dr. Ziva Deu, Ljubljana SI
EDUCATING FOR A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The two fundamental documents The Agenda 21 and The Agenda Habitat, adopted in Rio de Janeiro and Istanbul respectively, underline the necessity of a sustained development of space and habitation in agreement with other current trends. The term sustained development refers to the fact that habitation should be build and managed with the protection of the existing habitat in mind, especially if this reflects the harmony of architecture and natural environment.
In Slovenia, this holds true for most of the architectural heritage, the development of which was a continued process interrupted several decades ago. The Slovene architecture did not only respect the natural environment, the building material and the man, but also provided for a special part of the Slovene cultural identity. A sustained development is therefore impossible to obtain without a good knowledge of the Slovene habitation heritage.
Both the above-mentioned documents speak about the role of education in obtaining a sustained development. The third chapter of The Agenda Habitat thoroughly explains the duties the United Nations member states should fulfil in order to educate both the expert and the layman. The goals of the so-called sustained development will be successfully obtained only through a thorough educational process, emphasising the importance of the architectural heritage, thus resulting in a better life standard.