Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a major thrust of PILCD’s work and is a cross cutting framework in the development of its adult and community education programs.

PILCD strongly believes that education is a cornerstone of human development and it has the power to effect meaningful change to address the challenges and risks brought by climate change.

The challenges and risks in our climate changed world placed us to come into terms with our past and current behaviors, lifestyle practices and our views of society, the economy, the world, the environment and humanity in general.

It bared the flaws of our past and current development models and paradigms that gave birth to our current environmental and climate predicament. It is a strong urgent call for us to rethink the dominant views that influence the social, political, cultural, economic, and environmental dimensions of our lives.

PILCD’s ESD framework and strategy aspires to provide a platform for critical thinking and reflection that raises questions not only on the content and purpose of education but of the dominant political, economic, and social assumptions that influence education in any given setting.

This is done thru the following strategy:

1. Training and formation of community educators and influencing educators in the formal sector thru teachers training and advocacy; and

2. Embedding the values and principles of sustainable development in the planning, designing of its community education programs;

3. Development and implementation of continuing learning programs in local communities and provision of Alternative Learning System (ALS) program in partnership with DepEd.

Youth-Led Sustainable Community Development Project

Youth have great potential to become change agents in creating a sustainable future, yet their potential are not fully realized. According to UN statistics, one in six of the world population in 2017 belonged to the youth group aged between 15 and 24, and that 60 percent live in the Asia Pacific Region. Education and learning opportunities to engage, include and involve youth is fundamental and crucial for youth development and empowerment.

The youth-led sustainable community development project is an initiative in cooperation with the Asia Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO (ACCU). The project targets youth thru non-formal learning and supporting youth led community-based projects and activities that promote building of sustainable communities.

Participation of PILCD representative in the Youth-Led Sustainable Community Development Forum in Tokyo, Japan
Youth in Calbayog City participating in the development of Inclusive DRRM materials

Strengthening Environmental Education in Schools and the Alternative Learning Sysem (ALS)

In cooperation with the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE), this project involved training and building capacities of formal and non-formal teachers in integrating environmental education and learning in the everyday teaching. The project is anchored from the framework of Education fior Sustainable Development (ESD). 

162 public school teachers completed the training – 76 teachers and school heads from the province of Benguet, 45 are ALS mobile teachers and coordinators from the 6 provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and 41 school heads and principals from Sta. Cruz, Zambales. 

Major activities of the project include:

  • Development, reproduction and distribution of popular and locally adopted print and video learning materials on environment for schools and communities. The materials include the Package Learning Materials on Environment designed by the Asia Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO (ACCU);
  • Training of teachers on teaching and learning skills in the promotion and integration of the values and principles of sustainable development in their everyday teaching including the utilization of the environmental learning materials;
  • Advocacy and engagement with school heads and education supervisors in integrating environmental education in school programs and activities.
Teachers and school heads from Sta. Cruz, Zambales
Teachers and school heads from Benguet province

Alternative Learning for Adults and Youths Project

This project is part of larger program entitled Community-based Adult Learning and Development Program supported by DVV international from 2003- 2012.  

This involve development and implementation of alternative learning opportunities for out of school youths and adults who missed their basic education primarily thru the delivery of alternative learning system (ALS) program. It also provide continuing learning opportunities for life skills and social skills development to promote sustainable living. 

Learning programs are custom designed to facilitate a learning experience and outcome that is relevant, experiential and empowering.

Key learning areas include:

  •  Basic and functional literacy
  • Life skills that include interpersonal, intra-personal and communications skills
  • Livelihood and enterprise development
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Sustainable development perspectives