RCE Jordan
International Conference on RCEs
Yokohama, Japan
12-14 April 2006
Kirsten Neumann
Background Jordan
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Constitutional Monarchy since 1946
Parliamentary elections since 1989
Peace Treaty with Israel in 1994
Joined WTO in 2000
Joined the European Free Trade Association in
2001
Lack of natural resources
2.6% arable land, rest is arid and semi-arid
deserts and desert plateaus
Jordanian population is about 5.8 Million (40% of
Palestinian origin; 500,000 Iraqis)
Background Jordan II
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National Agenda to lay out goals until 2015
ranks number 90 on the global UNDP Human
Development Index
adult literacy rate of 90%
average life expectancy of 71.3 years
Large income gaps - 30% below national
poverty line (acc. to international donor
organizations)
Unofficial unemployment rate at 30%
70% of the country under the age of 29
Centralization and urbanization - 65% live in the
three major cities
JORDAN RCE gap analysis
based on stakeholder
interviews
Environmental Issues
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Freshwater Degradation
Waste Management
Energy generation
Structural Issues:
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little integration of environmental issues in all sectors
of the economic cycle of the country
little effective coordination between different agencies
responsible for environmental issues
a need to educate all people about the environment
and its impact on the well being of all
Education
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Enrolment ratio in classes 1 to 10 is 94%
and in classes 11 to 12 is 75%
JHDR: lack in quality of education, both
curricular and structural (facilities) leading
to an increase in drop out rates – regional
disparity
Education often not perceived as leading
to gainful employment
Centre of Strategic Studies
Survey
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Asked about the most important issue
meriting consideration, the following
ranking was given:
The most important problem is rated to be
“poverty and unemployment” with 54%,
 “Financial and administrative corruption” with
28%.
 The “Palestinian issue” with 8.9%.
 “Enhancing democracy and freedom of
expression” and “resolving the Iraqi issue”.
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Exchange
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High punctual awareness about Sustainable
Development in Certain Areas (e.g. either
environment or economic development or
education), but no integrated holistic view
Little interaction, exchange of information or
inter-organizational, inter-disciplinary dialogue
between
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Activities
Sectors
Faculties
Actors
Cooperation
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Lack of cooperation
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Information-exchange
Collaboration on activities
Accepting and utilizing knowledge and expertise from
other actors or experts of a different field (universities
vs. Ministries vs. communities vs. NGOs)
Lack of tools for cooperation (quote: we don’t
know how to cooperate)
Working culture
Quality of Education
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Neither education in schools nor higher education really
caters to the needs of the labor market
Education should teach practical skills and subjects
It should teach interdisciplinary and critical thinking and
own initiative as well as theoretical knowledge
Need for graduates with backgrounds on Sustainable
Development
Needs to be change in mentality has to be achieved to
change from being consumers of knowledge to
producers of knowledge
Students ought to be encouraged to be self-reliant and to
have confidence in their ability to develop and to claim
their rights and to influence change.
Teaching methods
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Teaching methods do not encourage critical
thinking or creativity - no holistic approach
Teaching is teacher centered instead of student
centered
Lack of emphasis on soft skills
Lack of empowerment
Lack of fostering the development of citizenship,
responsibility and action
Cultural Issues
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Need to nurture local identity AND focus
on global issues
Need to integrate tradition and modernity
Identities
 Values
 Frameworks
 Development
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The RCE JORDAN
Current Stakeholders of RCE
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Ministry of Education
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Ministry of Environment
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Educational plans for all formal education
Curriculum development
Implementation of ERFKE
Strong knowledge and expertise on all environmental issues in
Jordan
Environmental laws and regulations
Trade and Environment Committee
JUST
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Environmental Science and Technology research
Capacity building and consultancy
Current Stakeholders II
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IUCN WESCANA
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Environment and Conservation
Advocacy and non-formal education
Plans to establish a regional ESD programme
RSCN
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Creation and maintenance of national parks
Income generating activities for park residents
Nature teams in schools (about 1000)
ESD manual for MoEdu prepared
Training of trainers
Regional project of ESD, preparing materials for pupils age 1015
Current Stakeholders III
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JU department of education
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Private Schools
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Formal primary and secondary education
Holistic education concept: example of good practice
JCPP
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Research on education and curriculum development
Teacher training
Industry cooperation
Cooperation among many stakeholders on SD
Expertise and training on cleaner production
JU Water & Environment Research and Training Centre
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Technical expertise on water issues
Donor cooperation
Training of students
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JRF
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Community development and capacity building
experience
Economic development projects expertise
Income generating projects with environmental
aspects
JOHUD/ZENID
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Stakeholders IV
Community work on improvement of education
Empowerment of women and youth
MECANA project: rights approach
Work with municipalities and local authorities
Advocacy and campaigning work
CDCs network: community needs assessments
Strengthen the development aspect in SD
RCE Jordan Vision & Mission
Vision
To achieve an improved quality of life through the
integration and implementation of Education for
Sustainable Development
Mission
To develop, advance, and integrate concepts, tools
and mechanisms, of Education for Sustainable
Development into all relevant sectors in Jordan.
