Objectives

This course will help participants fully understand what is sustainable development (SD) and why it is important for your organization. Participants will become familiar with the key concepts and theories relating to SD and the wider economy and apply these concepts and theories to complex problems and practical situations presented in the workshop. Since the Rio summit in 1992 SD is becoming increasingly a major concern for both developed and developing countries (DCs). Yet, translating the principles of SD into effective economic and environmental policies seems to be a major challenge for all countries. The World Bank’s recommendation in 1998 for all countries particularly those economies heavily dependent on oil to embark on the diversification of their economic resources such as approaching development from a Knowledge Management (KM) perspective by adapting policies to increase know how and knowledge attributes that can improve people’s lives in myriad ways. The concept of sustainability is multi-dimensional and often unclear and there is no single definition or perspective which necessarily fully captures the concept.

What Would you Learn

• Understand the controversies in SD and the key issues in the debate on SD, including the methods and implications of SD on competitiveness and costs.
• Understand the difficulty in achieving SD for many DCs and highlights the specific situation of many DCs stressing the difficulties they meet in this respect using various sustainability indexes.
• Explore how can knowledge contribute and enhance SD.
• Develop interpersonal skills through the use of group presentations, discussions and exercises.