Project title: Designing with Lego: The Eco-cities of tomorrow
Project Acronym: Youngsters4Ecocities
Project start date: 01.09.2020
Duration: 24 months
Project end date: 31.08.2022
Project ID: KA201-ECBABCEE
Project number: KA201-2020-003
Coordinator of the project
FO-Aarhus – Denmark
Partner Organizations
- WISAMAR BILDUNGSGESELLSCHAFT GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBH – Germany
- SYNTHESIS CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION LIMITED – Cyprus
- MUNICIPIO DE LOUSADA – Portugal
- Eco Logic – Macedonia
Context/Background
Youngsters4Ecocities aims to bring the SDG goals, particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) into the consciousness of young people aged 6-14. It will endeavor to improve the competence of teachers and educational staff by developing a curriculum and training manual for them on SDG 11. As SDG’s overlap, the training program will also touch on other SDGs such as: clean water and sanitation (6), climate action (13), life below water (14), life on land (15), etc.
Moreover, this project is inspired by teachings of landscape architect and city planner Ian McHarg which puts the environment first in planning the development of a city. By teaching young people about ecological city planning, we install in them the value of sustainable development early in life.
The project will provide teachers and educational staff with tools to develop young people’s understanding of natural systems, urban landscapes and ecological planning concepts.
Objectives
The objectives of Youngsters4Ecocities are:
- To advocate for an ecological approach to urban planning which focuses on social and ecological priorities.
- To foster awareness raising and capacity building around sustainable development, particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
- To provide teachers and educational staff with tools to develop young people’s understanding of natural systems , urban landscapes and ecological city planning.
- To support and enhance the knowledge of young people within the fields of natural system and urban landscapes, as well as ecological planning processes for them to acquire social, civic, and environmental competencies.
- To develop integrated non-formal learning material and innovative tools which will prioritize the need for a holistic understanding to resilient urban development.
- To strengthen teachers, educational staff and young people’s abilities to think critically on urban development issues and
- To develop transversal skills and competencies in order to support quality education.
Description of Activities and Methodology
Youngsters4Ecocities will develop a curriculum on SDG 11, that can be used in primary schools. This will be based on the theories of Ian McHarg (Design with Nature, 1969). The curriculum as well as the training manual will endeavor to tech pupils the value of taking nature into account in urban planning. The project has 3 outputs:
- Curriculum on SDG 11 targeting pupils in the age 6-14. The curriculum will focus on building sustainable cities.
- Training Methodology and Manual for Teachers and Educational Staff: the methodology exemplifies the project’s paradigm shift through an integrated set of online interactive maps that will include the history of city-building techniques. The trainer manual provides teachers and educational staff with tools on how to teach both ecological urbanism and ecological building techniques.
- E-learning portal: Development of a multilingual e-learning portal that will support the delivery of, and access to, all learning content produced.
At the end of the project: pupils will design their own concept of a sustainable city based on the realities of the local area.
Results and impact
Youngsters4Ecocites will endeavor to improve the skills of teachers in teaching environment and ecology, contribute to the curriculum available for pupils on the environment and demonstrate how schools and the private sector can collaborate to deliver quality education.
