The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) launched a teacher professional development programme to advance Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Malaysia at the opening ceremony of “ESD for 2030 Regional Meeting on Transforming the Futures of Education” at Sunway University.

JCF, Malaysia’s largest education-focused social enterprise, will fund the development and delivery of a capacity-building development programme on ESD for teachers in Malaysian national and national-type schools nationwide.

The ceremony was officiated by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education Madam Fadzilah Fadzil, who serves as the Undersecretary of Strategic Planning and International Relations and as Secretary-General of the Malaysian National Commission for UNESCO (MNCU).

Representing YB Fadhlina Sidek, Minister of Education for Malaysia as well as President of the Malaysian National Commission for UNESCO, Madam Fadzilah welcomed the convening of the meeting in Malaysia, drawing parallels between its objectives and the Malaysia MADANI philosophy.

“Consistent with the concept of MADANI, Education for Sustainable Development emphasizes ethical values and mindsets, and a sense of responsibility, to guide young people to relate what they learn, and how they can make a difference in their communities, environments and the world,” she added.

Tan Sri Sir Dr. Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO, Co-Chair of Mission 4.7 as well as Founder and Chairman of Sunway Group, in his opening remarks shared, “I am delighted to announce that the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation has decided it will fund the expansion of this programme to 30 more schools soon, involving more than 2,500 teachers nationwide. 

“Many schools have already expressed their interest to be beneficiaries of the programme and this highlights the keen interest among Malaysian teachers for professional development in Education for Sustainable Development.”

This teacher professional development programme in ESD is carried out with the support of Malaysia’s Ministry of Education through Education Policy Planning and Research Division (EPRD), adapting and applying global ESD competencies and frameworks to local contexts.

Also present at the event was Professor Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN-SDSN and Sir Jeffrey Cheah Distinguished Professor at Sunway University, who delivered a keynote address on the imperative to transform education in order to build prosperous, resilient and sustainable societies of the future.  

“SDG 4: Quality Education is the centre to which all SDGs rely on. This gives great importance to the teacher professional development programme being done here by the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.”

The programme will advance Mission 4.7, a global initiative to advance transformative education for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which calls upon governments to ensure that learners acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attributes needed to achieve the SDGs.

As part of JCF’s continued commitment to nation-building and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it has gifted US$20 million to the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN-SDSN). 

This fund has since financed the development of the Jeffrey Sachs Center for Sustainable Development at Sunway University, as well as the establishment of the Asia Headquarters of the UN-SDSN in Malaysia.

Today, UN-SDSN’s Asia headquarters coordinates worldwide sustainability initiatives alongside the two other UN-SDSN offices in New York City and Paris. 

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