Pedagogy for Sustainable Development – workshop announcement

a two-day workshop using a Pattern Laboratory Approach

Visby, Sweden 4–5 November 2009

Announcing

Pedagogy for Sustainable Development

Two main components of Education for Sustainable Development, ESD, are transformation and action competence. An ESD pedagogy thus transcends the theories, methods and tools used for awareness-raising and knowledge transfer.

The hosts SWEDESD is the Swedish International Centre of ESD. One of its objectives is to have ESD practitioners and researchers examine in depth the elements of an effective SD pedagogy, to critically explore its boundaries and to experiment with new approaches and methods.

Global Action Plan (GAP) International is an NGO network that has worked with sustainable behaviour change since 1990.

To accelerate learning, GAP has been developing the concept and practice of “Pattern Laboratory”. It goes beyond simply sharing “best practice”, and is a systematic approach to enabling practitioners to make their learning accessible to others by focusing on patterns of behaviour, and in particular on mental patterns that shape behaviour.

The workshop This international workshop of practitioners and researchers will explore and synthesize what is known about an effective pedagogy for sustainable development, i.e. a pedagogy that has a transformative effect on individual and collective behaviour contributing to sustainability. It will provide a space to reflect on experience, and to develop new solutions in co-operation with other leadingedge researchers and practitioners.

The workshop will build on recent ESD explorations, and will lay the basis for a new platform for learning and action for SD. It is expected that subsequent to the workshop some participants will organise similar workshops in their countries or regions, thus contributing to an ongoing process of learning and sharing within and between regions.

Participation Participation is limited, and is by invitation. Each participant is expected to bring a case study. We aim for a balance between researchers and practitioners, between men and women, and between different regions and economic systems.

There is no participation fee, accommodation and meals in Visby will be provided.

Most participants will be expected to cover their own travel costs to and from Visby; a small fund is available for travel grants for a few participants.

This announcement is directed specifically to people and groups known to have experience in the subject area. Feel free to circulate it within your own network.

If you would like to nominate a participant – yourself or someone else – the next step is for your nominee to apply for an invitation, stating (in no more than half a page) why s/he would like to attend. A simple on-line form is provided for the purpose.

In the absence of web access, a file for printing can be requested from secretariat@globalactionplan.com.

Practical information Dates: Workshop 4–5 November; the core group will also meet on 6 November.

Venue: Gotland University, Visby, Sweden Main conference language: English. Some support for Russian and Spanishspeaking participants may be available.

More information There is more information about the process before, during and after the conference.

If you would like to discuss the laboratory process, please contact Miriam Sannum, sannum@delta.telenordia.se You can get background notes concerning a pedagogy for sustainable development.

If you would like to discuss pedagogical research aspects, please contact Professor Olena Pometun, pometun@hotmail.com You can get an introduction to the ‘pattern language’ concept.

If you would like to discuss pattern language, please contact Nadia McLaren, nmclaren@iprimus.com.au We have also made some sample draft pattern descriptions available If you would like to discuss pattern descriptions, please contact Charlotte Carlsson, lotten.carlsson@gmail.com

For information about SWEDESD, please see www.swedesd.se For information about GAP, please see www.globalactionplan.com

a two-day workshop using a Pattern Laboratory Approach

Visby, Sweden 4–5 November 2009