. In other words, the development of reading and writing skills should be closely associated with activities which are relevant – or even essential – for human development. Instead of aiming for the “eradication of illiteracy”, ensuring the achievement of literacy and numeracy for all entails the development of “literate families”, “literate communities” and “literate societies”. This embraces the challenge of changing the attitudes of entire societies towards literacy: the consideration of what people do or can do with literacy and the creation of literate environments and societies must guide related action, a rationale already reflected in a UNESCO position paper on literacy published over a decade ago (UNESCO 2004).