On 8-11 June, 2015 Khanty-Mansiysk, in the Russian Federation, hosted the International Conference on Education for Sustainable Development.

The forum was co-organized by the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and the Government of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra,  with the assistance of the Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs of the Russian Federation  and V.I.Vernadsky Nongovernmental Ecological Foundation.

The conference discussed the implementation of the Global Action Programme (GAP),  following the World Conference on ESD: Learning Today for a Sustainable Future (Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, 2014).

The GAP is the follow-up to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD), with five priority action areas: 1. Advancing policy. 2. Transforming learning and training environments. 3. Building capacities of educators and trainers. 4. Empowering and mobilizing youth. 5. Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level.

The Khanty-Mansiysk conference brought together about 100 participants from 17 UNESCO Member-states and 20 entities of the Russian Federation, members of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, high-level representatives of the Ministy of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, leading Russian and international experts in education and youth policy, UNESCO chairholders and ASP-net coordinators.

The conference was welcomed by Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Chairperson of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, Dmitry Livanov, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Natalia Komarova, Governor of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug- Yugra, Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General.

The conference included two plenary sessions and five round tables to address the following issues according to the five Priority Action Areas of the GAP:

1. “Mainstream ESD into International and National Education and Sustainable Development Policies”

2. “Transforming learning and training environment: integration of sustainibility principles”

3. “Building capacities of educators and trainers”

4. “Empowering and mobilizing youth: Multiply ESD actions among youth”

5. “Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level: Scale up ESD programmes and multi-stakeholder ESD networks”

The conference adopted recommendations, which are detailed in the supplement document (English version; Russian version).