Green Transition and Sustainability are among the key future topics in adult education. Educational programs can help impart knowledge about ecological interrelationships, promote sustainable thinking, and empower people to actively shape social and ecological change processes. This involves not only imparting knowledge but, in particular, offering practical learning opportunities that promote sustainable behavior in everyday life. The European Agenda for Adult Education takes up this approach and advocates for the stronger integration of sustainability into the educational programs, structures, and strategies of adult education institutions.
Erasmus+ projects demonstrate how these future-oriented skills can be specifically fostered. Through European professional development programs, the exchange of new teaching and learning methods, and the testing of digital tools, educators expand their subject-specific and pedagogical competencies and share the knowledge they have acquired within their institutions. In doing so, the projects directly align with the Agenda’s priority area of Green Transition and Sustainability and contribute to making adult education future-proof and preparing learners for a changing world of life and work.
An Erasmus+ mobility project by the Diakonisches Werk Bremen demonstrates how this goal can be put into practice. Staff members participated in professional development training on nature conservation and climate protection in other European countries and learned about various approaches to environmental and sustainability education. In addition to professional exchange, the focus was on practical experiences and the question of how to reach disadvantaged target groups with nature conservation and climate protection initiatives and motivate them to take action themselves. The insights gained are subsequently incorporated into the organization’s educational work and the further development of its own educational programs. The project thus demonstrates how Erasmus+ combines the professional development of educational staff, the European exchange of experiences, and practical sustainability education, thereby directly aligning with the goals of the European Agenda for Adult Learning in the key area of Green Transition and Sustainability.