New Report Charts Roadmap for Education for Sustainable Development in Malaysia

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has released a transformative new report, Building the Capacities of Educators in Education for Sustainable Development: Report of a Pilot Educator Training Programme in Malaysia, offering a clear and comprehensive roadmap to equip Malaysia’s teachers with the skills and mindsets needed to deliver future-relevant education.

The report, developed under the global Mission 4.7 initiative, documents the design, rollout, and results of a pioneering educator training pilot conducted in Malaysian public schools. Crucially, the report sets forth a clear and scalable model for integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into teacher training systems in Malaysia and beyond—one that places a systems approach, organisational culture, and community engagement at its core.

SDSN is a founding member of Malaysia’s National Strategic Alliance for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship (GCED), which is helmed by the Ministry of Education, and has been active in ensuring that ESD is represented in the upcoming 13th Malaysia Plan and Education Blueprint 2026–2036. The new ESD teacher training roadmap is therefore well positioned to inform efforts toward building a future-relevant, high-quality national education system.

With countries across the Asia-Pacific seeking ways to reinvent education systems fit for a fast-changing world, SDSN’s Mission 4.7 Malaysia report offers more than a national case action plan—it is a regional springboard with insights and tools for sustainable reform that can be adapted by countries across the region to localize ESD and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) while strengthening teacher leadership and whole-system transformation.

This report signals a bold step forward, not just for Malaysia, but for the region. It demonstrates that empowering educators is the key to reimagining learning systems fit for the 21st century.