The manifesto was initiated by the Education for Sustainable Development Working Group (AG BNE) of the Swiss Academic Society for Environmental and Ecological Research (saguf). We are currently focussing on the following questions: how can education for sustainable development (ESD) be integrated into higher education and adult education? What methods and didactics can support ESD in practice?

Our focus is on transformative learning: learning that leads to profound changes in our attitudes and values, which determine how we act, think, and feel. Transformative learning enables us to creatively tackle seemingly insurmountable dilemmas, both individually and collectively, and thus actively contribute to societal transformation. We are convinced that education and transformative learning contribute in a primordial way to societal development towards sustainability.

We are committed and critical academics working as “reflective practitioners”; our aim is to generate theoretically sound and practice-proven contributions, including to the UNESCO ESD 2030 programme. We work together in various formats – such as publications, workshops, or contributions to conferences – and with different actors in the education system from practice and research.