Transforming Education for a Sustainable Future

Last month, Glimmer held their inaugural event, “Glimmer: Social Media’s Green Upgrade“, where we were privileged to hear from four change makers passionate about being involved in creating a brighter, more sustainable world.

One of our panellists was PhD candidate, Rita Adjei. Rita’s research focuses on sustainability in higher education and its relations to policy and indigenous knowledge. Rita strongly believes that education is key to a more sustainable society. She has a passion for truly transformational sustainability education. Rita is becoming one of the shining lights in sustainability education.

Here is some of what she had to say:

Glimmer: What pressing global issues do you believe higher education institutions should be addressing more effectively?

Rita: One of the things that pushed me to pursue my PhD was to focus on transformative sustainability education. I had worked in the higher education sector for about five years and, while doing my master’s research, I wondered how higher education institutions were faring in terms of leading and training future world leaders to be transformative in sustainability.

Apparently, there was climate change and sustainability content in the curriculum, but according to my research (which has been supported by other global researchers and UNESCO), the education lacked a transformative aspect or actionable focus.

This motivated me to explore ways to promote sustainability education that empowers students to make meaningful change, not just acquire knowledge about sustainability.

Glimmer: I’d love to ask you to talk about some of the things you’ve seen, particularly through universities.

Rita: Yes, thank you. So, as a PhD student at the University of Melbourne, I had the opportunity to participate in the Wattle Fellowship Program. This is a leadership training program designed to equip students and individuals interested in sustainability and climate change with the skills to drive transformative change.

I was fortunate to have this opportunity to directly implement my learnings. As part of the fellowship, I received funding to implement a project in Ghana, my home country. Given my goal of promoting actionable sustainability education in higher education, I went to a Ghanaian higher education institution and organised a sustainability week to build their capacity and foster transformative, actionable sustainability education.

When I announced the sustainability week and opened registration, I was overwhelmed by the response. Within 24 hours, I had over 200 students sign up, far exceeding my capacity.

Clearly, students and young people are eager to drive change, but the avenues available to them are limited. There is a clear need to expand these opportunities to provide them with the space to explore and make real-world changes.

Glimmer: What role does technology, particularly a sustainability-focussed social media platform, play in sustainable progress?

Rita: Going back to my experience, I like to speak from my own perspective. However, I’ve been exposed to the real world through the Waddell Fellowship, and while I’m an alumna, I understand that many students want to participate but there are limited spots.

I believe a platform like Glimmer provides a virtual space where people can build their impact and learn how to lead change. For example, it could help them understand what’s happening elsewhere and start thinking about connections between their professions and sustainability.

One of the things this program did was help people in various disciplines who didn’t see an immediate connection to sustainability start thinking about those connections and how they could contribute to change.

A platform like Glimmer could provide opportunities for mentorship, training, collaboration, and increased awareness. It could also encourage people to think about what they can do individually to drive impact and transformation, which is the essence of sustainability.

So inspiring Rita, thank you!

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