About the project

The COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that we need to shift towards a more sustainable world. The Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021 states that we need to build a sustainable and fair Europe for future generations, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The EU is focused on this and has a new policy called the European Green Deal. To make this work, we all need to learn how to be sustainable and support the green economy model. In this context, education for sustainable development (ESD) should be a lifelong learning procedure that happens outside of school too.

The AELIA project

The AELIA project seeks to contribute to equipping all citizens with the skills and competencies for the green transition. Our approach involves a comprehensive, multistakeholder strategy that brings together actors from formal and non-formal education settings, businesses, civil society, and the public sector.

 

The project consists of three main parts:

INNOVATION

The project will use new ways of teaching about sustainability that include digital tools and non-traditional learning techniques. This will be tested in 4 countries and could be used in other places if it works well. It will also help those countries make plans for sustainability in their education systems.

COOPERATION

Many different people will work together on this project to make sure it is successful. They will get help from experts and have workshops to plan it all out.

IMPACT

The project will make a big difference by helping educators learn about sustainability and teach it to others. It will also make a guide for sustainability (ESD) plans in the 4 countries and a White paper to help policymakers everywhere.

Objectives

  • Promote sustainability in all education sectors through designing and putting to the test guidelines for sustainability (ESD) plans.
  • Support educational institutions’ management and leaders to apply sustainability (ESD) plans, including monitoring and evaluating their sustainability levels through capacity building on the guidelines for sustainability plans.
  • Increase the provision of quality educational resources by developing an educational framework based on a widened participation of all relevant stakeholders, based on excellence, expertise and a multitude of insights and perspectives.
  • Build the capacity of educators and equip them with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to integrate sustainable development and green transition in their work and become change multiplier agents.
  • Strengthen the acquisition of knowledge and skills and empower all citizens to take action on climate, sustainable development and green transition.
  • Enhance and better promote education for sustainable development.
  • Enhance policy learning and mainstreaming by strengthening transnational cooperation and multi-actor dialogue.

Main Results

  • A guide for sustainability (ESD) plans for educational institutions available in all partner languages and in English.
  • A co-designed educational framework with educational resources and online open course addressed to educational leaders, teachers and educators at all levels.
  • Crowdsourcing platform and webinars for citizens.
  • A white paper on integrating education for sustainable development at all educational levels.

The project is implemented in Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, Romania and Austria.