Dobong-gu '2030 Asia-Pacific Network Meeting' Korean Representative Participation

Dobong-gu Participates as Korea’s Representative at the ‘Education for Sustainable Development 2030 Asia-Pacific Regional Network Meeting’

Dobong-gu Showcases Its Status in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at the ‘ESD 2030 Asia-Pacific Regional Network Meeting’

Invited by UNESCO, Attended as Korea’s Representative… Presented Dobong-gu’s Outstanding ESD Cases

Participating Countries Show Great Interest in ESD Activities Centered on ‘ESD Textbooks’

Many Inquiries Followed Regarding the ‘ESD Textbook Production Process,’ ‘Dobong ESD Instructor Training,’ and ‘ESD Joint Certification Credit System’

Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) attended as a panelist in a related session at the ‘Education for Sustainable Development 2030 Asia-Pacific Regional Network Meeting (ESD-Net 2030 Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting)’ held in Bali, Indonesia, from June 12 to 14.

Dobong-gu presented its outstanding cases of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and showcased the RCE Dobong-gu annual report and textbooks during the national book and resource sharing session, enhancing the status of Dobong-gu’s ESD.

Hosted by UNESCO and the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, this meeting aims to encourage leadership among member states and stakeholders and strengthen related governance to mainstream Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

At the meeting, 25 participating countries shared the establishment and implementation status of their ‘ESD for 2030 national plans.’ Key actors in ESD activities?including local governments, schools and teacher organizations, youth, NGOs, and companies?exchanged cases and opinions on activities to mainstream Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

Dobong-gu participated in the ‘Accelerating Local-Level Implementation’ session, one of the five ESD practice areas, presenting achievements connected around the ESD textbook ‘17 Promises Connecting Our Village to the Planet,’ which was produced through Korea’s first public-private-academic collaboration. It also introduced the nation’s first local government (Dobong-gu)?international organization (UNESCO Korea Committee)?higher education institution (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) collaborative ESD joint certification credit system.

Attendees showed great interest in Dobong-gu’s integrated and organically connected ESD activities centered on the ‘ESD textbook’ at the local government level. In particular, many inquiries were made about Dobong-gu’s independently designed and produced ‘ESD textbook production process,’ ‘Dobong ESD instructor training,’ and the ‘ESD joint certification credit system.’

Additionally, during the national book and resource sharing session, RCE Dobong-gu’s annual report and ESD textbooks and teaching aids for elementary and middle schools were introduced. Subsequently, Dobong-gu shared its advanced local government-level ESD collaboration cases at meetings and roundtables with ESD practitioners from various countries.

Mayor Oh Eon-seok of Dobong-gu said, “I am honored to participate as Korea’s representative at the ‘Education for Sustainable Development 2030 Asia-Pacific Regional Network Meeting’ and to present and share Dobong-gu’s outstanding ESD cases. Going forward, we will continue to support learners of all ages to practice and act starting with ‘myself’ in daily life through ESD activities linked to global challenges such as climate change, environmental issues, biodiversity loss, poverty, and inequality in connection with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Dobong-gu is the only district in Seoul certified as a UNESCO University RCE (Regional Centre of Expertise) city in 2020, promoting various education programs and projects that enable the practice of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in daily life.

Among these, the ‘17 Promises Connecting Our Village to the Planet’ ESD textbook for elementary and middle schools, produced through Korea’s first public-private-academic collaboration, and the ‘International ESD Youth Project Neuru,’ a youth overseas linkage project involving 145 youths from 11 countries and the only one of its kind among Seoul’s districts this year, are representative ESD projects gaining global attention.

Furthermore, the ‘ESD Joint Certification Credit System,’ operated through collaboration among Dobong-gu, the UNESCO Korea Committee, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies?the first of its kind nationwide?is recognized as an innovative and experimental higher education-level ESD course model.

Thanks to these efforts, Dobong-gu received the ‘RCE Award for Outstanding RCE City’ in 2021, hosted by the United Nations University, and was selected as an Asia-Pacific RCE Steering Committee city in 2022.