The hybrid international conference entitled “Building a Sustainable Future in Education”, organised by KMOP as part of the European project AELIA, highlighted the crucial role of education in shaping a more sustainable and resilient future. The conference took place on Thursday, 4 December 2025, in Athens.
The event brought together over 200 educators and policy-makers from five European countries, confirming the growing interest of the educational community in integrating sustainability into education policies and practices. The conference was opened with welcoming remarks on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports by Ms Nelli (Kanella) Exarchakou, Director of the Office of the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, and Mr Nikolaos Christodoulou, Coordinator of the Scientific Unit for Education for Active Citizenship and Sustainability and Senior Advisor at the Institute of Educational Policy.
Discussions focused on contemporary approaches and innovative tools aimed at providing meaningful support to educators and education professionals, enabling them to implement sustainability practices in their everyday teaching and professional activities.
Within this framework, Ms Rania El Ampasy, Senior Project Manager at KMOP, presented a coherent set of innovative educational tools designed to strengthen the role of educators and educational institutions as agents of change. More specifically, she introduced a new asynchronous training programme for educators at all levels, equipping them with practical tools and strategies to integrate the principles of sustainable development and the green transition into their teaching. She also presented a practical guide for educational institutions at all levels, which promotes a holistic approach to sustainability by embedding it across all aspects of institutional operations. The guide includes case studies, self-assessment tools and actionable action plans that foster collaboration among pupils, students, educators, administrative staff and local communities.
During the conference, educators and policy-makers exchanged views and experiences on the key findings emerging from the pilot implementation of the AELIA tools, highlighting both challenges and opportunities related to the systematic integration of sustainability into education. In particular, presentations on the project’s main findings were delivered by:
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Teclaire Ngo Tam, Senior Project Manager at SUDWIND, on Forging Sustainable Educational Institutions;
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Maria Elia, Project Manager and Researcher at CARDET, on Piloting the AELIA Project Approach;
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Ana-Maria Tanase, Senior Researcher and Department Coordinator at CPIP, on From Lessons Learnt to the Policymaking Level
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Sanja Kovačević, Assistant Executive Officer for Partnerships at WEBIN, on strengthening cross-sectoral partnerships and collaboration for sustainable education.
The event was held within the framework of the European initiative AELIA, coordinated by KMOP, which aims to empower the educational community and policy-makers to promote sustainable development through education.
The conference was moderated by Ms Jenny Lazarou, Head of Implementation Unit at KMOP.
Discover all the educational resources produced by Aelia at: https://www.aelia-project.eu/results-outputs/