The overall aim of the project was to research best practices within European educational institutions, prepare innovative teaching methods to encourage civic engagement in environmental & climate change activities in EU & beyond. The strategic objectives were: 1. Motivate & empower people via new training & engagement opportunities in the field of Sustainability 2. Provide innovative solutions, teaching methods, research & practice to target groups, staff, teachers & learners in Vocational & higher Education 3. Expand the knowledge of best practices & key players in sustainable development in Europe to educational institutions The Operational Objectives were: 1. Produce a comparative study on the activities related to these sustainability issues, in each country (R1) 2. Create a collections of workshop scenarios presenting different approaches to the sustainability training & engagement activities of each country (R1) 3. Develop a trainer's guide including recommendations & best practices for the promotion of sustainability issues via training & engagement activities to empower youth (R1) 4. Create a Naturally Sustainable online learning platform with innovative learning resources available anytime, anywhere (R2)
Community projects are crucial for local identity as promoting shared understanding & sense of community with positive impacts on social cohesion. Sustainability & environmental issues can play a relevant role in promoting citizens’ participation in cities & regions. Education institutions are influential in implementing concepts of sustainable development & they impact the economic, social & environmental dimensions of the communities & regions around them. Society expects them to educate the youth & contribute to the society. Supporting & mobilising staff & students from different countries will lead to an inclusive growth with a well-functioning democratic, inclusive society based on solidarity & values. Still there is no clear understanding how to integrate sustainability into the systems, no guidelines to action, no checklist that would be equally helpful for all educational institutions to increase awareness of sustainable development, civic participation & the added-value brought by the European Union. The Naturally Sustainable project hopes to help to fill this gap & contribute to increasing awareness & motivation for sustainable development among staff & learners in educational institutions.