Training and Awareness Raising Curriculum

Bandung has been appointed as one of the cities in the Asia-Pacific region for the development of ecotown project initiated by the United Nations of Environment Programme (UNEP). The ultimate goal of the project is to improve city’s environmental quality aimed to establish a sustainable city. This will be achieved through the implementation of a step-by-step environmentally-friendly city planning and environmental management. The project is also aimed to empower all relevant stakeholders, particularly civil society. Therefore, economic consideration is also an important point besides ecological thought.

However, the concept of ecotown is novel for most of the stakeholders, including government officials. City citizens are not yet familiar with the concept, moreover, they are not aware that the concept of ecotown could be used as a ‘cutting edge’ to harmonize ecological and economic approaches. Both approaches hand-in-hand may improve city’s environmental quality and at the same time create income-generating activities by developing creative economic business. Therefore, it is very important that at the initial phase of ecotown development, government officials in charge of city planning and environmental management have similar concern and hold a strong commitment to make ecotown of Bandung really happen. In fact, under the present social and political circumstances the local government must take the lead and also act as facilitator in the development of Bandung’s ecotown.

The implementation of Bandung’s ecotown may thrive if some preconditions could be achieved, i.e. transformation of mindset and behaviour upon environment. Such preconditions must occur among all parties (government officials, business actors, and general public) and all of them must take initiative in accordance with their capacity in the society. All parties must aware that the present and future daily life in the city cannot be undertaken under the paradigm of ‘business as usual’. Furthermore, ethical living should be awaken as part of reorienting society’s perception upon the environment.

Thus, activities aimed to educate the citizens of Bandung so that ecologically literate society could be established must take into consideration. Apart from that, activities aimed to improve necessary skills of stakeholder to manage city’s environment should also be given a thorough concern. Such activities are decisive to make sustainable development in Bandung City successful. It should be further pointed out that it may take years of hard efforts to create a sustainable city. Therefore, educational and skill improvement activities are excellent investment.

Educational and skill improvement as mentioned above may be conducted under several forms of activity such as workshop, training, stakeholder dialogue, and focus grous discussion. Such activities have added value because common understanding on how to establish a sustainable city by involving all stakeholders could be undertaken. All parties may contribute to provide inputs on what topics and materials should be developed in environmental education. Inputs concerning skill improvement in environmental management can also be obtained from the above mentioned activities.

Workshop and stakeholder dialogue are improtant steps to establish ecotown in Bandung using bottom-up approach. Stakeholders involvement is an effective strategy because the ultimate goal of establishing sustainable city by the development of ecotown is the responsibility of all parties and should be built on the basis of mutual partnership.


Based on the rationality described above, training on environmental education and skill improvement will be held in the form of workshop. The topics presented and discussed in the workshop will cover the following aspects:

1. The concept of sustainable development and ecotown
2. Environmental education
3. City’s wastes as new resources for small-scale business
4. Development of creative economy to solve city’s environmental problems

It is expected that the outputs of the workshop could assist the local government of Bandung to solve the various environmental problems currently faced by the city. Whereas, the long-term expectation of the workshop relate to the foundation of ethical living to establish sustainable city of Bandung.