MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
December 2002
Four organizations with a significant commitment to making sustainability
a major focus in higher education hereby reconfirm the "Global
Higher Education for Sustainability Partnership (GHESP)",
namely:
- Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future
(ULSF);
- COPERNICUS-CAMPUS;
- International Association of Universities (IAU); and
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO).
As a World Summit on Sustainable Development Type II Partnership,
GHESP will combine the strengths of its individual partners in
an effort to mobilize universities and higher education institutions
to support sustainable development:
- ULSF serves as Secretariat for over 290 signatories of the
Talloires Declaration in over 40 countries and promotes education
for sustainability based on The Earth Charter;
- COPERNICUS-CAMPUS is responsible for the University Charter
for Sustainable Development, signed to date by over 305 university
heads in 37 European countries;
- IAU provides an international centre of cooperation among
over 650 member universities and institutions of higher education
which have formally adopted the Kyoto Declaration;
- UNESCO is the task manager for the implementation of Chapter
36, "Education, Public Awareness and Training," of
Agenda 21 and for the international work programme on education
of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development,
as well as the convenor in 1998 of the World Conference on Higher
Education, both of which have called for the renewal of higher
education to address the complex societal challenges of the
21st century.
The rationale for the partnership is the consensus that higher
education must play a central role within the overall process
of achieving sustainable development. The partners are convinced
that the leaders of higher education institutions and their academic
colleagues in all disciplines must make sustainable development
a central academic and organizational focus in order to create
a just, equitable and ecologically sound future. This requires
the generation and dissemination of knowledge through interdisciplinary
research and teaching, policy-making, capacity building, and technology
transfer. It is critical that higher education institutions understand
and accept their responsibility within the broader context of
social and economic development, and the building of democratic,
equitable and ecologically minded societies.
The overall goal of GHESP is to create a global learning space
for higher education for sustainable development based on cooperation
and exchange of good practice between institutions throughout
the world. This is particularly relevant as we move forward from
the World Summit on Sustainable Development and prepare for renewed
focus on education with the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable
Development beginning in 2005.
The objectives of the partnership are to:
1. Promote better understanding, and more effective implementation
of strategies for the incorporation of sustainable development
in universities and other higher education institutions, beginning
with the over 1,000 signatories of the charters and declarations
sponsored by the partner organizations. Emphasis is put on the
need for interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and research;
2. Identify, share and disseminate widely, via internet, in print,
through seminars and other venues, effective strategies, models
and good practices for promoting higher education for sustainable
development (HESD);
3. Make recommendations on HESD based on the partnership's research
and review and in consultation with key stakeholders from North
and South, including business, governments, other UN bodies such
as the UNU, as well as other relevant non-governmental organizations;
4. Demonstrate that it is possible to form a partnership of non-governmental
organizations working closely with the UN system to develop and
implement a joint action plan addressed to achieve common goals;
and analyse and evaluate this experience as an international demonstration
project.
In order to achieve the objectives outlined above, the partners
will undertake a number of collaborative activities, such as international
consultations and conferences, good practice inventories, publications,
and website development. These target activities are specifically
stated in the Lüneburg Declaration on Higher Education for
Sustainable Development (October 2001), the first joint policy
statement of GHESP addressed to the World Summit on Sustainable
Development.
An annually updated GHESP Action Plan, drawn up and discussed
by all partners, will serve to set priorities and monitor progress
made. The Action Plan will be considered an integral part of the
MOU. GHESP will meet at least once each year. The Chair will rotate
after 12 months, preparing a brief report on GHESP activities
and passing this onto the new Chair at the end of the cycle.
ULSF, COPERNICUS-CAMPUS, and IAU will each draw on its own experience
and on-going work to help advance the goals of the partnership.
The role of UNESCO is primarily to act as facilitator for the
collaborative work of the partners; provide further international
context and input; and make use of and promote the outputs of
the group to further innovation and international cooperation
in this field.
The partnership shall continue upon signing by all parties of
this Memorandum of Understanding and shall remain in effect until
the end of 2007. At that time, the composition and continuation
of the partnership shall be reviewed based on an evaluation of
the achievements made.
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