By Nurin Najmina Zaidi
GOMBAK, 17 March 2021: Education is the key for transformational changes to happen, a webinar was recently told.
The Director General of Higher Education, Prof. Dato Dr. Husaini Omar said this in reference to efforts by higher education institutions leadership towards education for sustainable development.
This webinar was held as a knowledge-sharing platform in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) which featured subject matter experts on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
The webinar was conducted by Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) and was held on Monday (15 March) from 9 a.m until 5 p.m on YouTube live and Zoom simultaneously.
Six topics were presented and discussed by distinguished speakers from different backgrounds.
The Progressive Role of HEIs Leaders in Reorienting towards ESD: A Global Scenario
Prof. Charles Hopkins, a UNESCO Chairholder from York University Toronto, spoke about the idea of leadership and the role of the higher education and also putting ESD on the historical perspective.
He said: œBy acknowledging the sustainable development issues that emerged beyond the usual ones, there are other systematic issues.”
“What is the role of the higher education? He then asked.
He explained about education in four aspects: access to and retention within the quality education system; reorienting existing education and training system to address a sustainable future; public awareness and understanding of the concept and sustainability issues and means of informed action; and training programmes for all sectors.
According to him, “Higher Education is the mean of implementing all of the SDGs. And ESD is more than SDGs, as it plays a role in everything.”
œThe important thing for a leader is figuring out the first initial steps, and its difficult because often university leaders are not really steep in sustainability, he added.
The Spirituality and Sustainability towards ESD
Former Rector of IIUM, Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Kamal Hassan is one of the 25 authors who recently published works that explored in-depth the issue of spirituality and its implication on sustainable development goals. Their book shows that Muslim academics in IIUM and around the world view agenda 2030 with its SDGs in a more positive light.
In his view, œIf there is a greater need for the whole world and contempt civilisation to be reset by COVID-19 pandemic, the time is now. The new paradigm of sustainable development has to be based on the spiritual worldview.
œAs charity begins at home, the Muslim countries should be the first to undertake the comprehensive and holistic reset of the development paradigm, Prof. Kamal explained.
He further mentioned that “the concept of development and sustainability needs to be overhauled by acknowledging God as the owner, developer, and sustainer of the cosmos.” “And the world and human beings who are created by Him to serve his purpose.”
œWe expect the future educational and administrative leaders of higher education in Muslim countries to be leaders who are committed to exemplifying the worldview of holistic spirituality and ethics, he said.
The Indigeneity and ESD
Meanwhile, the current IIUM Rector, Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dato Dzulkifli Abd Razak, talked about indigeneity and how it embraces the SDG long before the term SDG exists.
He explained that while the world is making progress, the key issue of poverty is still not being addressed. He also made a case study on a few countries such as Bali (Indonesia) that introduced the Subak system that has spiritual values and Bhutan on how sustainable their ESD.
ESD in Post-Covid-19 Era: Challenges and Opportunities
Mr. Leong Sat Sing, the vice president of the UCSI University, Malaysia talked about the challenges and the opportunities in the post-COVID-19 era.
He mentioned that there are five major impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic: the COVID-19 infection and death, economic crisis, more people lose their job, school closure, and also international students dropping from school worldwide.
He said: “The COVID-19 pandemic also impacts on sustainable development goals. Some are being affected by it negatively, some are moderate and unclear.”
Leong further explained the challenges faced by the school and the HEIs closure where the students cannot get the lab and practical experience and also the problems of returning to school.
“On the contrary, the closure of school also gives opportunities such as opening training, workshops, and forum to a wider audience since it was done virtually. Plus, the innovation for active learning and also digital production for education.”
ESD and Future Generation
Ms. Farida Hanim Bukhari from IIUM Student Union mentioned that ESD is the way forward for the future generation. She said: œEducation is wide and occurs everywhere and not just formal education.
She introduced three mega powers for transforming that can help change the world such as the youth movement, and also making use of technology such as social media.
œThis is doing the ESD in a more relatable and fun way, she highlighted.
Faridah Hanim also believes that there should be funding for the movement that supports SDGs. She wanted to approach the people to make them interested and understand about sustainability and to know that their works contribute to the world.
œThis is to empower the youth, to see them as a hope, to see their potential, and to make use of their time, she explained.
Rooting Humanising Education on ESD
The last topic was touched by four speakers: Ms. Katrin Kohl, the Executive Coordinator to the UNESCO Chair, Dr. Hajah Yatela, the CEO of Yayasan Sime Darby, Malaysia, followed by Prof. Dato Dr. Husaini Omar, the Director General of Higher Education.
œOur vision is to lead and make a sustainable impact and a difference in the life of others, Dr. Hajah Yatela said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Katrin Kohl said, œIts a commitment to pursue sustainable development together and not only in certain regions nor individuals.
œWere educating the people for the community, educating them to be part of the sustainable culture and to be the leader, she added.
Prof. Dato Dr. Husaini mentioned that the people need to address the community and worlds prevalent problems holistically and collectively.
The webinar was officiated by Minister of Higher Education, Dato’ Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad who delivered her opening remarks. The Ministry’s Secretary General, Dato’ Seri Dr. Mazlan Yusoff gave a closing remarks. ***