Description/achievement of initiative
Signatories of the Treaty commit to change at five levels:
1. Cultural: Promote change so that sustainable development becomes a guiding principle for higher education.
2. Campus: Mainstream campus management practices and extend good practice across the sector.
3. Curriculum: Reorient the curriculum so that it aligns with sustainable development.
4. Community Engagement: Demolish the walls of higher education institutions which can exclude the work of the communities that they serve and improve access to higher education.
5. Connecting the System: Review the various policies, incentives and mechanisms driving higher education to ensure that they are aligned with sustainable development.
Implementation methodologies
Those who are signatories of the Treaty commit to transform higher education towards sustainable development by implementing the immediate, short-, medium- and long-term actions outlined in the Treaty (please see the deliverables described below). Agencies, organisations and associations signing the Treaty should re-align and develop strategic plans and frameworks to implement these actions, as well as work in partnership to effectively embed change for sustainable development across the sector.
The Treaty has been drafted by representatives from over thirty higher education agencies, organisations and associations rooted in different parts of the world (The Treaty Circle). The cross-cultural dialogue and development process underpinning this document has served to build collaborative links and ownership. It has paved the way for a new consolidated platform for cooperation beyond Rio+20. It is envisaged that the document could lead to joint implementation projects and the sharing of best practice.
Progress of the implementation of the Treaty will be monitored and reviewed by a group of members from the Treaty Circle in 2013. This review will capture the lessons learned and challenges from the first year of implementation (immediate actions) and will inform the next steps to achieve the short-, medium- and long-term actions.
Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
Coordination mechanisms/governance structure
Partner(s)
COPERNICUS Alliance (CA) (LEAD), IAU, UNU IAS, AUA, AASHE, ACTS, ARIUSA, EduSost, CRUE-CADEP, CAREC, EAUC, GUNI, GUPES, ISCN, KAGCI, LFS, MESA, MIO-ECSD, PRISM, ProSPER.Net, Students for Global Sustainability, SFLA, BUP, The China Green University Network, The Reorienting Teaching Network, UN EDC, UNESCO Chairs in Higher Education, UNEP-EETU, UNICA, UNU RCE, WSCSD
2013
