Innovating and collaborating to increase student awareness of Sustainable Development Goals

In recent years, through lessons focussing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we have tried to establish closer links with other stakeholders and to experiment with new pedagogical approaches, ensuring that students are even more actively involved in their education.

This closer relationship with other stakeholders has been further strengthened through the festival Le Temps Presse

More about Le Temps Presse

Le Temps Presse festival was conceived following the success of the ‘8’ film initiative, which has had more than 2,500,000 hits on the Internet. Since 2011, this festival has confirmed its commitment to socially responsible cinema and, since 2015, it has been based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

There was an obvious link with our SDG lessons

And indeed, one of the projects requires students to make a video, in groups, on one of the SDGs. The underlying pedagogical aim is to enable students, as managers and economic decision-makers of the future, to share their vision of the world and to develop behavioural, cross-disciplinary and soft skills.

After four years of experimentation in tutorials, in 2019 we were finally able to organise the first screening of the best videos made by the students. This took place in the School’s main amphitheatre, in the presence of both the founder of the Le Temps Presse festival and the entire year group.

This achievement was the result of collaboration between the Master in Management programme, the Humacité initiative and the Avenir En Héritage association.

It was hoped to repeat this event in April 2020, to coincide with the presentation of a selection of short films by the Le Temps Presse festival team. For obvious reasons it couldn’t take place… but it hasn’t been cancelled, just postponed!

 

During 2019-2020, we experimented with a new educational tool, Mond'Défi pour Demain,

A collaborative escape game about SDGs. 

More about Mond'Défi pour Demain

This pedagogical tool was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, and is promoted by the Graine Aquitaine environmental association, the creator of the tool.  It has already been tested by more than 50 schools in France and consists of two intrinsically linked 2-hour sessions.

It offers pupils, students and citizens of the future the opportunity to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and become actors in the world of tomorrow… today!

 

The two sessions for the Mond'Défi pour Demain are as follows:

  • ‘Discovering SDGs’
    An escape game challenge to learn about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations.
    This takes place in the classroom as well as throughout the school premises.
  • ‘Regions putting SDGs into action’
    A role play to learn about and analyse initiatives and innovative projects in the field of Sustainable Development… to debate, argue and negotiate in order to put forward tangible actions for your region and encourage project development.

 

The pedagogical objectives of this initiative are:

  • to raise awareness of the complexity of Sustainable Development issues
  • to explore ‘local-global’ connections: real actions for global issues
  • to develop students’ critical thinking skills through debate, and to promote civic commitment
  • to encourage cooperation and creativity

 

The themes addressed cover the full range of sustainable development issues in all countries, such as biodiversity, well-being, governance, climate change, energy, water, poverty, gender equality, economic prosperity, and even peace, justice, education, agriculture, etc.

This wide range of topics allows for a multidisciplinary approach to tackle the major challenges facing our world in the run-up to the 2030 Agenda.

Even if this year’s diaries have been somewhat disrupted, and arrangements have had to be altered, more than ever these innovative initiatives remain pertinent and inspiring...

Watch this space!

 

By Jean-Christophe Pauget, Occasional Lecturer

 

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