Sketches around the world

Sketches around the World, orchestrated by Veolia Environnement, is the third edition of an international competition intended to raise children's awareness of environmental and health protection.

One of the main tasks of a school is to seek to inform children of their individual impact on their environment and health: educating them in citizenship and playing an active part in civic action plans.

UNESCO, The French National Commission for UNESCO, UNESCO's Education Department, through the Education Section for Sustainable Development, the Associated Schools Network, and the UNEP are supporting this program, whose goals are in line with those of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was created in 1945 to contribute to peace and security by encouraging collaboration between countries through education, science, culture and communication.

In commemorating its sixtieth anniversary, UNESCO is not so much celebrating the work it has done as seeking to rekindle the inspirational powers that guided its founders. With a view to the future, this means reviving their hope and their vision.

Sixty themes have been chosen to mark the sixty weeks between September 5, 2005 and November 4, 2006, the anniversary of the entry into force of the international convention establishing UNESCO. The week commencing June 5, 2006 will be dedicated to education for sustainable development.

www.unesco.org

The French National Commission for UNESCO and the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) are again supporting this awareness program for children, to increase the impact of the messages conveyed.

The goals of the campaign are in line with those of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development purpose is to integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects of training to encourage changes in behaviour which will enable a more viable and fairer society for everyone.

During this decade, education for sustainable development will contribute to producing citizens capable of facing the challenges of the present and the future, and decision-makers who will act responsibly to create a viable world.

Five kinds of fundamental training have been chosen: learning to find out, learning to act, learning to be, learning to live together, and learning to change oneself and society.

www.unesco.org/education/desd

Established in 1953, the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (the ASPnet) is a worldwide network of 7,900 schools in 176 countries (from nursery schools, primary and secondary schools to teacher training institutions), all working to provide quality education.

Schools in the Network implement key regional and international initiatives in areas such as the preservation of worldwide culture, sustainable development, human rights, democratic citizenship and intercultural dialogue. Certain projects involve more specific regions of the world (the Baltic Sea project, the Great Volga project, or the Caribbean Sea project), and contribute to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

www.unesco.org/education/asp

youthXchange is a training kit for responsible consumption, developed jointly by the UNEP and the UNESCO.

It provides reliable, clear and entertaining information about the meaning and challenges of sustainable development in daily life. Its aim is to give young people and their educators the means to put theory into practice, by encouraging communication and the exchange of ideas and practices.

This kit will be added to the "Sketches around the World" teaching material and will be handed out to every teacher taking part in the operation.

www.youthxchange.net
To download a version of the Kit

« The environment as a source of development ». The priorities of UNEP are defined as follows: surveillance, assessment, information and environmental research. UNEP is the highest environmental authority within the United Nations, and acts as a catalyst and facilitator working to promote the informed use of natural resources and sustainable development on a global level.

The headquarters of UNEP are in Nairobi in Kenya, while its Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) is based in Paris. The Production and Consumption Department of the DTIE encourages sustainable modes of consumption and production in order to contribute to society's development through the market.

UNEP www.unep.org; UNEP DTIE www.unep.fr