I attended the Education for Sustainable Development on Monday 5 August 2013. It was staged at a very impressive Bamboo Hall on the Unisa Main Campus.
The programme on Education for Sustainable Development is a joint initiative between Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Capacity Building International (on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation); South Africa and Mexico.
The purpose of the dialogue was to deliberate on sustainable practices and design strategies to document and share knowledge among international experts' network and all stakeholders, especially Universities, Government Departments, Civil Society, UN bodies and NGOs.
Professor Godwell Nhamo's presentation on 'Research for a sustainable future' was one of the presentations that caught my attention. He had a very impressive one graphic slide presentation which was out of the ordinary because all the other presenters used multiple slides. "Now we are taking economics into the environment" and "the global sustainability agenda is getting clearer and more streamlined" was two concepts the mentioned that still gets me thinking.
He stressed that the 'polluter-must pay-principle' should apply to developed countries only. I couldn't resist asking him during the Question and Answer session why he believes that a developing country such as South Africa, who has one of the highest carbon emission levels in the world, shouldn't take responsibility for releasing greenhouse gases that causes global warming. Nhamo, the Exxaro Chair on Business and Climate Change, passionately defended his view saying that as a developing country South Africa's carbon emission can't be compared to that of developed countries who are polluting on a much bigger scale. I was not convinced about his argument. I am of the opinion that every country and business who pollutes should pay whether you are in the North or the South......take responsibility!
Mr Thillo Thormeyer, Head of Capacity Building GIZ, explained the training process that participants in the ESD Young Leader's Change Project undergo. It is a multi-disciplinary curriculum taught in South Africa, Germany, Mexico and India. Their first intake was all school teachers but they have started to broaden the intake to civil servants and other interested parties. The Alumni of the Young Leader's Change project's roles are to promote systems change and cultivate networks. Alumni member, Mr Thamsanqa Nkosi, left us with some 'green nuggets of wisdom'
The programme on Education for Sustainable Development is a joint initiative between Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Capacity Building International (on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation); South Africa and Mexico.
The purpose of the dialogue was to deliberate on sustainable practices and design strategies to document and share knowledge among international experts' network and all stakeholders, especially Universities, Government Departments, Civil Society, UN bodies and NGOs.
Professor Godwell Nhamo's presentation on 'Research for a sustainable future' was one of the presentations that caught my attention. He had a very impressive one graphic slide presentation which was out of the ordinary because all the other presenters used multiple slides. "Now we are taking economics into the environment" and "the global sustainability agenda is getting clearer and more streamlined" was two concepts the mentioned that still gets me thinking.
He stressed that the 'polluter-must pay-principle' should apply to developed countries only. I couldn't resist asking him during the Question and Answer session why he believes that a developing country such as South Africa, who has one of the highest carbon emission levels in the world, shouldn't take responsibility for releasing greenhouse gases that causes global warming. Nhamo, the Exxaro Chair on Business and Climate Change, passionately defended his view saying that as a developing country South Africa's carbon emission can't be compared to that of developed countries who are polluting on a much bigger scale. I was not convinced about his argument. I am of the opinion that every country and business who pollutes should pay whether you are in the North or the South......take responsibility!
Mr Thillo Thormeyer, Head of Capacity Building GIZ, explained the training process that participants in the ESD Young Leader's Change Project undergo. It is a multi-disciplinary curriculum taught in South Africa, Germany, Mexico and India. Their first intake was all school teachers but they have started to broaden the intake to civil servants and other interested parties. The Alumni of the Young Leader's Change project's roles are to promote systems change and cultivate networks. Alumni member, Mr Thamsanqa Nkosi, left us with some 'green nuggets of wisdom'
- Use social networks to effect change
- work at multiple levels of change
- make space for self-realisation.
eish Professor Godwell Nhamo's, very intelligent professor I would love to work with him, he once came to our offices yhooO! I was blown away and he is someone I believe if you mentored by him you will be so knowledgeable and skilled. He attended the tutceep workshop 2013, where he presented on "Environmental Legislative Reform under Green Economy: Is Africa Ready?" you can check out the programme and some presentations that were made! absolutely beautiful and motivating. http://www.tutceepworkshop2013.co.za/Presentations/
ReplyDeleteI'll chech it out Akhona. Thanks
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