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Eighth National Forum on Education for Sustainable Development

Published: 4 Dec, 2023

TU Dublin was delighted to welcome the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, the Department of Education, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to the University for the Eighth National Forum on Education for Sustainable Development.

Taking place on 01 December 2023, at TU Dublin's Grangegorman campus, the event convened over 170 participants from across Ireland to focus on United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 Quality Education and share examples of innovation and good practice in learning and action for sustainability across all levels of the education system.

The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to 2030 progress report was formally launched during the event, and is the first progress report under ESD to 2030, the Second National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development.

The event hosted international key note speakers UN Youth Delegate, Mohammad Naeem, and Professor of Transformative Learning for Socio-Ecological Sustainability at Wageningen University and UNESCO Chair of Social Learning & Sustainable Development, Arjen Wals, as well as renowned film producer, environmentalist and educator, Lord David Puttnam. The programme of activities included addresses from the forum organisers, keynote speakers, interactive breakout sessions, and a panel discussion on the implementation of ESD to 2030.

Speaking of TU Dublin's role in education for sustainable development, TU Dublin's Vice President for Sustainability, Jennifer Boyer said:

The traditional role of universities is changing. We are operating within a new era of disruptive innovation and social and political unrest. TU Dublin is the first Irish university committed to embedding sustainability as a learning outcome across all academic programmes and we see our University's physical, digital, and social infrastructure as providing a neutral setting for greater societal engagement, bringing together communities, government, and industry into conversation through these challenging times."