Introduction:

Sustainability in the Media Curriculum

 

Dr Monika Maslowska

L-Università ta’Malta

 

The second edition of SUMED’s digital publication continues its exploration of sustainable media production and education. Building on its initial examination of sustainability in media organizations titled “Leading Change for Sustainability in Media Organizations,” this publication reiterates the importance of advocating for equality and creating safe spaces for discussions on sustainability within educational settings.

 

Central to this advocacy is the empowerment of both students and teachers, ensuring they feel secure in engaging with sustainability issues. Through research such as “New Excellence for Teachers: Teacher Training” (Work Package 3), educators are educated on sustainability’s significance and equipped with the resources needed to effectively integrate sustainable practices into their teaching methodologies.

 

Similarly, “New Excellence in Action: Experiments with Students” (Work Package 4) underscores the role of collaborative projects and hands-on experiences in fostering sustainability in media education. By providing authentic opportunities for students to tackle sustainability challenges, they gain practical skills and a deeper understanding of sustainability principles in real-world contexts.

 

In addition to these educational endeavours, the publication addresses broader themes such as rebuilding trust in the media (Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, University of Gdańsk, pp 11-12) amidst technological advancements and the evolving landscape of sustainable development. Beyond ecological concerns, sustainable development encompasses wellbeing, ethics, and social responsibility. SUMED’s aims to infuse these principles into media education curricula, promoting ecological content, professional ethics, legal knowledge and professional well-being among students and teachers (Dorota Godlewska-Werner, pp 42-43) through collaborative efforts and training sessions.

 

The integration of sustainability into media education involves redesigning curricula, training teachers, and embedding sustainability principles into teaching practices. This comprehensive approach addresses ecological, financial, cultural, and social sustainability. While challenges such as institutional resistance may arise, overcoming them requires providing training, fostering discussion, and nurturing teacher commitment.

 

Moreover, the publication highlights the importance of sustainable communication strategies in addressing environmental and social challenges. These strategies leverage emerging technologies effectively and promote messages that drive positive change towards sustainability.  Measuring the impact of these initiatives accurately is crucial for assessing their effectiveness and refining communication practices.

 

Participating teachers advocate for the integration of ethical principles and social responsibility into communication practices.  This includes incorporating legal knowledge modules into journalism courses and balancing sustainability efforts with health and safety principles. Additionally, there’s an emphasis on cultivating diverse skill sets adaptable to changing industry trends and extending sustainability principles to primary and secondary education (Pentti Halonen Anna Kuusela, Turku University of Applied Sciences pp. 11-12).

 

As the publication concludes, important questions remain unanswered, such as the evolution of sustainable communication strategies, the role of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, and the challenges communication professionals may face in implementing sustainable practices in a digitalized world (Julio Alexander Gonzalez Liendo Universitat Politècnica de Valéncia questions, p. 47). Effectively measuring the impact of sustainable communication initiatives on society and the environment is also a pressing concern for future research and action.

 

 

 

How to rebuild trust in the media?

 

Interview with

Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, Ph.D., Szymon Gronowski

Centre for Sustainable Development of the University of Gdańsk

 

‘The biggest challenge facing media education is rebuilding trust in the  media, says Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, Ph. D., public relations specialist, assistant professor at the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social  Communication of the University of Gdańsk, manager of the SUMED project on behalf of the University of Gdańsk in an interview from the series  “Conversations on Sustainable Development”.

 

Szymon Gronowski: The media market is constantly changing. New tools, technologies and methods of exchanging content are constantly emerging. These changes require new ways of media education. What should modern media education look like and what social groups should it cover?

 

Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, Ph. D.: Media education in understanding media mechanisms should start already in primary school and continue in high school and university, and not only in journalism fields. Knowledge about the media should also be disseminated among the entire society. The media is an area of social communication, and the need to exchange information and communicate applies to each of us. However, media education is a big challenge today due to dynamic changes in the media. This is of course related to new technologies and civilization changes, among others. global economy. The definition of media has changed; it is no longer only the press, radio, television, but also all types of media on the Internet, including social media, blogs, vlogs, portals, virals, podcasts and others. A new professional category has appeared:  citizen journalist, i.e. the so-called grassroots journalism, which honours the motto “We the media”, created by Dan Gillmore, author of the book considered to be the blogging bible: We the Media. Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. We are creators and recipients of media at the same time - it is a phenomenon that media experts wrote about in the last century, pointing out its positive but also negative effects. In addition to all this, the media have become creators: they not only provide us with information, but also create it, creating media worlds of their own. Mediatisation is so common that we almost ignore it.  In addition to phenomena that we have already begun to understand and neutralize, such as infotainment and tabloidization, new ones have appeared: fake news, denialism, post-truth and -in my opinion, the most dangerous -infodemic. This concept means a multitude of information that we are unable to absorb, check or verify. The most important thing seems to be the promotion of conscious and critical reception of the media: selecting information, understanding the content, recognising threats, and drawing conclusions. But it is worth and necessary to talk about the opportunities created by the media and new technologies.  Henry Jenkins, author of one of the most important books about the great change in the media, i.e. convergence, argued that it is not what the media can do to us that is important, but what we can do with the media. I completely agree with this thesis.

 

What does media education at the University of Gdańsk look like?

 

As part of the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication, we educate students in journalistic and media-related professions, but we also engage in disseminating knowledge about the media among various social groups. We offer studies at the bachelor’s and master’s levels in the field of journalism and social communication. There are two specialisations at the master’s degree programme: advertising and public relations and media and advertising photography. We also run a post graduate course: Advertising and Media Marketing. It should be noted that journalism and social communication at the University of Gdańsk is a practical field of study. This means attention to student internships as well as the possibility of classes with experts and a wide range of workshops in the field of press, internet, radio, television journalism, advertising, public relations, and photography. Classes are conducted by, among others:  experts and best practitioners from the labour market: for example, journalists from local and national media. As part of student scientific clubs, our students run university media: Radio MORS (Mega Otwarte Radio Studenckie), the CDN internet portal, Neptun TV, and a public relations club - INSPIAR. This student activity provides excellent practical preparation for future professional challenges. Workshop and practical classes are possible thanks to the infrastructure, i.e. the Radio Studio, the Tele vision Recording and Film Documentation Simulation Laboratory, which we call in short, the TV studio, the photography studio and the online studio. These are modern academic media laboratories and our guests from academic centres from Poland and abroad really envy us them.  As part of their professional internships, students participate in organising scientific events and conferences. We work with students, among others:  using the project method, for example as part of bachelor’s project seminars, during which students implement television and radio reports and PR strategies. The field has also introduced its own didactic programme  specialising in media and advertising photography, in which students are, among others, prepared to organize public presentations of their own works. Educators from our Institute also conduct general academic lectures for all students at our university, as well as lectures and exercises in the area of social communication at other faculties and fields.  The most important thing, however, is that we try to educate versatile journalists, public relations specialists, and experts in the field of social communication in accordance with the principles of ethics, preparing them for the challenges that await them on the media market. I can only talk about what I am directly involved in, that is, our Institute, but various types of media initiatives operate throughout our university. It is worth adding, as I mentioned at the beginning, that we are also involved in media education aimed at various social groups.

 

What are these initiatives?

 

We cooperate with secondary schools where our employees teach, and students from these schools have the opportunity to participate in conferences and other events organised by our Institute. We are also the organizers of the provincial level of the Media Knowledge Olympiad, the aim of which is to popularize knowledge in the field of media science, and the main prize is an index for the field of journalism and social communication. We conduct various meetings and workshops to disseminate knowledge about the media. I will refer, for example, to our flagship conference Media-Business-Culture, which brings together not only scientists, but also practitioners and representatives of the socio-economic environment. In addition to scientific panels, popular science debates and open lectures take place. This year, we hosted Vailisa Stepanenko, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. We also organize competitions to popularize media knowledge, including:  Detektor – a fact-checking competition organised in cooperation with the Demagogue Association, the first Polish fact-checking organisation.  The aim of this event is media education in information verification. Another important event is Medi@stery. This is a competition for the best master’s thesis in the field of media knowledge. The main award is the publication of a dissertation in the form of a book that popularizes knowledge about the media. Scientists from our Institute give lectures at the University of the Third Age at our university, among others: in the field of manipulation, propaganda, political marketing, media history and the latest media phenomena. Recently, Galeria 301 was opened, where photographic works are exhibited not only by our students, but also by famous photographers. We cooperate with institutions, enterprises, and associations in the field of various media initiatives. We take advantage of their experience, in return providing up-to-date knowledge of media and social communication and organising internships and internships for students. Employees of our Institute are also involved in the activities of various associations related to PR, media and communication, including primarily the activities of the Polish Society of Social Communication.

 

What challenges face people involved in media education? Is there any awareness of the need for media education among pupils, students and the general public?

 

I have the impression that this awareness has increased in recent years.  This happened because of various negative phenomena that appeared in the media. When we start a conversation about fake news or post truth, we naturally increase our interest in these topics and start looking for information. However, we are still dealing with a rather uncritical reception of the media. Media recipients do not always understand the mechanisms of manipulation and propaganda and other previously mentioned phenomena. An uncritical approach leads to us turning from media recipients into their followers: we trust only those media that confirm our beliefs, opinions, and worldview. Social media poses many threats, we ourselves “sell” our privacy there, without being aware of how our photos and information about us may be used. It seems, however, that the greatest challenge facing media education is to rebuild trust in the media by educating professional journalists who follow the ethical principles of this profession and conscious recipients who are able to use the benefits of the media while recognising contemporary threats.

