News in Sustainable Education from GAP – Global Action Plan

Teachers for Democracy and Partnership (TDP), in the Ukraine, have set a new world ESD standard: an integrated school curriculum, one lesson a week for sustainable development for a full school year. The TDP programme is based on action learning. Pupils conduct a sustainability audit in their own homes – if their parents agree – to identify improvement potential. Then they form teams to tackle one theme a month, not only learning about the subjects but also choosing and taking direct action to improve sustainability – their own, their families’, also tackling school and neighbourhood concerns in self-defined ‘micro projects’. The major themes are team-building, garbage, water, things we buy, energy, good relations, health, and living with plants.

TDP, a Ukrainian national NGO whose members are teachers, school principals, and teacher trainers, is a member of Global Action Plan (GAP) International. The GAP International secretariat, based in Sweden, collaborated with TDP to produce a project proposal, and successfully applied to Forum Syd in Sweden for basic funding.

This is a fully integrated curriculum for 13–14 year olds, one lesson a week for a full school year, equipping pupils to take personal action to improve social and ecological sustainability. And it seems everybody loves it.