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Home >> EfS Initiatives
What is happening in EfS in Australia?
There have been a number of national developments over the past five years that help contextualise education for sustainability policy and practice in Australia. The catalyst for these developments was the 'Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future National Action Plan' (Environment Australia (2000). The purpose of the National Action Plan is to provide better coordination of activities and to support leadership across major groups and at various levels. The document interprets Environmental Education very broadly and recognises needs across formal education, further and higher education and community education, as well as business and industry
The Australian Government's (Department of Environment and Heritage) commitment to implementing the National Action Plan resulted in a number of initiatives:
- The National Environmental Education Council (NEEC) was established as a non-statutory body providing expert advice to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, as well as to the federal Department of Environment and Heritage. It provides advice on the effectiveness and profile of the Australian Government's Environmental Education and education for sustainability activities and assists in identifying priority needs in Australia .The NEEC, which meets three times a year, is composed of key stakeholders from business and industry, community education, EE professional associations, as well as school, vocational education and university education.
- The National Environmental Education Network (NEEN) brings together government managers from environment and education portfolios from across Australia. The purpose of the network is to improve coordination of the delivery of environmental education, exchange information and share resources between States, Territories and national bodies.
- The Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability is working on a range of projects aimed at better understanding and achieving organisational and stakeholder change towards sustainability. The Department of the Environment and Water Resources is ultimately responsible for identifying, defining and managing the projects to be undertaken. Both NEEC and NEEN play important roles in setting the research agenda through the identification of priority areas for attention.
These initiatives are well positioned to influence Environmental Education practice in Australia which is still struggling to embrace education for sustainability. The following section provides a brief overview of current trends across the sectors of:
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