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As part of the implementation of the  (ESD for 2030 Framework), 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ been collaborating with Member States to encourage and support the implementation of ESD for 2030 at the country level through a multi-stakeholder Country Initiative on ESD.

The ESD for 2030 Country Initiative is an umbrella initiative that has a national scope which includes existing and ongoing ESD activities in the country as well as new activities that foster synergy. It is built around the five priority action areas on policy, learning environments, building capacities of educators, empowering and mobilizing youth, and local level action, further stressing ESD’s key role in the successful achievement of the 17 SDGs. This ultimately drives significant individual and societal transformation to address urgent sustainability challenges and ensure a more just and sustainable world.

Currently, more than 80 countries are in the process of developing their ESD for 2030 Country Initiatives. With the support from Japanese Funds-In-Trust, recently, 4 countries have finalized and launched their country initiatives: Haiti, Lao PDR, Mongolia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Mongolia has a national policy on ESD and aims to extensively reflect it in the national curriculum. The initiative's goal is to develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes while transforming learning and education by implementing a "whole-school approach" to make ESD a reality. The country intends to achieve this by creating educational resources and learning materials that reflect ESD principles, providing teacher training and capacity building for educators, and working to establish partnerships with stakeholders to promote sustainable development.

In Lao PDR, the country has an existing national green growth strategy that reflects ESD. The initiative incorporates ESD into the national curriculum framework, including science and environment subjects in primary school and social sciences and natural sciences in secondary school. Additionally, teacher training in ESD topics is integrated into the curriculum on natural sciences and biology subjects. The approach to ESD education in Lao PDR is action-based, and there is a focus on ensuring multi-stakeholder participation in ESD initiatives. The country is also looking to develop the capacity of educators and empower learners to take action on climate change.

While ESD is not yet reflected at a national level in Saint Kitts and Nevis, the country aims to fully integrate it into the curriculum and national education strategy in the next few years. This will be based on UNESCO's ESD roadmap, which focuses on five key action areas. The development of an ESD policy is identified as a high priority activity, and there is a focus on both formal and non-formal education. Youth are currently engaged in sustainable activities related to the environment, but this work has not yet been linked to ESD. The country is currently developing a project to put ESD into practice.

In Haiti, ESD is integrated at a national level through different education policies. The country has created a "Comission Scientifique Nationale" to integrate climate change adaptation into schools and has an existing Plan for Teacher training capacity on ESD. The country aims to strengthen the capacity of Haitian education system actors to promote a strong ESD framework. The Youth UNESCO Climate Action Network Haiti is the main platform for young people to connect and empower each other in ESD. Haiti aims to build climate adaptation and resilience education that responds to natural disasters and hazards related to climate change while promoting sustainable development in the country.

Building on the experiences of these front-runners, UNESCO invites all countries who are interested in committing to promoting and integrating ESD at country-wide scale to visit our Country Initiatives webpage; contact UNESCO ESD (esd-net@unesco.org) to receive and complete the template; and work with UNESCO to finalize the submission.

UNESCO aims to harness this partnership and collaboration through an inclusive network of countries that have launched their ESD for 2030 Country Initiative and other ESD stakeholders, called the ESD for 2030 Global Network. Therefore, after the launch of the country initiative, the country becomes a formal member of ESD-Net 2030, which is a platform of exchange and collaboration on knowledge sharing and mutual learning, collaboration, advocacy and monitoring and evaluation.