The European Strategy for Sustainable Development recognises the important role that education and training systems should play in order to achieve the objectives of sustainable development. Education and training should contribute to all three axes of sustainable development, namely the social, economic and environmental dimensions. Likewise, the

Lisbon Agenda and the Education and Training 2010 work programme provide a coherent framework for Education for Sustainable development at European level. However, there is an information gap on how the concept of education for sustainable development has been translated into practices at Member States level. Furthermore, Member States could benefit from exchange of good and innovative ways of delivering education for sustainable development.

The aim of this study was to prepare an inventory of innovative good practices for the purpose of stimulating exchange of good and innovative practices in education for sustainable development. The study has been commissioned by the European Commission, DG Education and Culture, Unit A2Lifelong Learning: Creativity and Innovation. The inventory illustrates how the concept of Sustainable Development has been

translated and implemented in educational and training programmes in formal, informal and non-formal contexts.

The methodological approach entailed the elaboration of an analytical framework for describing the thematic focuses underpinning the three dimensions of sustainable development, economic, social and environmental, which were used to identify and describe the innovative good practices.

A wide range of stakeholders have been contacted and were asked to nominate innovative good practices in education for sustainable development, in 33 European countries, namely the 27 EU member states, the three EEA countries (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway) and the

three candidate countries (Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey). In total, 212 stakeholders were contacted and were given the opportunity to contribute to this study.

Information on the good practices recommended by stakeholders was collected through a questionnaire to be completed by project managers, desk research and in some cases telephone interviews. The practices received were analysed and rated against a set of criteria to assess, among other things, the level of innovation, the potential for transferability, and the achievements.

In the end, a total of 30 practices were chosen for the inventory. These practices present a wide range of examples of innovative ways to deliver formal, informal and non-formal education for sustainable development. They also represent a good geographical spread, covering 17 countries: AT, BE, CZ, DE, ES, FI, FR, GR, IT, MT, PL, RO, SL, SE, UK, CR and NO. The selected practices also represent different geographical levels of implementation, with examples ranging from local initiatives, through regional and national, to projects with a European or international dimension, involving umbrella organisations and actors from different countries. Likewise, the innovative elements of the selected practices

cover several types of innovation:

Innovation in the content includes innovative topics being addressed which range from issues linked to globalisation, including human rights and north-south relations, to healthier lifestyles, including healthy eating, to efficient energy consumption and promotion of renewable energy;

Innovation in the delivery method includes innovative ways to forge multi-stakeholder approaches and to create a sense of ownership among pupils, families, teachers, decisionmakers and experts, and innovative ways of delivering the educational process by promoting participatory and interactive learning approaches and the use of new technology such as the internet, websites, electronic communication platforms and blogs;

Innovation in forging new partnerships and networks for the purpose of sharing knowledge and experience, fostering communication and exchange of experiences;

Innovation at the institutional level with sustainable development being mainstreamed in the curriculum for education or with activities aimed at raising awareness on the necessity to implement education for sustainable development; and,

Innovation in addressing sustainable development with a focus on ensuring a strong interdisciplinary approach in addressing the interrelated social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

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