The Federation showcases its education for sustainable development credentials at UNESCO event

23rd October, 2024

St. Kitts and Nevis seized a unique opportunity this week at a UNESCO event organised for Member States to showcase how, as a small island developing state (SIDS), it used education as an instrument to achieve sustainable development, and  how it plans to integrate sustainable development principles into the education system.

Organised on the fringes of the 220th session of the UNESCO Executive Board in Paris by the Ambassador of Japan to UNESCO, HE. Kano Takehiro, and the Assistant Director General for Education at UNESCO, Ms. Stefania Giannini, the event offered two small islands, Cap Verde and St kitts and Nevis, a platform to present their respective experiences in integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

A dedicated SIDS ESD programme was launched some years ago with funding by the Government of Japan, in collaboration with ESD expertise from UNESCO, in the course of which St. Kitts and Nevis and the Portuguese-speaking island of Cap Verde, an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocea, were chosen as  best case examples of successful implementation of ESD practices. Japan funded St kitts and Nevis’ ESD project, totalling $90,000.

The Federation’s ESD case was presented via live video at the event by Dr. Tricia Esdaille, Senior Assistant Secretary at the St  Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Education.

In introducing Dr. Esdaille, the Federation’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Dr. David Doyle noted his pride in the efforts undertaken by St. Kitts and Nevis in conceptualising and approaching the integration of ESD into the national curriculum across the small island developing state.  He noted that the Federation was now poised to commence a new ESD-accredited curriculum as early as 2026.

Ambassador Doyle stated:

“None of this would have materialized without two important partners: firstly, the expertise provided by UNESCO in ESD Policy development and, secondly, the dedicated ESD funding from the Government of Japan to deploy a leading ESD expert to guide us through the process”.

Dr. Esdaille stated that the underlining characteristics of the SKN ESD project, spanning 2022 – 2025, was the implementation of the national safe school policy, covering both safety and greening elements.

Following extensive stakeholder consultation across the two islands, she stated, the Federation now have, not alone an ESD Strategic Plan, but also an Operational ESD framework, accompanied by sector-specific guidance, a revised curriculum, pedagogical approach, embracing both formal and informal, curricular and extra-curricular, activities.

Such was the practical, hands-on approach to this ESD project in St. Kitts and Nevis that the country is  now at the stage of reviewing existing curriculum, syllabus, and teaching learning materials, and adapting them accordingly.

By the end of November this year, the Federation will have issued a draft ESD integrated curriculum, ready for approval by the government in January 2025.

Stated Dr. Esdaille: “A broad spectrum of ESD-relevant activities have been implemented under all five ESD for 2030 priority action areas across sectors (education and non-education). However, there is an urgent need to effectively mobilise resources required for ESD implementation through national policy development and sector specific institutional frameworks.”

She went on to state: “Learners and educators of St. Kitts & Nevis demonstrates sustainability related values, attitudes, knowledge and skills, and the general population exhibit essential awareness to implement the most context-relevant and climate resilient practices to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, becoming an internationally recognized ESD implementation reference for the Americas and Caribbean region”.

The expected outcomes were described as developing:

•       A National Education for Sustainable Development Policy.

•       A National ESD Strategy and Costed Action Plan for ESD implementation with sector specific guidance.

•       A ESD enhanced curriculum, inclusive of ESD related teacher training plan and related resources.

Increased stakeholder engagement was also fostered during the ESD exercise across the twin-island state.