Acting for sustainability
Education at the heart of every green transition action.
We are in an era of strong changes and the theme of Sustainable Development is the central point for understanding, reflecting and taking action to deal with this global situation. You cannot think of planning green strategies without having the necessary skills and that global vision of the effects of each idea or action undertaken. For this reason, schools but also information to the public must be tools for transmitting knowledge and stimulating people to want to know and think, so that at every level, from students to adults, a positive and significant collective conscience and mentality can be formed. Education and training institutions must increasingly integrate Sustainability into teaching and learning, making it a subject that cuts across all the others because it is now essential for the very life of human beings and the planet.
Environmental education is more crucial than ever today for many reasons: it promotes understanding of the interdependence between the environment and society , it makes us understand how our impact influences the ecosystem, it facilitates attention towards natural resources . All this contributes to creating greater awareness of the need to safeguard the environment, through sustainable behaviors and policies that put citizen participation at the center. We must start from the objective and shared understanding of the profound changes we are experiencing, their origin and the consequences they are bringing, to then arrive at the formulation of the transformative actions necessary to restore the right balance in the global system. It is a priority that can no longer be renounced and to which we must allocate resources and funds to realize this fundamental opportunity. Creating learning contexts favorable to Sustainability means giving depth to society, actively involving communities, wisely educating each context.
Today, this “green movement” is widely talked about in Western countries but more practical in developing areas: it is a contradiction but reflects the contemporary historical situation, clearly indicating the social wave coming in the next few years. Asia, Africa, South America are showing an attention to green innovation educational policies that are much more concrete and sensible than the modern West: they do it because they deeply experience what is happening on their own skin, they see the effects of climate change day after day, they suffer the causes of a generational decay that induces young people to go beyond to find new life opportunities (even if their will would be to grow up in their homeland). Students, recent graduates, young professionals: a universe of precious skills, a heritage of brains that travels full of the desire to learn, to discover, to think and to achieve. This means embodying the values of Sustainability for a present that is already the future: “chapters” of the great book of green development such as defending equity, promoting nature, having a critical and systemic thought on the transition, demonstrating individual initiative with a collective vision, exploring new harmonious paths, all this is the expression of a coalition for the climate in order to write an authentic green agenda. This education must cascade down to everyone. If we think that even today about 773 million adults have not had access to literacy, let's commit to start composing a new green alphabet that becomes a vehicle of good practices but also a tool for learning. A wonderful synergy between education and inclusiveness would be achieved.
We must invest in education: it is the only way to form consciences and become aware citizens.
Sensitivity to environmental issues must become a must and institutions must be beating hearts, just as each community must be animated by that cultural exchange between generations that is essential to create a constructive dialogue. Sustainability belongs to everyone: everyone is responsible for themselves, for others and for the planet. Let's start educating ourselves on this green axiom, our future depends on it.