In the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on 18 March 2005, at their high-level meeting, UNECE Ministers, vice-ministers and other representatives of Environment and Education Ministries adopted by acclamation a UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development - a practical instrument to promote sustainable development through education. They also adopted the Vilnius Framework for Implementation setting up a Steering Committee and an expert group on indicators in order to facilitate coordination and review of Strategy’s implementation. Various stakeholders, including international organisations, business, non-governmental organisations, regional environmental centres and research institutions took part in the meeting and provided valuable contributions.
The Meeting debated the progress in implementing ESD, highlighted good practices in the region and identified key challenges that lie ahead. It discussed the role of the UNECE region in implementing ESD in a global context. The Meeting also launched the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in the UNECE region.