St. Kitts and Nevis to Showcase Education for Sustainable Development as Global Best Practice at UNESCO Ministerial Summit
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts and Nevis, July 8, 2026 (UNESCO National Commission) — On July 10, 2026, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis will join global education leaders at a high-level Ministerial Summit convened by UNESCO and the Greening Education Partnership (GEP) to accelerate climate-ready education systems ahead of 2030.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth, Social Development, Gender Affairs, Ageing and Disabilities, the Hon. Dr. Geoffrey Hanley, will deliver a featured video presentation highlighting St. Kitts and Nevis’ Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Country Initiative as a flagship project and emerging global best practice for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The Summit, to be held in-person at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris with remote participation available, marks four years since the UN Transforming Education Summit (TES). It brings together Ministers, youth, teachers, and over 2,000 stakeholders from 99 countries to take stock of progress on greening education across four pillars: Greening Schools, Greening Every Curriculum, Greening Teacher Training and Education System Capacities, and Greening Communities.
Dr. Hanley’s video presentation will spotlight how St. Kitts and Nevis has embedded ESD into national policy, curriculum, and community life in direct response to the unique vulnerabilities of SIDS and the climate crisis.
Key milestones to be featured include:
- National Policy Leadership: Cabinet approval of the National ESD Policy and Strategy & Action Plan on 27 October 2025, establishing a transformative, holistic framework for sustainability education.
- Curriculum Reform: Integration of ESD into Grades 3–6 and Forms 1–2 Social Sciences, with new learning outcomes on environmental stewardship, climate resilience, and global citizenship.
- Teacher and System Capacity: Launch of a national online ESD training platform hosted within EMIS, with mandatory in-service training for all new teachers beginning September 2026.
- Whole-School & Community Action: Positioning the St. Mary’s Biosphere Reserve as a living learning center, where students engage in hands-on lessons on biodiversity, water, and sustainable livelihoods.
The full national ESD-enhanced curriculum, teaching manuals, and student materials will be officially piloted in schools across St. Kitts and Nevis in September 2026.
“St. Kitts and Nevis is proving that small island states can lead big solutions. Our Education for Sustainable Development Initiative shows how policy, curriculum, and community can come together to make every learner climate-ready,” said Hon. Dr. Geoffrey Hanley. As we prepare to launch in September 2026, we are honoured to share our model with the world and to reaffirm UNESCO’s role as a vital partner in building resilient education systems for the future
The Ministerial Session aims to:
- Take stock of global progress in greening education since TES 2022.
- Demonstrate education as a long-term solution to the climate crisis.
- Promote knowledge sharing through country experiences and tools such as the GEP Tracker and Youth Call to Action.
- Renew commitment to ensure every learner is climate-ready by 2030.
Dr. Hanley will join fellow Ministers from Seychelles, Tonga, and Uzbekistan in a panel discussion on country achievements and the way forward.
H.E. Nerys Dockery, Secretary-General of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO stated that:
“This Summit is a moment to move from ambition to action. Through our partnership with UNESCO and the Government of Japan, St. Kitts and Nevis has placed sustainability at the heart of teaching and learning. We are especially proud that our youth are at the center of this work — because protecting the right to education in the face of climate change begins in the classroom and in our communities.”
H.E. Dr. David Doyle, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts and Nevis to UNESCO, will represent the Federation in-person at this important summit. Reflecting on the journey that the flagship ESD project has taken, added that:
“This is yet another milestone in our close collaboration with UNESCO experts in tangibly contributing to St. Kitts and Nevis’ strategic goal to transform the country into sustainable Island state, with ESD as a fundamental pillar of this ambition.”
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