Education Our Sustainability Measure

There is a leadership crisis all over the world; the next generation is at risk of inheriting a world that has forgotten what true leadership is. A cursory look at the emerging stream of young leaders in the field of education, business, religion, politics and sports and in the corporate world reveals an alarming trend.

A growing sense of dishonesty, impatience and prodigality has led to a rising spate of personal and institutionalized corruption. This manifests itself in diverse ways: from the manipulation of examination processes to fraudulent elections, to the numerous get rich-quick schemes, characterized by internet fraud and the indulgence in dubious religious rituals to get wealth: a process that many of Africa’s young people continue to flock to in spite of the alleged ‘side-effect’ of death and/or mental dysfunction.

In the face of these threats, there is also an emerging force of young leaders pushing of the ante in various fields. A number of young leaders, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, authors and other leaders have sprung up in various fields bringing hope to OUR COMMONWEALTH FAMILY OF NATIONS, seeking to assert itself and seize its rightful place at the frontline of global progress.

This core of emerging leaders seeks direction to enable them excel and leave a mark on their generation. There is therefore a need to revisit the very foundations of leadership and to provide a road map that would help chart a clear direction for the next generation as far as leadership is concerned.

AYANLOLA Ayanyimika

President, Nation Builders Organisation.

INTRODUCTION

YOU ARE THE FUTURE INITIATIVE is an initiative from the youths of the 17th Commonwealth conference of Educational ministers, (17th CCEM) built based on the validity of what human minds can achieve when properly channeled and utilized in a growing nation like ours. It was founded based on the sole aim of nation building, which is the citizens: Them understanding fully that our future and that of this great nation depends on its youth.

It is set to inspire, motivate and educate: building role models worthy of emulation, giving this generation a first-class mentality, making them think positively, proactively and harnessing their God given potential in the right fields: Realizing that the future we strive for starts now, we are doing our best for change as Mahatma Gandhi once said, Be the change you want the world to be.

Most of us wish the world was a better place. Poverty, corruption, famine, terror and war that our world is plagued with today all have answers.

“Problems gravitates towards its solution”

If there is truly a solution, if there is truly a hope, if the world could be a better, brighter and a more reliable place for the human race. It has to be NOW. Yet it might surprise you to know that the answers sought after by world leaders today are closer than you think. THEY LIE WITHIN US.

We believe in a more successful society, a more reliable leadership, a more sustainable government, a future we can all look forward to, a life we can afford to stake our lives and that of our children, just to see it come true. That is the reason for YOU ARE THE FUTURE INITIATIVE: Building a happier world where people can be fulfilled as individuals, playing constructive roles in their various societies.

WE BELIEVE IN YOU: WE BELIEVE IN OUR FUTURE!

Executive summary

This summary is theoretical and presents a synthesis of research and literature on sustainable education. The notion ofsustainable education as used in this critique is about educational organisations and should not be confused witheducation for sustainability which can be viewed as concerning the teaching and learning of sustainability.

Sustainability often refers to persistence, sustenance or endurance. It can also refer to preservation of environments, facilities or cultures. And often is connected with development, for example the notion of sustainable development. Notwithstanding these multiple meanings, it is generally recognised that sustainability endeavours involve social, economic, and ecological considerations. Also these three forces are inter-related and inter-dependent.

When economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability are being examined from a sustainable development perspective, it is typical for indicators to be specified. For example, economic indicators that measure monetary flow when assessing organisational sustainability. While the types of indicators vary according to the aspect of sustainability being assessed (i.e. economic, social, or environmental), these are also dependent on the object of the assessment. For example, the indicators for social sustainability applicable to a corporate organisation will be different to those for a local community organisation (e.g. city council). From this traditional orientation, we examine examples of indicators for different types of sustainability for different contexts. Some alternative ways of understanding sustainability are examined. For example, types of capital (e.g. human capital, social capital and constructed capital), the construct of ‘carrying capacity’, systems approaches, and sustainable development as a process of learning.

Educational sustainability is then approached through understanding sustainability quotients.

These quotients which can be applied to many forms of sustainability are about the balance between what is consumed in relation to what is available. Significantly, because social capital can be created, social sustainability concerns production of human, social and constructed capital. This can be contrasted with ecological sustainability centering on the impact of finite natural capital. Educational organisations that improve the knowledge and skills of learners have the potential to profoundly affect social sustainability with consequent impacts on ecological and economic sustainability.

