‘For A Better World’: ESD prize-winner Hamburg shows how to bring about ecological and social change
A new post has just been published on the ESD Prize Blog by the the City of Hamburg (Germany), one of the winners of the UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in 2019. Theresa Senk and Isabelle Schipp tell us about their ongoing activties and plans for a series of events to engage citizens for a sustainable future, making use of some of the award money from the UNESCO-Japan Prize.
“We – the team of the Climate protection foundation of Gut Karlshöhe – are still working on our planned series of events “For A Better World” even amid the COVID-19 crisis. We are very grateful for the support we get from the UNESCO-Japan prize money. The series revolves around the organization of a participatory conference for everyone who is not only dreaming about a better world but also getting hands-on and trying to realize their vision – just like the motto: “We. Here. Now!”. Even in this time of chaos, uncertainty and loss of orientation, we want to uphold the consciousness of long-term effects of the climate crisis and develop formats of participation to motivate young people to take part in the future and sustainable development of Hamburg.
That’s why we’re working with journalists and authors Ilona Koglin and Marek Rohde who have been giving idealists, activists and unconventional thinkers fighting for a fair and sustainable world a platform on fuereinebesserewelt.info since 2007. They’re checking every idea precisely instead of labeling committed do-gooders as weirdos or troublemakers right away.
Ilona, Marek and we want to promote ecological and social change on a personal and a local level in Hamburg with an eye on the UN timeframe of 2030 through this conference and further event formats. For that we need empowerment, inspiration and connections which we get by connecting motivated people from non-profit organizations, social businesses and civil movements and giving them a space to educate themselves and to get hands-on right in their neighborhood.
Because of COVID-19 effecting events negatively everywhere, we won’t be holding the “Conference For A Better World” in September 2020 anymore, but probably in June 2021 surrounded by nature at Gut Karlshöhe. In the meantime, we are still working on ideas for advice on how to change your perspective on the world and how to learn to challenge your status quo but not be discouraged. The aim is to push rethinking towards the Sustainable Development Goals with the help of social movements.”