Introduction from the Editorial Committee of the IFHE Programme Committee, Consumer Issues and Family Resource Management:
to the e-book entitled:
Global Sustainable Development: A Challenge for Consumer Citizens
Since the turn of the millennium consumer issues have been fore fronted as an important challenge for the International Federation for Home Economics (IFHE). Consumption is one of the most important and also, for a long time, one of the most neglected elements in the search for a sustainable future.
Since 2001 the IFHE Programme Committee Consumer Issues and Family Resource Management has:
- facilitated a forum for discussion /reflection on topics related to consumer citizenship and encouraged networking among members, corresponding members and others;
- organised a range of activities for the IFHE World Congress to promote consumer citizenship.
A major challenge for everyProgramme Committee is supporting the IFHE Executive Committee in its preparations for world congresses which take place every four years.
For the 2008 golden jubilee world congressin Lucerne, Switzerland, the Consumer Issues and Family Resource Management Programme Committee decided to prepare an e-book on Global Sustainable Developmentthat:
-could be launched and distributed on CD Rom to delegates at congress
-would provide themes and speakers that could be invited to make oral presentations
-would provide a rich resource for poster displays
It all started with an idea at the annual IFHE-meeting in 2005. Three years later, following a lot of effort from the programme committee, and support and interest from somany contributors, we now can see the result, an e-book on CD Rom.
The members of the programme committee during these three years, who became the organisers and editorial committeefor the e-book are: Miriam O’Donoghue, Ireland (co-chair), Karin Hjälmeskog, Sweden (co-chair), Stefan Wahlen, Germany and Eila Kilpiö, Finland.
We sincerely thank the Department of Education and Science in Ireland for funding the e-book; as part of its contribution to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee (CDVEC), Curriculum Development Unit, Dublin, Ireland for managing the project and last but not least, we thank the contributors from all over the world, without whom the e-book would not have been possible.
UN Decade for education for sustainable development
The choice forthe theme for the book was motivated by the fact that the United Nations declared 2005-2014 the decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
The overall aim for the decade is to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. This educational effort will encourage a development towards a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society for present and future generations.[1] The role of consumers and consumption in developing a sustainable future was made clear at the World Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002 where it was stated that fundamental changes in the ways societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development.[2]
It is important to note that even if the scope on this book focuses mainly on the individual,that it is realised that individuals alone cannot manage the change towards a more sustainable development. It will require,as discussed in some of the articles, effective use of national government regulation, fiscal policy as well as action within the global society.Changes in consumption practices will require that millions of individuals change their strategies and actions to show politicians and market actors what kind of development they want.
The consumer citizen
It has been argued that “consumerism” has won the ideological wars of the 20th century, i.e. that consumerism is what defines our age and is the lens through which most people view our time.[3] It is about the value of consumption for the individual. The drive to acquire and consume today dominates many peoples’ minds. Maybe you could even say that consuming fulfils the place once occupied by religion, family and community.
It is also about the role of consumption for national and global society. Just a few days after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, the Americans were called upon to start shopping again. This call can be seen as an ultimate sign of the close link between being a consumer and being a citizen. The true American citizen must do her or his duty – to shop. Being a citizen, from this perspective, includes being a consumer.
On the other hand, the focus on the close connection between being a consumer and a citizen can relate to the influence citizenship can have on consumer behaviour. In this perspective citizenship values such as solidarity, democracy, social justice etc. makes the consumer realise the impact her/his consumption choices have on her/his fellow human beings, those who live close and those far away, and the planet. The title of the e-book: Global Sustainable Development: A Challenge for Consumer Citizen indicates this kind of relationship.
The e-book
This e-book collection of research papers, discussion papers, philosophical reflections, case studies and illustrated stories and pohotographs are all in different ways related to the theme of the book stated in the title: Global Sustainable Development: A Challenge for Consumer Citizen. The authors come from all over the world and all regions, Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific, are represented. Some of the articles give the reader examples of research related to the theme, while others rather function as a basis for further discussion by presenting lines of argument on different aspects of the theme.
The focus of the articles also shows the complexity and the breadth of the theme. The focus can be on the overall question of sustainable development, or on either citizenship or the consumer, or using the notion of consumer citizen. It can focus on the individual or on the level of politics and policymaking. A wide range of articles focus on education for sustainable development, in general, or on Home Economics education. Gender is also a perspective that recurs in some of the articles from different parts of the world.
Sustainable development
To start from the basics, to involve oneself in reflecting on sustainable development one must start by asking: What is sustainable development? There is no simple answer to this question. Gale Smith, Canada, argues in her article that no definition can capture the full meaning, value, and implications of the terminology, especially not of the underlying ideologies. Several questions can be asked when evolving the concept of sustainable development. What is to be sustained? What is development and what is to be developed?
If one way of defining the concept is to be mentioned, it is the one from the Brundtland commission in 1987, used by the UN and others. Sustainable development is a
… development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need.[4]
The individual/The Citizen/The Consumer
When it comes to studying consumption, the key is not only to focus on “how much” but also on “what”. Consumption in itself is not a bad thing. People need to consume to survive, and the poorest people in the world need to consume more if the are to lead lives of dignity and opportunity.[5] Thus, one big problem concerning consumption is the enormous disparities in spending:
The 12 percent living in North America and Western Europe account for 60 percent of global private consumer spending, while the one third living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa account for only 3,2 percent.[6]
The issue of “what”, concerns for example, the impact of human consumption on global ecosystems. One way of measuring this impact is by the “ecological footprint”.[7]The ecological footprint is a measure of the area needed to support a population’s or an individual’s lifestyle. This includes the consumption of food, fuel, wood, and fibres, but also pollution, such as carbon dioxide emissions, that come from specific ways of living one’s life. Many individuals want to make informed choices, environmentally responsible choices; Heiskanen, Timonen and Nissinen, Finland, discuss in their article a tool to help consumers to do that. Globalisation of products and policy-making influence consumer choices, this is discussed in the case of batteries, clothes and mead in research presented by Lindén and Carlsson-Kanyama, Sweden.
