USM PENANG, 4 October 2024 - A representative from the Korean Ministry of Environment was at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) today to present a talk on 'Education for Sustainable Development' (ESD).

Held at the USM School of Educational Studies (PPIP) Aminah Ayob Auditorium, the talk by Dr. Park Su Yeon was jointly organised by PPIP and RCE Penang@USM.

Park currently serves as an expert advisor to the Korean Environment Ministry.

She delivered a talk on the topic ''Sustainability Academic Discourse - Embracing Formation Process of Environment Citizen through Environmental Learning Experience: Application of Learn-Act-Being Cyclic Model'', a process to develop environmentally-conscious citizens using the aforementioned environmental learning experience.

Park began her talk by giving an overview of Korea and her position as an advisor for the Government.

"The issue of citizenship is a major concern for the Koreans, beginning from the 1900s and even until the time when the country was divided into North and South.

"This progressed into the 2000s, when (peaceful) climate protests and constitutional petitions were held, and where the people have demanded for their 'right to live in the future'."

Park said that the idea would need to be understood by those involved in policy-making, namely the policy-makers, policy advocates as well as policy followers.

"When effectively implemented, such policies could result in long-lasting achievements. The achievements can be in the form of projects which have been completed, but more importantly the resulting change in each individual, which in itself is a significant outcome," she added.

She continued by highlighting the progress which had been implemented through enacted laws by the government in Korea regarding Environmental Education (EE), which had been realised in the form of the Mandatory School Environmental Education plan.

Environmental education is a process that allows individuals to explore environmental issues, engage in problem-solving, and to take action to improve the environment. As a result, individuals develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues and acquire skills to make informed and responsible decisions.

In relation to the move made by the Korean government and as part of her Doctoral research, Park had proposed the 'Learn-Act-Being' cyclic framework.

It lists down the necessary items that need to be considered in educating the people to be 'environmental citizens' or practicing pro-environmental behaviours and achieving sustainability, as defined by the European Network for Environmental Citizenship (ENEC).

As she summarised in her conclusion, what is more important would be that the awareness on environmental issues and practices need to be internalised, based on the knowledge and understanding acquired by the individuals. This would then lead to decision-making and action, on the necessary steps to be taken regarding sustainability.

Park has been involved in the field of Education for more than fifteen years. For ten years, she had also led the Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) branch in Tongyeong, Republic of Korea.

RCE Tongyeong has established a green space named 'Sejahtera Forest', with the name proposed by the then former USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak.

RCE Penang@USM, as part of the USM Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS), is a member of the RCE global network and among the first seven to be established in the world then.

Both RCEs are part of the RCE global network, which has branches all around the world. It is facilitated by the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), a leading research and teaching institute based in Tokyo, Japan.

Text: School of Educational Studies, USM & Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin