Repurposing ESD to Help Adapt to a Post-COVID World – Reflections from India and Africa

Abstract

The world, as we are experiencing it, is in transition because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis has engulfed every aspect of life forcing a re-evaluation of policies, priorities and practices. This viewpoint proposes that community embedded values inherent in some Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) practices could be used in the rebuilding of a post-COVID world. It contends that mere digitalisation of content will not suffice. We need to adopt an approach that considers situated and intergenerational thought and practice. We need to create a world that draws on indigenous knowledge practices and fuses these with the wonders of modern technology and multi-stakeholder interactions. Examples of community projects in Africa and India are used to point to how ESD practitioners could innovate and radically reorient learning environments.