Prof Gitile Naituli

On 24th November, Prof Gitile Naituli of Faculty of Commerce gave a presentation on integration and sustainability of environmental education in universities at the first Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities (MESA) international conference held at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi. His presentation was titled 'The MESA experience: what we have learned'.

The theme of the conference was "Environment, Development and Climate change in Africa: Universities responding?"It brought together the civil society, leaders in higher education, and students from across Africa as well as academicians from Europe, The Americas and Asia.

Prof Naituli's presentation was on prioritizing responsible and ethical applications of knowledge; developing practical & evaluative approaches when working with new forms of knowledge especially in the area of research and learning; the development of a holistic view by lecturers of knowledge and how various disciplines complement each other when solving problems; increased practice and engagement on sustainability issues and also promoting awareness on environmental issues in university communities; developing a more situated approach to knowledge in its relationship between culture and social change.

Prof Naituli was also the rapportuer on a special session on engaging university leaders for sustainable institutional change.Dr Ruth Kiraka moderated a panel discussion on best practice in North-South and South-South cooperation amongst universities.

The conference looked at how universities in Africa can adopt operational and policy norms so that students can learn how to be economically, social and environmentally responsible while being participatory citizens in the global economy.

The conference followed up on issues from the MESA seminar held at Lukenya in December 2006 that looked at several principles that could be followed when working with communities. These principles included linking learning with action, promotion of voluntary participation, and progressive learning among others.

The resolutions reached at the conference will act as a platform for the UNESCO World Conference on Education and Sustainable Development in March 2009, the 12th Association of African Universities (AAU) General conference on higher Education in April 2009, and the World Congress on Environmental Education in May 2009.

In 2007, Prof Naituli received the MESA award. He will in 2009 take up the co-ordination and hosting of the Education in Sustainable Development (ESD) International Training Programme (ITP).