G7 university event to showcase role in sustainability

(ANSA) - Udine, June 9 - The second discussion of the G7 university event on June 29-30 in Udine will focus on the sustainability and universities.
    "In order to achieve the objective of a 'global approach to sustainability', as suggested by UNESCO, universities should develop special curricular and extracurricular activities, as well as teaching and research, within environmentally friendly facilities," reads a document published by Angelo Riccaboni, Silvia Aru and Cristina Capineri from the University of Siena in preparation for the discussion 'Education for Sustainability.
    Practices, Tools and Solutions'.
    Some 150 university rectors, professors and students will be participating in the G7 Environment, as part of the Italian 'Conoscenza in Festa' knowledge festival. To stimulate the discussion, the speakers at the Tuscan university have said that "universities should also strengthen the link between the world of education and the wider social context in which they operate." "The aim would be," they wrote, "to become spaces that 'breathe' sustainability: inclusive, democratic, healthy and carbon-free spaces for the sake of sustainable development." The researchers underscored that "there is still a great deal to be done, even though there are positive signs". The event - organized by the Italian national university rectors conference (CRUI) in collaboration with the Friuli Venezia Giulia regional government, Fondazione Friuli, the University of Udine and the education ministry - will seek to illustrate how education as sustainable development can play a decisive role "both in the achievement of sustainable objectives and in the implementation of Agenda 2030".
    The coordinators said that "as a result, courses, master classes, and massive online courses are springing up everywhere, alongside a network of diverse key inter-governmental, institutional and educational players." They stressed that "the introduction of sustainability requires methodological innovations as well".
    "At the moment," they said, "we are seeing a transition from a purely technical perspective to approaches based on practice and oriented towards the search for concrete solutions. This highlights the importance of interdisciplinary and participative pedagogies, enabling students to contribute in diverse ways to the building of a safer, greener and more equal planet for all."