EAEA Annual Conference 2023: Activism, empathy, and imagination are needed to make the change for a greener future
Text: Sari Pohjola, photo: EAEA
Summary: Susanna Tuominen/EPALE Finland
The EAEA General Assembly and Annual Conference was organized in Zagreb at Hotel International on 6—7th of June 2023. The main interest in the conference included the question of how adult learning and education can contribute to sustainable lifestyles and the green transition of our societies. The conference gathered together 120 participants from 26 countries to discuss about the relevance of these topics.
The conference included multiple different presentations and discussions around the topic of greener future. For example, there were two roundtable discussions: One of which was about the green transition as a political issue, and the other was about the learners’ voices in it. In addition, one of the parallel workshops presented adult learning as a one way to create space for active dialogue in the progress towards greener future, whereas the themes of supporting communities through adult learning were discussed in the two world cafes. The ending of the conference was a final panel discussion, where Anna Roditi from Asto, Greece, shared her story of collective action and growing ecosystem.
All in all, the conference held in a lot of interesting questions concerning the green transition, sustainable lifestyle and education. While having many important takeaways presented, one of the main ones was that the ability to make the change towards greener future requires three things combined: Activism, empathy and ability to imagine.
