The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is providing financial support to organize four International DAAD Alumni Summer Schools on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at German universities in 2009.

The main topic of the Summer School in Lüneburg is “Higher Education for Sustainability”. From 23 to 30 March 2009, papers of participants and invited guests, as well as group discussion will address the question how universities can actively face up to the challenges associated with sustainable development, and to what extent targeted structural changes can contribute to transforming universities for sustainability. The program will be organised by the UNESCO Chair "Higher Education for Sustainable Development" of the Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication (INFU) in cooperation with the Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM). The following key topics will be covered:

Relevance and design of formal and informal learning processes: educational institutions as centres of teaching and learning and as life-world for sustainable development (schools and universities)
Contribution of educational institutions towards sustainable consumerism (schools and universities)
Universities’ further education approaches as a means for sustainability-related knowledge transfer and corporate social responsibility initiatives of enterprises
Curricular implementation of education for sustainable development for different target groups: challenges with regard to content and methods for teaching and learning (universities)
Excursion: Biosphere reserves as learning regions for sustainable development
Facing the challenge: scenarios for transforming higher education institutions as a whole: strategies and methodological approaches for structural change

Subsequent to the symposium in Lüneburg, the attendees of all four summer schools will come together in Bonn on 31 March where DAAD is organizing a special program. As part of the agenda, participants will present findings of their summer schools in the context of the “UNESCO World Conference on ESD – Moving into the Second Half of the UN Decade”, taking place from 31 March to 2 April 2009.