Workshop enhances environment education |24 July 2014

Environment education is expected to get a big boost through a two-day workshop being held at the International Conference Centre.

The workshop, which opened yesterday, has been organised by the Ministry of Environment and Energy in collaboration with the Programme Coordination Unit (PCU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Environmental Education Association of Seychelles (EEAS).

The objectives of the workshop are to enhance awareness programmes in relation to environment education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD); to develop innovative environmental education and awareness strategies for formal and informal education contexts, focusing on behaviour change towards sustainable living; and to facilitate networking and communication between EE/ESD actors.

Sustainable development is recognised as an issue of global concern. Thus, learning and understanding to deal with the complex issues that threaten planetary sustainability is the challenge of ESD. It has become a feature of policy initiatives and educational programmes across many countries including Seychelles.
 Being able to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning will encourage behaviour changes that allow for a more sustainable and just society for all. This is in line with the mission of the EEAS, a new NGO which aims at maximising the potential role environmental educators can play to bring about a peaceful and sustainable future for Seychelles and the planet.

The workshop has brought together individuals involved in environmental education for sustainable development to share ideas about how to bring about change in behaviour that will help people to live more sustainably, more healthy and be more environmentally and culturally aware of their surroundings.

The workshop has been funded under the Government of Seychelles (GOS)/GEF Mainstreaming biodiversity Project and the GEF Small Grants Programme for Seychelles.

The workshop involves a lot of interactive activity and different presentations from members of the EEAS.
“Our nation’s future relies on well educated public to be wise stewards of the very environment that sustain us, our families and communities and future generations,” said Betty Seraphine, project manager GOS- UNDP- GEF Mainstreaming Biodiversity project said in her opening address.