The project by Goethe Institute – Come Together for a Sustainable Future

Goethe Institute starts new academic year with important and large-scale project. Specifically, the project called „Vernetzt für Nachhaltigkeit“ (come together for a sustainable future) continues and is financed by the Ministry of Foreign affairs of Germany. The project aims to support various forms of collaboration in the field of sustainable education.

Today, international conference was held at Goethe Institute. The subject was „Vernetzt für Nachhaltigkeit“ (come together for a sustainable future). Participants were The Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Lia Gigauri; international experts in green and environmental pedagogy from Germany, Austria and Switzerland; experts in the field of sustainable development from Graz university and Agricultural and Environmental Pedagogic University of Vienna.

School teachers from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia took part in the conference as well. There was a discussion about sustainable education opportunities and challenges, green and environmental pedagogics, considered the economic, ecological and social conflicts of interests. Mentioned issues deliver a very big importance for trans-Caucasian nations as it is for European countries. Educational institutions are increasingly emerging motivation and desire to change the future through their own initiative.

The whole project as well as the conference aims to make academic process kind of push to increase academic awareness in terms of sustainable development. Therefore, project strategies cover workshop series in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. These seminars are dedicated to planning projects concerning sustainable development issues including- nature as environment, water, living soil, climate, food and biodiversity. It should be said that teacher involvement plays a crucial role in the efficiency of the project. The teachers will be assisted by Vienna agricultural and environmental pedagogy University students, who will be brought especially for the project.

The project ‘’Vernetzt für Nachhaltigkeit" (come together for sustainable future) is wide in its sense, it covers conferences, seminars, school projects, summer camps, and publishing solid manuals. Accordingly, the first phase of the project was summer camps concerning environmental protection and sustainable development issues, which was held during 12-18 August for German language teachers across Georgia. Several days long seminars were conducted by Willy Linder (Austria), Pati Ramishvili (Georgia) and Aike pokrandt (Germany). The major aim of these workshops were integration of environmental protection and sustainable development issues during German language lessons.

The final concluding conference of the project ‘Vernetzt fürNachhaltigkeit’ (come together for sustainable future) will be held in December at Goethe Institute. During the conference, individual projects will be evaluated as well as there will be considered future long-term perspectives of project opportunities and various ideas related to it.