Normandy continues to teach the Sustainable Development Goals

Following delivery of the European Union programme, Walk the Global Walk, from 2017 to 2021, the Normandy Region and the International Institute for Human Rights and Peace have continued the work of teaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at regional level.

The ecHo programme is designed to raise young people's awareness of the SDGs through participatory educational activities, teaching them about human rights and democratic citizenship. Each year, it focuses on one of the 17 SDGs promoted by the United Nations.

Through these SDGs, the students are introduced to issues relating to current global challenges, such as climate change, gender equality, migration, digital inclusion and the inclusion of people with disabilities.

A feature of the ecHo programme is that the students do not just learn about the Goals but become actively involved in delivering them, through a class project or consultation designed to feed back their recommendations on the SDG being studied that year.

 

 

→ Information on the Sustainable Development Goals: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/

 

In 2021 and 2022, the focus has been on Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education

 

 

This year, 30 classes in 20 Normandy schools are working on quality education − a topical subject given the way teaching has been adapted in light of the health situation over the past two years.

Sustainable Development Goal 4 is centred around tackling inequalities and giving all students equal access by making school a peaceful and healthy learning environment. This Goal also aims to equip students to become informed citizens, by teaching them about sustainable development and human rights.

The ecHo programme therefore aims to raise students’ awareness of these issues, while also developing their critical thinking and enabling them to contribute to quality education.

The programme comprises teacher training days to provide an understanding of the educational resources and classroom awareness sessions delivered by the International Institute for Human Rights and Peace and the trained teachers.

Two students in each class, referred to as facilitators, choose whether to set up a class project or to gather opinions from their classmates so they can draft recommendations on the Sustainable Development Goal they are studying.

The student facilitators from all classes involved in the project then have an opportunity to discuss it amongst themselves, to enhance each other's projects, so they can align their recommendations in a single white paper.

 

→ Information on the ecHo programme (in French): https://2idhp.eu/actions/echo/