Critical Learning for Sustainable Development: Communities' and Universities' Discourses

About the conference

It is not easy to debate something like sustainable development that belongs to both the world of values and the world of politics. In addition, it is important for individuals and societies, and at the same time often used politically to pursue various practical interests. Is the fate of the idea of "sustainable development" similar to the fate of the idea of "lifelong learning" of "social capital" or "cultural heritage"? What is the source of their politicization and instrumentalization? How can the mechanisms of appropriation of values related to ecology, health, balance, generational responsibility be unmasked? How should we act in spite of everything? How is it possible to get involved in the implementation of community education and social education, which are so important for local communities? (Evans, R., Kurantowicz, E., Lucio-Villegas, E. (Eds.), 2022. Remaking Communities and Adult Learning. Brill).

The link between sustainability and education, in particular adult education, is obvious and indispensable. If in the public sphere, education for sustainable development (ESD) aims to equip the individual with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary to build a sustainable future, then what sustainable development are we debating? This is a more than legitimate question. Assuming that the nature of sustainable development is an unsolvable problem, still in systemic entanglement and immanent interdependencies, provides even more important arguments for learning and education. If sustainability is a so-called "wicked problem" (Murphy, R. 2012. Sustainability: A wicked problem. Sociologica, (2), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.2383/38274)), then the only way to deal with it is to use tools related to critical thinking and action. At the same time, the opening of the discourse on “de-growth” and the necessary changes and interventions, both environmental and social, undoubtedly provides further arguments for criticality in the debates on SD and ESD (D’Alisa, G., Demaria, F., Kallis, G. (Eds). 2015. Degrowth. A vocabulary for a new era. Routledge). It restores the debate on the political nature of adult education at all levels of its social functioning.

Within adult education, critical learning becomes a central element, enabling reflection on one's own values and actions and their impact on the daily lives of individuals, society and the environment. Critical learning, as the overarching goal of educational practices, promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and informed decision-making. It is a process that encourages people to challenge the status quo and seek new, more sustainable ways of doing things. In the context of sustainability, critical learning is essential to understand the complexity of problems and find innovative solutions (Fleming, T. 2010. Condemned to Learn: Habermas, University and the Learning Society. In: M. Murphy & T. Fleming (Eds.) Habermas, Critical Theory and Education. Routledge).

The aim of the conference is to genuinely establish a dialogue between universities and communities on the critical discourse on education for sustainable development and thus on the very idea of sustainable development. This is an important discourse for both local and global communities.
We invite researchers and activists, leaders of higher education institutions and the local community, independent and critical participants and initiators of learning and teaching in the context of "sustainable development" to participate.

Important dates

15/03/2025 – acceptance of abstracts will be confirmed
31/03/2025 – deadline for early bird registration
31/05/2025 – deadline for sending a full paper/presentation ( max. 7000 words)
10/06/2025 – final deadline for registration and payment of the conference fee
11-12/06/2025 – ESDEUS project conference
12-14/06 2025 - the conference days