Abstract
The Sustainable Development Goals emerged as universal goals aiming to promote more inclusive societies, fighting inequalities and recognizing the importance of cooperation. Based on a human rights approach, the idea is to pursue sustainable development along with human development, stressing the importance of each of the 17 goals set by the 2030 Agenda and how interconnected they all are. At the same time, Education for Sustainable Development is pursuing similar goals, including gender equality, health promotion and climate change action. The main purpose of this paper is to understand how Education for Sustainable Development can assist in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition to a literature review, a discussion is conducted from the presentation of each Sustainable Development Goal and how they can be explored through education. As a safe environment, Education Institutions are a platform that should be used for debates, especially the ones related to the challenges society has to face in the future. In this context, Education for Sustainable Development carries important tools to enable the learners not only to be prepared for what their lives and career will require, but also to contribute for a more sustainable development and to take conscious decisions. To address the challenges within the Sustainable Development Goals requires only the willingness of education leaders and stakeholders to adjust their curricula and engage the teaching body towards the change our world demands.
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Acknowledgements
This study was conducted by the Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Research Group (GREENS) from the University of Southern Santa Catarina in the context of the Projects: Links 2015—Linkages between energy, food and water consumption in the context of climate change mitigation strategies, and BRIDGE—Building Resilience in a Dynamic Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Brazilian Food-Water-Energy Nexus, funded by the Newton Fund and FAPESC—Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina.
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Garcia, J., da Silva, S.A., Carvalho, A.S., de Andrade Guerra, J.B.S.O. (2017). Education for Sustainable Development and Its Role in the Promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals. In: Davim, J. (eds) Curricula for Sustainability in Higher Education. Management and Industrial Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56505-7_1
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