Rethink the future - sustainable thinking.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), call on all nations to combine economic prosperity, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. Sustainable development aims to achieve a continuous improvement in citizens’ quality of life, without compromising the well-being of future generations. Although sustainable development is a fundamental objective of the European Union, none of European countries are on track to achieve the Goals by 2030. Schools have a central role to play in helping people understand the causes of climate change, preparing them to live with the impacts of climate change, and empowering them to take appropriate actions to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. Implementing and sustaining education for sustainable development gives the next generation all the skills and knowledge necessary to handle the social and environmental changes in the near future. Starting the change is essential in order to improve the situation. Nowadays we face a lot of environmental problems such as pollution which plays a role in about 85% of all diseases. Overconsumption can be observed in all European countries. The linear economy damages our ecosystems, which leads to environmental degradation and the loss of resource bases. Students need to understand the dependence between humans and the environment where they live. They will also learn about economy and ecology, which both in the future will play a key role on labour market. The project will ensure equality of future opportunities and employability, especially for students from rural areas. It will also develop personal and linguistic skills of students and teachers. Teachers will compare and exchange working methods and good practices in international groups.The main objectives are:•To change everyday habits and become more sustainable•To learn English vocabulary concerning ecology and economy •To overcome language and cultural barriers •To learn how to open and promote a sustainable company•To understand circular economy •To emphasise the importance of local identity in sustainable economy•To introduce changes in all the schools and make them more sustainable•To explore other countries’ traditions, customs and geographical features.•To introduce the topic of sustainability to the school curriculum in all the participating schoolsAccording to the project’s objectives activities will concentrate on:Locally:•Discussing sustainability issues on regular school lessons•Organising awareness campaigns for local communities•Visiting local schools to give short talks about sustainability•Promoting sustainable ideas: billboards, leaflets and posters, TV news – inviting a local television•Panel discussion with other local schools about circular economy and sustainable development•Dissemination of tangible project results: on school websites and e-Twinning platformeTwinning projects:•Organizing a competition for a project logo•Creating an advertising process of one of the local products and sharing it with other schools•Creating presentations about culture or traditions•Designing calendars and t-shirts promoting and implementing the results of the project•Challenge yourself – a project of making everyday habits more sustainableInternational meetings:•Creating ‘zero waste’ guide•Visiting companies which follow green policy•Taking part in lectures on sustainability•Visiting the most ecological areas in each region•Workshops on the sustainable development goals - writing articles, designing posters and writing comic stories•Visiting the most interesting tourist attractions of the regionThe partnership consists of five secondary schools. Berufsbildende Schule Wirtschaft I from Ludwigshafen, Germany, which has the highest rating on SDGs (75.3), is very green and seems to be a perfect model school to be followed. That’s why BSW I will organize a short-term training meeting for involved teachers. The school is very experienced in eTwinning and can share the experience with others. On the other hand, the students have to reconsider overconsumption which is on a very high level in Germany. Four other countries: Poland, Spain, Hungary and Italy perform rather poorly against the SDGs. Their score is below the UN average SDG Index Score. 70.1.: Spain (66.8), Poland (66.1), Italy (65.3) and Hungary (65.1). That’s why the issue requires a lot of concern in these countries. Our school, ZSE, from Częstochowa in Poland, is The Secondary School of Economics and has a great concern about the importance of circular economy. Liceo Scientifico e delle Scienze Umane “Laurana-Baldi” from Italy and High School Don Pedro Garcia Aguilera from Spain have occured to be the perfect partners. The school from Spain is experienced in environmental issues and provide CLIL biology and ecology lessons. The school from Hungary, Andrássy György Catholic Business, is an expert on tourism, which can show the problem from another angle.