 

Have we lost trust in the media?

 

This is a complex issue. A quite common phenomena in the media, such as manipulation, propaganda, tabloidization, infotainment and fake news, have caused us to lose them. This also applies to public media, especially in recent years. We reach out to the media and look for information there, but at the same time we think that they present the world in a distorted and untrue way. On the other hand, the media are still the basic source of information about the world, both the distant and the near ones, local communities, and our surroundings. The profession of a journalist has been degraded, and PR specialists are considered propagandists. Journalists and PR people themselves often do not understand their mission and role. The community has been discussing ethical codes, legal regulations, and ways to rebuild social trust for many years. How ever, not much comes of this. It is enough to remember that the Press Law Act of 1984 is still in force in Poland. It has, of course, been amend ed many times and adapted to changes in the media market, but its skeleton is made up of records from almost 40 years ago. We expected that the openness of the Internet and social media would result in an intensified exchange of opinions and views and would serve as a social connector. It turned out that we were trapped in information bubbles. A lot of work needs to be done to ensure that the media regains the trust of its recipients and becomes allies in understanding and describing the world. I have great hope in our students, young aspirants of journalistic professions who have the opportunity to change the media environment. Looking at their achievements, I am convinced that these hopes will come true. They engage in interesting projects and understand the social responsibility of the media. This is especially about reliable dissemination of information and addressing important social issues, including those related to sustainable development.

 

How can sustainable development be promoted in media education?  Do these two concepts - sustainability and media - go together at all?

 

Sustainable development is a very broad concept, erroneously associated only with ecology. And this is in addition to the so-called modern technologies and green solutions that protect our planet, also wellbeing, work-life balance, responsibility, ethics, cooperation, culture of respect, and interpersonal relationships. As part of the journalism and social communication field, we have implemented many good practices in the field of media education, which are also consistent with the principles of sustainable development promoted at our university, including through the activities of the university’s Centre for Sustainable Development. During workshops, students work in small groups in an environment that is safe for them and respects the principles of wellbeing. They follow the rules of a culture of respect: tolerance and openness and refraining from using aggressive language in media messages. They try to reduce the carbon footprint emitted by the media, including through the creation of digital content. They collaborate with various entities as such media agencies, film agencies, press, radio, television, non-governmental organisations, public institutions, and enterprises, learning the practical side of the profession. They acquire and disseminate content on sustainable development using comprehensive PR and journalistic tools. They organize meetings, festivals, open days and conferences on environmental protection, climate protection and contemporary civilization crises at the universi ty. Importantly, they also promote pro-ecological attitudes by setting a good example.

 

The University of Gdańsk is a partner in the ‘SUMED – Sustainable multi dimensional media contents’ project, i.e. balanced, multi-dimensional media content, of which you are the manager on behalf of our universi ty. The aim of the project is to promote sustainable development, technologies and digital solutions in the higher education sector and on the labour market, primarily in the area of media. How will these tasks be implemented within the project?

 

The SUMED project was created as part of conversations and discussions with partner universities. The tasks we perform result from a comprehensive approach to issues related to sustainable development and media.  One of the areas is tasks related to promoting the principles of sustain able development in media production: this includes, among others: reducing the carbon footprint, modern technologies and digital content.  The second is changes to the curricula in journalism, PR and media pro duction to implement sustainable development goals. The third is to use the media to promote content related to sustainable development. We work as part of a consortium, the entire project team includes a dozen or so people from four partner universities: the University of Gdańsk, the University of Malta, the University of Applied Sciences in Turku and the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The leader is INNOCAMP PL, an organisation operating within the ASHOKA network, specialising in social in novation projects. We have different experiences, legal regulations, and resources, so when implementing joint projects, we give ourselves a certain degree of independence and independent solutions. As part of the project, we are working on changes in teaching curricula in order to introduce new content into journalism, PR and media production subjects regarding ecology, green solutions or modern technologies, but also to implement sustainable development goals by achieving specific educational outcomes. We emphasize the promotion of ecological content, the importance of behaviour consistent with professional ethics, social responsibility of the media, knowledge of legal conditions, working in a friendly environment, development and self-fulfilment of students, and many others. We prepare pilot exercises, workshops and lectures that take into account ecological content and sustainable development goals. Some of these classes are already being carried out at partner universities, others will be conducted in the next semesters. We organize workshops and training for students and academic teachers in the field of media education and sustainable development, and we develop educational materials and common guides to the world of media and sustainable development. We also plan to create free e-learning courses. In the long term, it would be worth introducing systemic solutions in media education to be able to implement sustainable development goals, for example based on the EU EMAS criteria (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). This is a European Union tool intended for enterprises, institutions and other organisations that voluntarily commit to assessing their impact on the environment and improving their activities to make them environmentally friendly.

