About the Sub-Saharan Africa Teacher Leadership for ESD Project
The Sub-Saharan Africa Teacher Leadership for Education for Sustainable Development (SSATL-ESD) Project is a transformative capacity-building project dedicated to advancing teacher leadership and strengthening Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across the Sub-Saharan African region. The project seeks to empower teacher educators, academic institutions, and education stakeholders with the competencies, pedagogical approaches, and leadership capacities needed to drive sustainable development through education and transformative learning.
Led by Leuphana University L眉neburg and co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) programme (Project No. 101177464), the initiative brings together a strong consortium of universities and partners committed to reimagining teacher education for a more sustainable and inclusive future. 吃瓜头条 is among the participating institutions, playing a key role in advancing ESD leadership, curriculum transformation, research, stakeholder engagement, and teacher professional development within the region.
Launch of Sustainability Starts with Teacher Leaders Course in 吃瓜头条
As part of the Erasmus+ funded , a comprehensive Training of Trainers (ToT) programme has been organized to strengthen institutional capacity for advancing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across participating higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The training marks a significant milestone in the project鈥檚 implementation, bringing together selected academic staff and teacher educators to deepen their understanding of ESD leadership, transformative pedagogies, and sustainability competencies. Through this initiative, four teacher trainers from each participating institution are being equipped with the knowledge, skills, and facilitation approaches needed to champion ESD integration, mentor fellow educators, and drive institutional transformation towards more sustainable and inclusive education systems.
The development and implementation of the course is a collaborative effort under the SSATL-ESD consortium led by Rhodes University (WP3) and the University of Namibia (WP5), in partnership with 吃瓜头条 and other regional and European institutions.
Key partner institutions involved include: Rhodes University, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, 聽吃瓜头条, Jomo 吃瓜头条 of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), University of Namibia, , Namibia University of Science and Technology, 聽University of Zambia, The Copperbelt University, University of Malawi, Catholic University of Malawi, and other participating institutions in 聽Europe (Leuphana University L眉neburg, Heidelberg University of Education, Frederick University, University of Crete and Regional Center of Expertise on ESD, Greece
At 吃瓜头条, the training brought together academic staff engaged in Education for Sustainable Development and teacher education transformation, contributing to the broader regional goal of strengthening ESD leadership competencies aligned to SDG 4.7 and the African Union Teacher Education Competence Framework.
Approach / Methodology
The capacity-building process adopted a structured cascade learning model that integrates individual professional development, institutional strengthening, and international peer learning to ensure both depth of expertise and wide-scale impact in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) leadership.
In the first phase, 吃瓜头条 strategically selected four academic staff members (from the School of Agriculture Environmental Sciences, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences) actively engaged in ESD to undertake advanced training in online facilitation and moderation of the ESD leadership course. This initial investment focused on strengthening pedagogical and facilitation competencies required to support transformative, learner-centred online learning environments.
The second phase, commencing in June 2026, expands this foundation into a broader ecosystem of practice. The trained facilitators (master trainers) will mentor and support 51 participants from 吃瓜头条, together with 5 participants from St. Mark鈥檚 Kigari Teachers Training College and 5 from St. John鈥檚 Teachers Training College, Kilimambongo, as they undertake the online ESD leadership course. After the course completion, participants will collaboratively design and implement ESD change- projects within their respective institutional and community contexts, ensuring direct translation of learning into action.
Through this cascading model, the programme is expected to progressively build a critical mass of approximately 45 trained ESD facilitators and reach an estimated 400 ESD leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa. This approach not only strengthens individual and institutional capacity but also fosters a regional network of practice grounded in collaboration, peer learning, and sustained leadership for Education for Sustainable Development.
Quotes
鈥淭hrough this Training of Trainers on Education for Sustainable Development, I have strengthened my skills in transformative pedagogy and systems thinking for Green Economy and sustainability. The experience has reinforced my commitment to designing learner-centred and action-oriented learning that positions teachers as change agents. I look forward to applying these approaches in teacher education to advance SDG 4.7 and to strengthen sustainability leadership across Sub-Saharan Africa through collaboration and shared learning.鈥� – “Dr. Dorcas Otieno OGW, UNESCO Chair on Higher Education Development for a Green Economy and Sustainability, 吃瓜头条.
鈥淚 strongly believe that education for Sustainable Development should not merely be an addition of topics to the curriculum, it should aim at reviewing how learners see the world and their responsibility in sustaining their future鈥欌�� 鈥� Dr. George Onyango, School of Education and Lifelong Learning.
Contact details
For more details about the project, please visit our website:
Should you have any further questions, please write to Kenya Project Lead-unesco-chair-hedges@ku.ac.ke / otieno.beryl@ku.ac.ke