Illinois Wesleyan University, Tallories Declaration, Agenda 21
Outside of the word "government," education appears more than any other word in Agenda 21. Chapter 36 of the United Nations Bible(Agenda 21) titled "Education, Training and Public Awareness," makes the case "education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of the people to address environment and development issues."
The Society for College and University Planning published a document called "Planning for Higher Education." On page 22 is a article titled "Transforming the University Campus into a Sustainable Community," by Richard K. Norton, Andrew Brix, Trevor Brydon, Elijah Davidian, Keely Dinse, and Sanjeev Vidyarthi . The article asserts that the "Talloires Declaration and Agenda 21 served as a call to action for higher education institutions."
According to a article featured on the University Leaders for a Sustainable Future's website (ULSF the sponsors of the Tallories Declaration), titled a "U.S. Progress Toward Sustainability in Higher Education," by Wynn Calder and Richard M. Clugston "there has been growing international interest in the role of higher education in fostering a sustainable future. Agenda 21 and a series of HESD declarations in the 1990s made this agenda explicit." The article also states that HESD Declarations like the Tallories Declaration reaffirms Chapter 36 of Agenda 21.
On April 13, 2007, the President of Illinois Weslyan University Richard Wilson signed the Tallories Declaration (pronounced Tal-WHAR), a Transnational ten point plan of action for incorporating Sustainable Development into higher education. According to the IWU Sierra Student Coalition they approached President Wilson in 2006 about signing the Declaration which was written at a International Conference in Tallories, France. Illinois Weslyan is now an active player in promoting Chapter 36 of Agenda 21.
The Talloires Declaration
1. Increase Awareness of Environmentally Sustainable Development
2. Create an Institutional Culture of Sustainability
3. Educate for Environmentally Responsible Citizenship
4. Foster Environmental Literacy For All
5. Practice Institutional Ecology
6. Involve All Stakeholders
7. Collaborate for Interdisciplinary Approaches
8. Enhance Capacity of Primary and Secondary Schools
9. Broaden Service and Outreach Nationally and Internationally
10. Maintain the Movement
A recent Guest at Illinois State University Peter Blaze Cochran(Promoting the UN Earth Charter)
wrote an article along with Wynn Calder and Richard M. Clugston titled "Higher Education for Sustainable Development." In the article he asserts that four organizations agreed to form a Global Higher Education for Sustainability Partnership (GHESP), to combine their strengths in an effort to mobilize higher education institutions to support sustainable development. Notice the Fourth group is a United Nations Organization that serves as the Task Manager for implementation of Chapter 36, Agenda 21. Illinois Wesylan University has signed onto a Declaration that makes them partners with the United Nations Task Master in charge of Education and Agenda 21.
. The organizations are:
•The Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) serves as the Secretariat of over 280 signatories of the Talloires Declaration in over 40 countries and promotes education for sustainability based on the Earth Charter; (ILLINOIS WESLYAN UNIVERSITY is involved)
•COPERNICUS-Campus, formerly a Programme of the Association of European Universities
•The International Association of Universities (IAU)
•The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the task manager for the implementation of Chapter 36, "Education, Public Awareness and Training", of Agenda 21.
Illinois Wesleyan University has been busy Planning on how to involve the Tallories Declaration not only in their University, but our community, schools, and our local government. Below are some of their plans of action taken from an IWU website:
1. Increase Awareness of Environmentally Sustainable Development
Use every opportunity to raise public, government, industry, foundation, and university
awareness by openly addressing the urgent need to move toward an environmentally
sustainable future.
Past efforts:
• Host the annual Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo at the Shirk Center
• Create a sustainability pledge for signing upon graduation
• Incorporate sustainability within the curriculum6. Involve All Stakeholders
Encourage involvement of government, foundations, and industry in supporting
interdisciplinary research, education, policy formation, and information exchange in
environmentally sustainable development. Expand work with community and
nongovernmental organizations to assist in finding solutions to environmental problems.
• Established a volunteer/internship partnership with the "ECOLOGY ACTION CENTER."
and Sugar Grove Nature Center
• Engaged the local community through the Sustainable Living and Wellness
Expo
Potential future efforts:
• PARTNER with TOWN OF NORMAL with regard to sustainability (per Town
Planner’s request)
* Enhance Capacity of Primary and Secondary Schools
Establish partnerships with primary and secondary schools to help develop the capacity
for interdisciplinary teaching about population, environment, and sustainable
development.
• Encourage Education majors to develop environmentally-themed curricula
for area schools
• Establish “Sustainability Mentor” program with area schools
• Explore potential PARTNERSHIP with EPA (renewable energy grants/programs)
• Utilize new partnership with ULSF
Establish Sustainability Coordinator position or enhance capacity of
GREENetwork to ensure the implementation of the Talloires Declaration
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