Gender
Looking at sustainable development, consumption etc. through a gender perspective shows another map of the state of the world, than that captured without the gendered lens. First, it is possible to get sight of the fact that men tend to have larger ecological footprint than women. It has been shown that…
… human consumption in important respects follows gender-specific patterns that show in general ‘the polluter’ to be a man. This is true both among the rich and among the poor, as women account for only a minor share of the overall scope for consumption, not least in terms of transport, both for social reasons and because they have less resources than men at their disposal.[8]
Secondly, that environmental damage tends to hit women harder than men. While men, as shown above, have larger ecological footprints, women and girls are often hurt most from climate disasters. For examplean Oxfam reportsuggests thatin the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, more women than men were killed. Climate change, bad World Bank and IMF loan conditions, have contributed to food insecurity in Southern African countries. It has been reported from Malawi, that as recently as December 2005women and girls were forced to scavenge for roots and tubers, or join the sex trade to feed themselves and their families.[9]
Last and third, the discussion of sustainable economy, environment, consumption etc. has often failed to address gender. There is often a focus on macro-levels, and human beings and their everyday lives remains unnoticed. Further, this means that women’s knowledge is seldom given high value. Although sometimes, it is realised that the traditional ways of doing things, is what is now needed, for example to re-establish the forests as in Madagascar (Jennings-Rentenaar, article in this book) or managing health care in India (Capila, article in this book)
Gender mainstreaming, as adopted at the Beijing conference, is crucial in the work with sustainable development. As the former Secretary-General of United Nations said:
Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.
Gender equality in terms of gender division of labour, in Ghana (article by Offei-Ansah) and in Czech Republic (article by Mikusova) is one important dimension leading towards illumination of equal resources and power.
Education/Home Economics
Continuing to quote the former Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, the importance of education to Sustainable development is underlined:
Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.
One way of analysing the changes that have lead to the kind of education for sustainable development commonly seen today is to turn to education philosophy traditions, i.e. different conceptions of learning and the aim for and role of education in society. In the case of Sweden it is possible to find at least three different ways of understanding education about the survival of the planet that have dominated during different periods of time. In the 1960s and 70s belief in science and technology to solve the problem was strong. Environmental problems are mainly seen as lack of knowledge. More research and more information to the people will be a solution. The aim is the control the consequences of humans use of natural resources in a way to secure peoples well being. This education is called Environmental education based on facts. This conception of environmental education was in the 1980s challenged by Normative environmental education, characterised by its emphasis on norms and values. Environmental problem is in this tradition regarded as a conflict between the natural environment and human beings. To solve the problem people must change their life styles according to the latest research result. Scientific knowledge is thereby seen as normative and should result in specific values and actions. Finally, during the 1990s a tradition developed with roots in the Rio conference and Agenda 21, Education for sustainable development. In this tradition environmental problems are about conflicting interest between different human interests. Thus, environmental problems are seen as social constructions where groups of people from different angles and values define different phenomenon as environmental problems. Science gives no moral guidance, further also, science holds conflicting ideas. The notion that environment has been replaced by sustainable development to show how environmental issues are closely related to the development of society as a hole.
The different traditions can be regarded as both as a historical review and as ideal types. And they can exist side by side. Different kinds of education must be evaluated in relation to different values and aims. When fore fronting for example critical literacy, the tradition Education for sustainable development seems to be the most desirable.[10]
Several of the articles in this e-book discuss the need for home economics education. Even though the curricula and learning content vary from country to country it is argued that the subject makes a sincere and important contribution to Education for sustainable development (ESD). Arai, from Japan, as an example, argues that Home economics in school relates to ESD in the following three aspects: learning objectives which empower civic spirit, studying topics which offer wide perspectives of content areas, and the learning processes which nurtures critical literacy.
Concluding comments
In this e-book just a few of the themes of the contributions are mentioned. This has nothing to do with the importance of or interest level of the articles. Every article contributes to the picture of sustainable development, of the consumer citizen and of the role of education, especially home economics education, in promoting a sustainable future and quality of life.
We invite you to read them all and see for your self.
On behalf of the e-book editorial committee
Karin Hjälmeskog
Sweden
To become a member of the Consumer Issues and Family Resource Management Programme Committee please go to
1
[1]
[2] Worldwatch Institute,WWI, The state of the world: The consumer society 2004.
[3]Cross 2000 in Worldwatch Institute, WWI, State of the world: The consumer society 2004.
[4]
[5]Worldwatch Institute, WWI, State of the world: The consumer society 2004.
[6] Worldwatch Institute,WWI, State of the world: The consumer society 2004, pp. 5-6).
[7] on this website you can also calculate your own ecological footprint.
[8] Johnson-Latham, Gerd, A study on gender equality as a prerequisit for sustainable development. Report from the Environment Advisory Council, Sweden 2007:2, p. 34.
[9] Climate change through a gender lens. The Oxfam report mentiond is Oxfam Briefing Note, March 2005: The tsunami’s impact on women found at
[10] Ohman and Ostman, Miljöundervisningens traditioner [traditions in environmental education] in a report from The National Agency for Education: Hållbar utveckling i skolan [Sustainable developmen in school], 2002.