Educational challenges in the Portuguese UNESCO Global Geoparks: contributing for the implementation of the SDG 4

Abstract

With the approval in 2015 of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, and with the adoption by UNESCO of the new International Geoscience and Geoparks Program (IGGP), the UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) became an important UNESCO designation with the responsibility to fulfil the main principals and strategy of the Organization. By developing the four pillars of UNESCO: Education, Science, Culture and Communication and developing the UGGp activities in the framework of the referred Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especial at- tention has been given to education. In fact, the definition of UGGp recognises the importance of education as a vital engine to promote a transformative change, lifelong learning opportunities for alland to foster quality inclusive education as expressed by SDG 4 “Quality Education”. The Portuguese UGGp in their own educational offer and in their joint educational activities, based in the targets of SDG 4, developed a set of several educational packages, along with the partnership based in the Educational Program “GEA – Mother Earth”. This aimed to involve school and local communities in a global vision that education is a key to the global integrated framework of the SDGs and plays a central role in a changing world. By demonstrating the educational chal- lenges faced by the Portuguese UGGp in the field of education and their contribution for SDG 4, this paper can be considered an essay about the role of UGGp in this field. It seeks also to find some answers to some of the concerns raised nowadays: what type of education is required in the 21st century? How can UGGp through their educational offer contribute to adapt ourselves to change and to transform the world within which we live in? Can UGGp also contribute to the different dimensions of Sustainable Development through their educational programs and projects? These are some of the issues raised and inspired in the targets of SDG 4 that the UGGp seek to contribute through their educational initiatives.