ESD/GC in the age of In Extremis
As some may know Ron and Steve have held annual workshops since 2017 at the Wye Valley Sculpture Garden, Tintern Wales showcasing their developing research in action in the field of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESD/GC).
As with most educational organisations AoS Academic is getting to grips with the new Covid19 restrictions and impacts to the academic year alongside the acceleration towards online delivery.
We’ve always been focused on the practicalities of ESD/GC in these workshops drawing on Ron’s experience with UNESCO embedding science and technology into textbooks in Sikkim India and Steve’s embedded experiential approach to ESD/GC delivered outdoors in natural environments and indoors using multimedia and props.
You can read more about these and other articles in the link below:
https://theartofsustainability.co.uk/academic-esdcg-articles/
Covid19 cannot be viewed as anything other than a catastrophic disrupter to business-as-usual and a harbinger of climate change.
We are now beginning the age of living in extremis with environmental impacts such as floods, fires and disease set to become ever greater impacts on our societies and economies.
Engaging ESD/GC is now more than ever critical to avoiding this; steering us together away from perilous storms towards more Sustainable and Regenerative waters.
In 2018 The Club of Rome, a high-level influential body that advises world governments published its report “Come On! Capitalism Short Termism Population and the Destruction of the Planet.”
In 2019 Steve was fortunate to interview Professor Herbert Girardet a member of The Club if Rome and a key contributor to the report.
The conversation was entitled The Shadow of the Enlightenment, the Enlightenment and the need for a New Enlightenment being a key theme of the report. The interview explored the changes needed for this while acknowledging its shadow side and focusing on technology.
Ron has also been busy working on a series of 3 films about Ecosystem Studies as pathways to Sustainability. The first of these was completed in late 2019 and has had several well received outings at the Hereford Film Festival and then the TeesNet 2020 conference. Production of the second of the series has been on hold this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more about this and Ron’s research and other work go to:
https://www.ronjohnstonenvironmentalesd.co.uk/
We think the two films complement one another in that Steve’s gives a high-level overview of what is needed and Ron’s a down to earth hands-on approach to raising awareness of the vulnerability of our ecosystems and what can be done to preserve their essential biodiversity.
So, we thought we might try a new format for the workshop this year.
This format will be to make available for a limited time the two videos for registered participants to watch then hold a Zoom session on a specific date and time in order for Steve and Ron to present then open for engagement among all participants.
We do not intend to charge for this online event.
Please register interest on the link below:
https://theartofsustainability.co.uk/elementor-popup/academic-register-interest-esdgc-workshop/
You may also be interested in a presentation Steve is giving at Cardiff University\s Sustainable Places Research Institute Thursday, 12 November 2020 12:00–13:00.
Extract: By bringing ESDG/GC alive to the learner and giving an immediate visceral experience preferably outdoors in nature or indoors through multi-media and props; Steve looks to facilitate a deep experience that informs the learner towards the interconnectedness and interdependency of all life on Earth thereby changing behaviour and attitudes.
Thank you for reading
