Uganda has officially launched Phase I of the Leadership for Education for Sustainable Development (LEAD-ESD) project, a regional capacity building initiative aimed at transforming teacher education and TVET systems across Eastern Africa through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
LEAD-ESD is an online certification training programme designed for policy makers, heads of institutions, teacher educators, and TVET educators/instructors. The project is part of UNESCO’s broader initiative, Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs (ESD for 2030), and aligns with Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This regional programme targets 12 countries in Eastern Africa:
Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda. Implementation will take place in three phases, starting with four countries in Phase I including Uganda, followed by four more in Phase II, and the remaining four in Phase III.
The LEAD-ESD training is fully online, self-paced and is built around a five step action learning framework, offering a structured pathway to develop transformative leadership skills in education for sustainable development.
Participants will engage with content through modules, and will submit assignments, presentations, and group projects. One of the programme’s key components is the Change Project: Each participating institution nominates 3 to 4 trainees, who will jointly design and implement a sustainability-focused change project addressing a real institutional challenge.
Uganda has nominated approximately 50 participants from key institutions such as the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), as well as educators from teacher training colleges, TVET institutions, and universities.
The programme is hosted by the Uganda National Commission for UNESCO (UNATCOM), and coordinated at the national level to ensure smooth implementation. To officially kick off the project, an inception and orientation workshop was held online on Thursday 7th & Friday 8th August 2025
The workshop introduced participants to the course structure, objectives, and expectations, and provided a collaborative space for nominees to connect and begin forming their institutional project groups.
The LEAD-ESD project is more than just a training course, it is a platform for transformative, action oriented education that empowers educators to reimagine quality education for a sustainable future. Participants are expected to take their learning forward into their institutions, influencing curricula, pedagogy, and institutional practices.
By equipping education leaders with the knowledge and tools to integrate ESD into teaching and learning, LEAD-ESD supports national and regional efforts to create “The Africa We Want.”