Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
UNESCO convened about 100 members of the Education for Sustainable Development Network (ESD-Net) from across the Arab region on 7 September 2026 for a regional webinar. The aim was to review progress in Education for Sustainable Development, exchange national experiences, and contribute to preparations for the 2027 UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development.
The webinar was jointly organized by UNESCO offices in Beirut, Cairo, Doha, and Rabat, in coordination with the Education for Sustainable Development Section at UNESCO Headquarters. It brought together representatives from Member States, ministries, education authorities, UNESCO offices, academia, civil society, youth, and other partners to discuss updates on implementing the ESD for 2030 framework. This framework seeks to integrate sustainable development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals into education policy, learning environments, educator training, youth empowerment, and community engagement.
Participants reviewed findings from the mid-term evaluation of ESD for 2030 and discussed practical steps to enhance national initiatives, stakeholder coordination, resource mobilization, monitoring, and evaluation.
National progress was highlighted in presentations by Jordan, Bahrain, and Morocco. Jordan shared its country initiative on ESD for 2030, which includes curriculum work, sustainable learning environments, teacher development, youth engagement, and local partnerships. Bahrain described its whole-institution approach to green education, featuring the Green Education Guide and sustainability projects in schools. Morocco presented partnerships implementing Eco-Schools, climate education, youth journalism, teacher capacity-building, and efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of rural schools.
Participants emphasized the value of country initiatives as national frameworks for coordinating activities, mobilizing stakeholders, and achieving impact. They called for improved coordination, ongoing regional exchanges, peer learning, and better documentation of results and best practices. Emerging priorities included artificial intelligence, digital citizenship, peace education, education in conflict and crisis contexts, youth leadership, and high-quality Arabic digital learning content.
The webinar also opened a regional dialogue on the upcoming 2027 UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development titled "Learning in Action Shaping Our Future," scheduled for 13–15 January 2027 in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference will assess six years of ESD for 2030 implementation and explore future directions.