Process
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Stakeholders were approached by UNU-ILI
Baselines Study and interviews
Initial workshop with 10 original stakeholders (25
Sept. 2006) - ESD in general
Second workshop with 13 stakeholders, 21 Nov.
2006 - draft objectives, draft working structure
Inauguration 21 Nov. 2006 (Min. Edu, Min. Env.
Rector UNU)
More stakeholder consultations on activities
Third workshop, 30 March 2006 - Mission,
Vision, objectives, principles, structure, working
groups established
Working Structure
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Steering Committee:
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Representatives of the founding stakeholders
In addition each stakeholder group has to choose a representative,
who has to report back to the stakeholder group => represents a
capacity building exercise
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Private Schools
Public Schools
Private Universities
Public Universities
Military Colleges
Reports to the collective of the participating institutions in the RCE
Meets every 1 month
Has decision making power
Stakeholders designate their support, participation and
representative via a Memorandum of Understanding
Working Structure II
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Secretariat to:
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Working Groups:
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Facilitate inclusion of more stakeholders
Facilitate communication between the stakeholders (e-group,
newsletter)
Builds website in cooperation with stakeholders
Facilitate access to global learning space
Create a knowledge base (actors, research, roster of experts, e-library)
Open for more stakeholders who are not in the steering
committee
Regularly report back to the steering committee
Communicate via their own e-groups and website corner
Financial Stability:
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Will be established in the long term
Prioritized Objectives I
1. Enhance and strengthen, evolve and co-create a space
for communication, cooperation and knowledge sharing
among all stakeholders involved in ESD;
2. facilitate the integration of ESD into formal curriculum at
schools and higher education
3. facilitate the integration of ESD into the informal
educational sector
4. raise awareness for the best applicable knowledge and
resources on SD;
5. identify, promote, and utilize or replicate examples of
appropriate practices in ESD;
6. facilitate fundraising for ESD related activities
Prioritized Objectives II
7. facilitate the development of high quality, preferably
innovative teaching modules, [evaluation] [testing
modules], and materials for ESD and develop the
capacity of human resources necessary to implement
these modules and use the materials
8. facilitate collaborative research on ESD;
9. facilitate dialogue to translate SD into a regional cultural
context;
10. facilitate multi-disciplinary thinking and education
11. facilitate voluntary contributions to RCE activities
12. Review, [evaluate] and improve the RCE’s structures
and activities on a regular basis
Long-term Goal
RCE-Jordan could serve as an example of
good practice to other countries in the
Middle East with similar cultural, political,
religious, social and environmental
backgrounds
Guiding Principles
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Projects and programs supported by the RCE
must be committed fully to:
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environmental and social ethics
equity between the environmental, social, and economic
pillars of sustainable development
coordination with various entities governmental, nongovernmental, and local communities
ensuring the sustainability of various activities or projects
work on the basis of national policies
benefiting from the best available applicable experiences,
knowledge, and resources
Immediate Working Groups
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Committee to identify good practice
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RCE collaboration with Ministry of Education on
changing the curriculum
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Mandate for this Working Group written by UNU
Can start working in May
Members: RSCN, JRF, IUCN, JU, HU, Public School Rep.,
Teacher, Student, Ministry of Education, Curriculum
Department
Media working group
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Establish a Media and Awareness Raising Strategy, bring
together Media Reps of RCE members, perhaps organize a
small conference
Organize a high-level dialogue on translating concepts of SD to
local cultural context
Led by IUCN-WESCANA
Deadline: Next working meeting in May
Immediate Working Groups II
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Funding and Proposal Writing Group
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Development of a Fund raising strategy
Lead by the UNU-ILI, compiling International Funding
overview
RCE members to send information on local and regional
funding sources
Next meeting establishment of a funding group
Awareness raising symposium
 Long term strategy working group
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Members: JCPP, RSCN, Min. Env., JUST, JU, IUCN,
JOHUD, Min. Higher Education, UNU-ILI
Immediate Projects
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Taking complete stock of stakeholders and activities
with the aim to create a database
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Establish a communication structure consisting of EMail E-groups and a basic BLOG website
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Lead by the UNU but everyone is evolved
Deadline: End of April
Lead by UNU
Deadline: Before May
Collect existing Education Materials on SD
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Everyone to write a little description for their materials,
containing information on the original intent, target group,
experiences made, distribution, availability, language, format
Deadline: rolling
Ideas for future activities
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Field Days and 4 day Nature Camps
“TV for the Environment” and Media Training
Water Learning Course Materials for Children
High Level Dialogue on SD
Symposium on ISO 1400 for Industry
Symposium on ESD in Jordan (100-200 part.)
Teacher Training Manual
Case Studies on ESD from IUCN’s global conservation
learning network
examples of good practice of schools integrating ESD in
their curriculum - award a price
Research into where Quran supports Sustainable
Development
Research into traditional knowledge and practices for SD
Greening the Campus Initiative
Research Proposal for RCE
GLS
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Research Group on Transformative Education in
a cultural and religious context
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Who: RCEs located in countries with a conservative
religious background
Why: some RCE Jordan stakeholders voiced concern
on offending cultural and religious customs by
facilitating ESD (always sparks lively discussions and
keeps coming up)
Basis for ESD in the Middle East - a regional
baseline study