In Conversation with Heila Lotz-Sisitka: ESD for 2030 as the Next Chapter

What opportunities does the new “ESD for 2030” framework open up for sustainability learning after the pandemic? In the first conversation of the dialogue series “In Conversation with …”, Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Distinguished Professor of Education at the Environmental Learning Research Centre at Rhodes University (South Africa), shared her perspectives on the framework under the theme “Building forward better through ESD for 2030: The next chapter for sustainability learning”.

The series was launched under the auspices of the International Day of Education. It raised questions on how ESD can respond and help to build forward better, how learners, especially the “COVID-19 generation”, can take part in this transformation, and what needs to change so that humanity learns its lesson from this unprecedented global crisis. After a brief overview of UNESCO's ESD for 2030 framework, Heila Lotz-Sisitka discussed the opportunities it presents.

Speaker: Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Distinguished Professor of Education, Environmental Learning Research Centre, Rhodes University, South Africa
Opening remarks: Matthias Barth, Leuphana University Lüneburg
Moderation: Daniel Lang, Leuphana University Lüneburg

This conversation was part of the dialogue series “In Conversation with …”, which the Institute for Sustainable Development and Learning (ISDL) and the UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development at Leuphana University Lüneburg ran in 2021 as part of the cooperation in the UNITWIN network. The series asked how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can help to build forward better after the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted the role of Global South–North partnerships in achieving the 2030 Agenda.