About Us
The Launch
ESDA was conceptualized and launched in 2008 by the United Nations University
ESDA INCEPTION
Education for Sustainable Development in Africa (ESDA) was conceptualized and launched in 2008 by the United Nations University (UNU) to help develop critical skills and produce new knowledge for sustainable development in Africa. This was partly in response to follow up on this Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) IV outcome, and partly also to contribute to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005 – 2014, that UNU initiated this program, jointly with a group of 8 leading African universities, to develop a postgraduate program to shape a new generation of professionals to face the challenges of Africa’s sustainable development.
This development work, seed-funded by the Japanese Government, and the African partner universities launched, in 2014, three Master’s programs – namely, ‘Sustainable Integrated Rural Development Program (SIRDA)’, ‘Sustainable Urban Development Program (SUD)’ and ‘Mining and Mineral Resources Program (MMR)’.
The eight African partner universities are: the University of Cape Town (South Africa), University for Development Studies (Ghana), University of Ghana (Ghana), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana), University of Nairobi (Kenya), Kenyatta University (Kenya), University of Zambia (Zambia) and the University of Ibadan (Nigeria).