By René Wadlow

Namrata Sharma, Education for Sustainability and Global Citizenship.

London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2025, 233pp.

As Namrata Sharma highlights in her preface, “We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise … We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.”

In order to understand better the world and its complexities, new approaches to education must be made, both formal and informal education. Much of the book is devoted to setting out guidelines for teachers and for curriculum developers. There is a strong emphasis on the efforts of the Brazilian scholar, Paulo Freire (1921-1997). I worked closely with Paulo Freire during his years of exile in Geneva, when the military were in power in Brazil. He would come to lead seminars at the Geneva Development Institute where I was teaching. There is also an emphasis on the writings of Daisaku Ikeda (1928-2023), the Japanese leader of the Soka Gakkai movement with his highlighting Trust, Aspiration and Courage.

A central theme of the book is focused on the question, “How can education be reframed in the light of the world environmental crisis and the consequences of climate change?” Thus, the efforts of UNESCO to develop an earth-centered education is stressed. There are many bibliographic references to UNESCO studies and UNESCO work on transformative learning. There are also a good number of references to the work of the University for Peace in Costa Rica and its promotion of the Earth Charter.

Namrata Sharma highlights the need for world citizenship. Her many bibliographic references to publications and websites make the book an important tool for developing positive approaches to education through dialogic learning.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.