Education for sustainable development beyond nature // culture: A conference of the German Rectors’ Conference
Education for sustainable development (ESD, 4.7 UN SDGs, 14 Earth Charter) is seen as a key enabler of a global sustainability transformation and urgently needed to answer the multiple existential challenges humanity is facing. However, as a deeply cultural concept education may not only be the solution but also part of the problem: Humans altered Earth’s ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles, exposing the fallacies of the long-held belief in Western(ized) societies that culture and nature exist independently of one another. There is a sneaking suspicion that the idea of a nature-culture-divide played a vital role in the emergence of the unpleasant state of the Anthropocene. Hence, it is time to bridge the culture-nature dichotomy, embrace pluralistic forms of knowledge and empower humans to view themselves as part of an interconnected world.
Therefore, the conference seeks to discuss questions such as:
How can ESD critically assess the role of education systems and practices that contributed to the problems of the Anthropocene?
How can ESD address the disparities in contributions to climate change and promote climate justice?
How can ESD transcend the nature-culture divide and promote the re-imagination of humanity’s place in the world?
How can ESD transform the way we create and share knowledge?
What pedagogical strategies in ESD foster environmental and cultural stewardship among students?
How can ESD integrate indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge as well as scientific approaches to bridge the nature-culture gap in the Anthropocene?
Participation: Free of any charge; however, due to limited space you are required to register to attend by e-mail to empower@hrk.de.
Organization: Jacobus Bracker, German Rectors’ Conference, Berlin.
Funding: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.