Background
Sustainability strives to foster protection of the planet and to ensure prosperous development of all living in it, today and in the future. Since the emergence of the concept of “sustainability” that covers economic, environmental and social aspects, it has been deeply rooted in the worldwide development policies. It culminated in 2015, when all countries of the world endorsed the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Looking at problems like climate change, it is obvious that we need to speed up the process of change.
The implementation of sustainability requires an appropriate political framework, but also the participation of all. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) plays a major role in this. ESD promotes awareness, knowledge and understanding of sustainability and empowers people to engage in an environmental sound and societal just change. Innovative and multi-perspective educational methods and materials support teachers, trainers and multipliers in accompanying learners in corresponding educational processes. The project Sustainability Coaches focuses on this.
Objectives
The main objective of the project is to provide trainers and multipliers (e.g. adult educators, NGO workers, people working in community outreach) with knowledge, skills and competences to become “Sustainability Coaches”. They shall then accompany, motivate and inspire their target groups for local sustainable action, having global societies in mind (think global – act local).
Implementation
- Development of educational material: Sustainability Coaches Curriculum, a board and online game (SDG Master) and an Online Platform
- Organization of local workshops and multiplier events
- Organisation of two international staff trainings
- Monitoring and evaluation
Results
For the training of the trainers and for their work with their target groups the consortium will develop a pedagogical and didactical set of educational tools, that can be found mainly in the following main results:
1) The “Curriculum for Sustainability Coaches”, that will contain didactical information for the trainers, as well as information and concrete tools on different aspects of sustainability and possibilities to become active for change.
2) The “Sustainability Game”, an educational game that enables users to analyse real situations and challenges in a given society and try to find sustainable solutions or improvements for the challenges.
3) The interactive “Online Platform on Sustainability”, that will present the content and tools of the curriculum, the game and a set of online training modules, including texts, quizzes and videos that can be used individually online – separately or as a course.