International Environment Forum

Introduction

The establishment of a just society maintained by noble individuals has been the goal of human civilizations throughout the ages. It has not, however, been easy to agree upon what justice is or what characterizes a noble, morally astute individual. It has been even more difficult to achieve consensus as to what form of development will lead to such a goal. Rapid economic advancement has for decades been the guiding star of development. Today's global community has finally begun focusing upon the need for "sustainable development" which includes social, economic and spiritual development; development which encompasses the transformation of individuals as well as man-made social structures and markets.

This "focusing" on sustainable development has taken numerous forms since the international gathering in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the initiating of the Agenda 21 action plan. And as always, the most common response to any call for a better tomorrow is: educate the children.. . . education being, of course, much more than just transferring information. Education in such a context must be seen as the systematized, value-based process of socialization.

One definition of the objective of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is "the promotion of values and ethics through education at different levels in order to make an impact on people's lifestyles and behaviour and help to build a sustainable future" (www.unesco.org/education/esd). Another is the development of "skills in critical thinking, negotiations, scientific understanding and openness to the views of others" (Living Earth). Each definition reflects a necessary but not sufficient condition for ESD. In fact they represent two complementary aspects of human development - on the one hand the development of intellectual capacities, and on the other of human qualities or virtues. One without the other is like a bird with one wing: intellectual development without values leads to inequitable development and ignores the importance of human motivation. But without skills and knowledge relevant to local conditions, development will continue to depend on the priorities of outsiders.

The 'System of Tutorial Learning'- SAT (Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial) for short - is a programme of non-formal rural secondary education developed since the early 1970s in Colombia by an NGO called FUNDAEC, and more recently in Honduras and other Latin American countries. The instigators of SAT saw education as the key to more self-reliant community development; that for the majority of rural children, education does not go beyond primary school - usually because families cannot afford to keep them at school; and that the formal education system suffers from 'urban bias' and a materialistic value system which encourages the young to migrate to the cities.

Throughout the recorded history of mankind, knowledge has been obtained through two different sources: Religion and Science (see Prosperity of Humankind, a statement produced by the Baha'i International Community in 1995).