ECO-Schools marks 10th milestone

 The Economic Sustainability Schools (ECO-Schools) has celebrated its 10th anniversary with a call on the students to use the knowledge, values and skills they had acquired for societal transformation to narrow the gap between knowledge and practice.    

The first decade anniversary, which is part of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), was on the theme: “Celebrating 10 years of education for sustainable development: Where do we go from here?”

Objective

Eco-Schools and ESD connote education that empowers students with knowledge, values and skills to address societal transformation, aiming at narrowing the gap between knowledge and practice.

While fostering sustainable development through the education system, ESD simultaneously aims at developing hands-on educational strategies while applying an equitable sustainability approach for the whole of society, including vulnerable groups, public institutions, the business community, civil society, institutional and legal frameworks and public awareness-raising.  

It touches on every aspect of education: planning, policy development, programme implementation, finance, curricula, teaching, learning, assessment and administration, among others.

ESD aims to integrate sustainable development into all areas of education globally, encouraging nations to reform educational curricula and teaching practices to emphasise environmental, social and economic sustainability, hence Eco-Schools. 

 A section of students of Akosombo AIS at the event

The ESD, which is being implemented by the Eco-Schools approach, started in Ghana as a bilateral collaboration between schools and the local communities of Akosombo and Byaasen in Trondheim, Norway.

First, it was a Global Citizen project that fostered the exchange of ideas and methodologies on learning strategies, cultural exchange and the environment, including letter exchange among students, and eventually physical exchanges between teachers, students and parents.

In her welcome address at the event held at the Akosombo International School (AIS) last Friday, the acting Headmistress of AIS, Sarah Adei, said the Eco-Schools programme had a deep-rooted history with the Volta River Authority (VRA), as AIS, a VRA school, was the pioneer of this initiative in the country as Eco-Schools in Ghana was launched in the school on July 18, 2014.