Investigate, initiate, innovate. FROM URGENCY TO AGENCY – Sustainability at the Heart of Learning The UN has called ‘Code Red for Humanity’ in its most recent IPCC report. Students are deeply concerned and while it has been a relatively short time since school strikes made the news, it is undeniable that the urgency behind this global movement demands a response from schools. What makes for a relevant education when the IPCC estimates that the human species has a window of no more than 8 years to drastically reduce its emission of CO2 to avoid irreversible climate change? What role can schools play to address the concerns of their students and to be on the right side of history? Schools can, and should, play an active role in mitigating climate change. Indeed, they should use it as an opportunity to innovate and improve.
(SDGs) can be used as a roadmap to display the challenges humanity faces today and they are what we, at La Chataigneraie, have been using as a backbone of our Year 7-9 projects for the last three years. In our view, the SDGs should be more than another list for students to be aware of. After all, the IB Mission is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world. Doesn’t this also mean that IB educators have a responsibility to raise awareness about the SDGs as well as give opportunities to make changes in their own lives and their communities? By allowing students to actively engage with the Sustainable Development Goals through such projects, they will learn about Systems Thinking, Design Thinking and collaboration, equipping them with the skills and attitudes required to meet the challenges of their times.
Schools should reinvent themselves to become learning communities that go beyond preparing for the future; instead they should help shape that future, by allowing students and educators to prototype solutions for today’s challenges. These challenges include, but are not limited to climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals
This SDGZINE issue is a special school cover image edition with content generated by students Nicola Curtin of the International School of Geneva.
(Head of Year 8)
SDGZINE.ORG is an initiative from the ADDICTLAB ACADEMY and partners contributing to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
school contact sarah.lalaz@ecolint.ch
ecolint9innovate team 2021 Nicola Curtin and her year 7 mentors, Sonia Eastham and her Year 8 mentors, Paul Grady and his Year 9 mentors, Sarah Lalaz
with special thanks to Jan Dijkstra, Sarah Watson & Alex Conchard
