OSCE Yerevan seminar addresses importance of education for sustainable development

YEREVAN, 23 December 2003 - A two-day seminar on the relationship between education and sustainable development, held by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and partner organizations, opened in the Armenian capital yesterday.

"Development aimed at economic growth and poverty reduction as well as peace and democracy must be sustainable," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, opening the seminar.

"There is no alternative. Appropriate education is key to ensuring this process."

In the strategy document for the economic and environmental dimension, adopted at the Ministerial Council in Maastricht on 1-2 December, OSCE States committed themselves to the achievement of sustainable development, aiming at economic growth and poverty reduction and taking the impact of human activities on the environment fully into account.

The document also supports the global action foreseen in the Plan of Implementation adopted at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Vardan Aivazyan, the Armenian Minister of Nature Protection, stressed the importance of environmental education in his country.

"In the future it will be introduced into the curriculum starting from elementary schools up to higher education institutions," he said.

The event was organized jointly by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the NGO "Association For Sustainable Human Development", in co-operation with the United Nations Development Programme.

About 70 participants from environmental NGOs and universities from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Russian Federation are attending the seminar to share their experiences and to develop a joint action plan in preparation of the forthcoming Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

The proceedings and the recommendations of the seminar will be published in the eco-bulletin of the Association For Sustainable Human Development.