The ministers, informed and assisted in their deliberations by high officials and experts of their countries and IGOs, NGOs, Academia and other stakeholders and facilitated by the Secretariat of the MCESD, concluded (unanimously) that:

The complex and serious challenges the Mediterranean Region is facing as a result of accumulated old and emerging environmental, socioeconomic and geopolitical issues require urgent and effective mitigating measures.

The global triple crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution) is particularly visible in the Mediterranean, the South and Eastern interface of Europe with Africa and Asia, the area that warms faster than any other region of our planet with the exception of the Arctic.

This situation requires urgent, coherent, coordinated and effective action at all governance levels, from global and regional/Mediterranean, to national and local. Effective mobilisation and commitment are needed by all State and non-State actors.

In this respect and for the promotion of the Agenda 2030 and the achievement of the ambitious EU targets, formal, non-formal and informal ESD/public awareness, should be employed, understood as more than ‘education on SD’. It is, in fact, the least expensive and most powerful tool and prerequisite for effective management of the aforementioned crises and for achieving the SDGs and sustainable development overall.

The progress in ESD introduction and implementation reported in the meeting is significant, as it concerns mobilisation at all educational levels, with many improvements in curricula and with many extracurricular activities, including outdoor and non-formal activities with the involvement of stakeholders. Nevertheless, the needs are enormous and a lot of effort is still necessary for the proper implementation of the Action Plan Towards 2030 of the Mediterranean Strategy on ESD.  

Furthermore, ESD at the level of Higher Education, as well as at the vocational level, is urgently needed for appropriately preparing the future generation of decision makers and practitioners, through advancing their knowledge and skills, to be able to successfully address the challenges ahead.

For ESD to deliver the expected results, it needs to become a ‘whole of Government’ priority, appropriately embedded in EU and national policies with adequate human and financial resources. The importance of the role the MED9 Education Ministers can play is twofold: promoting within the EU Education Council the Mediterranean priorities and sharing their collectively agreed views with their fellow Ministers of the non-EU Mediterranean countries at appropriate occasions.