Schools in Bali Embraces Global Community through Sustainable Development Education
Delegations of participants from various countries participating in the Sub-Regional Meeting ESD-Net 2030 visited State Senior High School (SMAN) 3 and State Vocational High School (SMKN) 3 Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia (14/6) as part of an educational visit for sustainable development. During this visit, delegates discussed various issues related to education, environment and sustainable development.
According to Itje Chodidjah, Executive Chairman of the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO (KNIU), accompanying a delegation at SMKN 3 Denpasar, revealed that the visit aims to enhance understanding of the relationship between education and sustainable development.
“SMKN 3 is one example of how to integrate education for sustainable development in the teaching learning process. In addition, it also embraces the global community through the sustainable development education program that has been implemented,” Itje added.
The international delegation consists of 21 countries, including Japan, Uzbekistan, the Maldives, South Korea, Bhutan, Pakistan and the Philippines. They explore how Indonesia and Bali in particular, address environmental challenges and sustainable development inside and outside the classroom. The delegation was impressed by Bali’s efforts to improve sustainability, including the waste reduction and environmental protection programs implemented by SMAN 3 and SMKN 3 in Denpasar.
“We are very impressed with this initiative, especially students’ skills improvement programs such as the processing of garbage into creations such as exhibitions of flowers and various objects that can be used in the community,” said Deputy Director, Federal Directorate of Education, Tabassum Naz as a representative from Pakistan.
“The application of improved skills/skills students can make students and their school show that they are a sustainable development education,” explains Naz who is also amazed with the expertise of the creation of towels/art towel of students of SMKN 3 Denpasar majoring in Hospitality Accommodation.
The Heads of schools were also pleased with the visit and welcomed the contribution of international delegations to their understanding of sustainable development issues. “We are very pleased with this visit, because our school is an Adiwiyata school that continues to consistently realize the vision and mission as a green school,” said the Head of SMAN 3 Denpasar, Kadek Dwi Rustinawati.
Kadek added that SMAN 3 Denpasar also moves its students to love the environment, protect the environment and create a healthy environment as a safe and comfortable place to study.
“Learning in our school is integrated with environment-based learning. It is reflected in every learning activity, extra-curricular activities, or cocurricular activity in the school,” said Kadek.
Students from the visited school also gave their views. I Made Surya Niyana Pasek, a 11th grade SMAN 3 student in Denpasar, revealed that she was very pleased with the visit of an international delegation to her school. “With this visit, I can show the results of our work to keep the environment at school sustainable to international delegations,” said a student known as Surya.
Surya, who is the Coordinator of Composite Fertilizer Making at his school, said that the arrival of this international delegation could be used as a medium to exchange ideas with teachers and students in an effort to preserve the environment.
Wangchuk, a representative from Bhutan, who is a Curriculum Developer at the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, said he was delighted to visit SMAN 3 Denpasar. “As a teacher for eleven years, I am very pleased to see this school moving in the right direction. Because the students not only learn knowledge in the classroom, but the students are also given the opportunity to explore outside the class and learn based on research,” Wangchuk said while appreciating the learning activities at SMAN 3 Denpasar.
As for a series of other activities carried out by the delegation in SMKN 3 which is to witness the student fashion pagelaran that uses fashion from plastic recycled materials, visit the educational/edutel hotel that became the place of training of students majoring in Hospitality Accommodation, enjoy the tea processing of flowers Telang and Rosella, try a foot reflex massage with the use of massage oil from environmentally friendly materials.
While at SMAN 3, the delegation had the opportunity to be shown the results of scientific work that can be useful for the community, including the utilization of orange peel waste and frangipani/plumeria flowers to be used as aromatherapy to relieve stress, the utilization of beverage label waste and golden snail shells to be used as biocomposites that can be used as various daily necessities.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (MoECT), KNIU and the Government of Japan have successfully collaborated in holding the Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Bali from June 12 to 14, 2023.
The meeting and educational visit aimed to raise awareness and strengthen cooperation between countries in order to develop education for sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific.
