UNESCO participates in national consultation meeting on ‘the Establishment of a National Training and Methodology Center to Develop Curriculum and Train School Teachers on the SDGs’ in Turkmenistan

UNESCO, UNICEF and UNDP participated in a national consultation meeting in Ashgabat to discuss the establishment of a training and methodology center for the development of curriculum and the training of teachers on the Sustainable Development Goals, AVA Diplomatic reports.

Among the participants in the meeting were: the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Mr. Vepa Hajiev; the Deputy Minister of Education; the Permanent Representatives of Turkmenistan to the United Nations in NY and Geneva; the Rector of the Institute of the International Relations of MFA; the Rector of the International University for Humanities and Development; the Rector of the Turkmen State University named after Magtymguly; the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan; the UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan; and Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office and UNESCO Representative to Turkmenistan.

Ms. Kuisch Laroche talked about UNESCO’s leading role in Education for Sustainable Development. “UNESCO supports countries to build ESD capacities, generate and scale-up actions, focusing on key issues – climate change, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction, water, cultural diversity, sustainable urbanisation and sustainable lifestyles – as entry points for promoting sustainable development practices through education”, she said. “UNESCO advises policy-makers on how to integrate ESD into education plans and curricula. We develop ESD tools and materials for decision-makers, teachers and students to contribute to making education relevant for today’s world.

UNESCO also encourages reorienting teacher education to ensure that ESD is integrated into teaching practices”, said Ms. Kuisch Laroche.

The UNESCO Representative went on to talk about different initiatives of the Organisation around the world and spoke of the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, which could also provide technical support on ESD and SDG-related learning objectives.

The UNICEF Representative talked about the “World’s Largest Lesson”.

She said: “In September 2015, the UN launched the “World’s Largest Lesson”, it was created the same time with SDGs and it aims to help promote sustainable development through education. On the website of this initiative there are a lot of resources on integration of the SDGs into the curricula and educational systems.”

During the meeting, the UN representatives exchanges views with the Turkmen participants about the establishment of the national training and methodology center and the type of technical assistance that the UN would be able to provide to the Government of Turkmenistan.

Ms. Kuisch Laroche assured the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that UNESCO stands ready to provide technical support and share its experiences and expertise in ESD with the Government of Turkmenistan.