This forum concludes with a series of propositions about researching educational sustainability. These are structured around epistemological, methodological, and organisational dimensions.

CONCEPT:  YOU ARE THE FUTURE INITIATIVE IS A YOUTH LEAD IDEA aimed at the youths from all quarters of life. :

TRIME

Train

– Re-educate

– Inspire

– Motivate to action

-Evaluate Result.

Our objective is to contribute to the development of, democratic and progressive societies and our goal is a world in which every individual has access to high quality universal education regardless of their gender, age, socio-economic status, or ethnicity. We aim to achieve this by working with Commonwealth governments as trusted partners to attain education of good quality for all citizens.

The purpose of the youth forum of Educational sustainability is to identify salient constructs and how these apply to educational organisations. It commences with an overview of the process of sustainability. This will be followed by explication of indicators that will be use to measure economic, social and ecological sustainability forces in organisations, communities, and institutions. These will then be re-framed using alternative conceptions of sustainability such as anthro-capital, systems theory, and learning theory. The sustainability quotient approach will then be used to view sustainable education. Finally, the issues involved in discussing educational: Our sustainability will then be approached from epidemiological, methodological and organisational perspectives.

Sustainability

The concept of sustainability has proven difficult to define. However, one commonly accepted dimension of definitions is related to time.

“Sustainability encompasses an inherent goal of being able to persist, sustain, and endure” (Stephens, Hernandez, Roman, Graham and Scholz, 2008).Another dimension with widespread acceptance concerns preservation.

“Sustainability is often seen as being about protection of amenities (including cultural diversity)” (Kemp, Parto, and Gibson, 2005).

Sustainability is also typically connected with development. For example, the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Munier (2005) noted that development which is sustainable requires advancement in economic growth, social progress and environmental protection. These three areas are also used when classifying global problems.

Schmuck and Schultz (2002) expressed concern that without a balance between economic sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability, a society cannot continue indefinitely. Combinations of economic, social and environmental forces or vectors are also portrayed in illustrations of sustainable development (Mawhinney, 2002). These have been traditionally been viewed as the ‘pillars’ of sustainable development, inter-acting variables that influence sustainable development, or overlapping circles in which the area of over-lap represents sustainability (Mawhinney, 2002).

While these portrayals have been criticized for being over-simplistic, the pursuit of sustainability certainly requires integration of social, economic, and ecological considerations (Kemp, Parto, and Gibson, 2005).

METHODOLOGY

MISSION

NBO works to engage and empower young people to enhance their contribution to development and democracy. We do this in partnership with young people, governments and other key stakeholders.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective is to contribute to the development of, democratic and progressive societies and our goal is a world in which every individual has access to high quality universal education regardless of their gender, age, socio-economic status, or ethnicity. We aim to achieve this by working with Commonwealth governments as trusted partners to attain education of good quality for all citizens.

Education and Training

Sanyal (2001) believes that higher education institutions can help to improve access and equity in basic education, quality and relevance of basic education and efficiency, finance and management of basic education. Under the umbrella of education and training to improve access and equity, Commonwealth encourages the promotion of good education culture, formulation of policies pertaining to access and equity for basic education, engagement of more female and lower socio-economic status students in teaching programmes.

Expected attendance: 3000 youth participants:

  • 300 Professors, 100 Partners and Stakeholders.

YOUTH PARTICIPANTS during the forum would be represented by young leaders from our government, state, private universities, colleges and high schools so as to cut across different sectors of our educational institutions. After the general welcome morning session, all participants would be divided into 10 forums to discuss on our sustainability measures in relation to our education i.e. 300 youth participants per forum. As distributed in the chat below.

THE FUTURE EDUCATION YOUTH FORUM

Forum 1: Arts and Culture

Forum 2: Youths and Governance

Forum 3: Human Rights and Peace Building

Forum 4: Science and technology

Forum 5: Agriculture

Forum 6: Environment and Climate Change

Forum 7: Media and Communication

Forum 8: Social Vices

Forum 9: Health and Sports

Forum 10: Economics and Entrepreneur.

CONCLUSION

The first metric of sustainability is demand, both by the university lecturers, as well as by students, career professionals, and governments. If demand is high and is seen to be usefully met, the institutional, human and financial resources needed to meet it are more likely to be mobilized over time.

The capacities to sustain such efforts are fostered by involving the youths, institutions and key staff in the knowledge creation and organizational learning process from the onset.