ACCU aims to contribute to ESD by assisting community-based ESD activities that address the needs of socio-economically disadvantaged populations in the Asia-Pacific region. In doing so, we hope to articulate long-standing local wisdom and practices with relevant international platforms for discussions on how to build a sustainable future. ACCU will promote advocacy work at various levels while developing educational materials, training and partnerships to jointly advance the ESD agenda by centering these activities on the sharing and accumulation of knowledge and experiences.
On hindsight, we can safely say that all of our past work, promoted in partnerships with countries in Asia and the Pacific steadfastly in the areas of material development, training/capacity building, networking, with an overall goal of promoting culture and addressing social equity through educational assistance to disadvantaged populations, were indeed progress towards the realization of ESD goals. In reviewing and refining our present programmes from ESD perspectives, ACCU will further our activities in the field of ESD mainly under our Educational Cooperation Programme.
While continuing our effort in helping to achieve the goals of Education for All (EFA) through our literacy/non-formal education projects especially for those who have extremely limited access to educational services, ACCU will develop educational materials that will help promote ESD, identify and support ESD good practices, and provide a platform for discussion on ESD by involving schools and the media. Information exchange through this website itself is a part of our renewed efforts in ESD.
Based on the International Implementation Scheme (IIS), ACCU will implement the following set of projects jointly with UNESCO across the Asia Pacific region (excluding several OECD member countries).
● ACCU-UNESCO Asia-Pacific COE Programme for ESD
Programme that will help institutions (COEs) to act as a catalysts for promoting ESD
● ACCU-UNESCO Asia-Pacific Innovation Programme for ESD
Programme that will assist innovative projects that address various issues including rural development, poverty eradication, heath, natural disaster preparedness, human rights, gender, cultural diversity and international understanding.
● Package Learning Materials on Environment (PLANET)
Another programme on ACCU's multi-media educational materials called the “Package Learning Materials on Environment (PLANET)” will be reinforced and mainstreamed into the ESD framework.
● ESD and Disaster Reduction Education
Furthermore, we will promote disaster reduction education that requires community-based activities and a multi-viewpoint approach by responding to regional needs of Asia and the Pacific.
As a member organization of the Asia-Pacific UN DESD Interagency Steering Committee (AP-DISC), ACCU will make a concerted effort to coordinate ESD-related programme activities with other UN-agencies and relevant bodies.
Under the ESD framework, ACCU is committed to accumulating, sharing and disseminating knowledge that transcends national boundaries while continuing to support grass-root/community-based projects for ESD by modeling after our prior activities in Educational Cooperation Programme.