What is the global future of sustainability?
Nina Bianchi, Vice-President, GISA Environmental Committee, pictured far right
A few months ago, public personalities in France launched a campaign called "Il est encore temps", a movement calling for climate and biodiversity action. We think it is with this kind of energy that sustainability should be approached. There is still time, but it is now urgent to take some very concrete and impactful actions, both at the individual and collective levels. Everywhere around the world, people are waking up, creating projects and initiatives and demanding action from their governments. We need to create and provide as many catalysts as possible in order to encourage these movements, ensuring they are sustained in the long run, as this is the only way to make much needed changes in the way we function as a society. We hope our Sustainability Week Switzerland (SWS) – Geneva will be one of the stimuli to foster individual action and play a part in the future of sustainability.
What motivated you to develop SWS Geneva?
Céline Khan, SWS Geneva Project Coordinator, pictured centre left
SWS Geneva is part of a national movement. As Geneva is one of the biggest cities in Switzerland, it can have an unprecedented impact on the population within, but also outside its borders. International Geneva is the perfect setting to present the importance of addressing environmental issues to institutions, organisations and civil society as it bridges the gap between all of these actors. As students at the Graduate Institute, we have a unique opportunity to express ourselves concerning the state of the environment today and sustainable development. Developing the SWS in Geneva was a way to promote the critical role civil society plays in taking action, as well as alerting the international institutions and governments about current issues. We, as students, are driven by the fact that we don’t want our future to be compromised by the political inaction. We have a chance to show what we are capable of, not only for our future, but for other future generations as well.
Do you think that initiatives like this one could have an impact on national and international policies?
Annika Erickson-Pearson, University Politics National Team, SWS, pictured centre right
We do. SWS Geneva is part of a broader national and international movement. Clearly, after we saw over a million students take to the streets to march for climate change on 15 March, we recognised the urgency of building a youth-led climate movement. Sustainability Week is a way to localise that energy to the Geneva community. It offers concrete education to students and residents alike, and a platform for them to stand on when advocating for policies that encourage sustainable development, whether to higher education institutions or to politicians. Movements are built on countless conversations held by countless voices; we’re thrilled to be one of them.