 

Why is this important?

 

Sustainable development policies, fortunately, are becoming more and more common. Not only in enterprises, but also in other organisations:  public institutions, non-governmental institutions, and in educational organisations, which have a special role to play here. Climate change and environmental degradation are real and affect us all. How we talk about this topic and how we teach future generations is crucial. Will we learn to discuss environmental protection without the language of aggression and emotional blackmail in the form of guilt? How to talk constructively, proposing specific solutions? What does media responsibility mean in terms of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals? Can journalists be ambassadors for positive changes in the field of environmental protection? What modern tools should we use in media education and how to shape pro-ecological attitudes, a culture of respect, a friendly media environment, and a friendly work and cooperation environment?  These are challenges that we have to face today, and for younger generations, the so-called millennials or Generation Z, environmental protection, work-life balance, wellbeing, tolerance and culture of respect are fundamental issues, their natural environment. As academics, we cannot turn away from these issues. Shaping the competences of the future is our mission and responsibility. More and more issues in this area are also reflected in EU legal regulations and declarations. It is worth being prepared for such changes.

 

In information materials about the project, we can read that one of the results of its implementation is to create a common educational environment for the four European universities that are project partners. What will this environment be like? What benefits will this bring to students and educators?

 

We exchange good practices: modern teaching tools, models of working with students, ideas for new content in media education, expert experiences, ideas for creating a friendly space for work, study and establishing relationships. A common educational environment will be created by our common experiences, new curricula, new educational tools, and solutions that support friendly education in the area of media and at the same time protect the environment. Cooperation with external stakeholders is important to us: organisations and media companies that share their experience with us, communicate expectations regarding the competences of our students’ future and help us introduce positive changes.

 

Will there also be full-time classes for students from foreign universities?  Or is it rather an offer of online classes?

 

We organize joint workshops and laboratories, but these are online class es, just like e-learning courses. If we create modules in English as a result of our project, we will be able to share them with partner universities. At this stage, our Institute has already developed many new solutions and is introducing changes. The project team, which includes Dominik Chomik, Ph.D., and Anna Kietrys-Tusk, works very intensively, but we cooperate with many people, primarily from the Institute of Media, Journalism and  Social Communication: supervisors of scientific circles: Monika Białek,  Ph. D., Dominika Rafalska, Ph. D., Konrad Knoch, Ph. D., Prof. Małgorza ta Łosiewicz, as well as teaching artists, including Grzegorz Kapuściński,  Ph. D., and Paul Kozielski, Ph. D. We use the knowledge and experts of the UG Centre for Teaching Improvement and Tutoring and the university’s Centre for Sustainable Development. I am convinced that in such a group and with such positive energy we will be able to implement many beneficial solutions in the field of media education and sustainable development.

 

What else has been achieved within the project so far?

 

In June this year, online workshops organised by the University of Gdańsk for academic teachers were held. During them, teachers learned how to construct creative syllabi using modern educational tools. They were conducted, among others, by experts from the University of Gdańsk, including the Centre for Didactic Improvement and Tutoring, and the University of Malta. This year, each partner university is planning two workshops for academic teachers. On December 1, we organised a wellbeing workshop at the University of Gdańsk, and the next one:

 

“Media for the Climate” will take place on December 15-16. We have prepared proposals for changes to the teaching curricula in several subjects in the field of journalism, public relations, and media production. Pilot courses were held for students in practical preparation for journalistic and PR professions. During these courses, we used our previous practices and experiences, introducing new modules and elements. We are currently collecting students’ opinions to offer them additional training.  We are very advanced in our work on pilot classes for students. We have also created the first booklet in which we present our university media environment and good practices in the field of sustainable development at the University of Gdańsk. I hope that this publication will be available soon. It is worth mentioning that several meetings were held among the project partners, during which we were able to learn about each other’s resources, experiences, and practices. Our partners were in Gdańsk, and I can proudly say that we really have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to media education. We showed our television studio, radio studio, photography studio and online studio. We showed how we work with students. We presented our student media, which are absolutely unique not only in the Tricity, but also in Poland. The meeting at the Turku University of Applied Sciences was valuable because Finland has a lot to offer in terms of good practices in sustainable development and modern teaching methods. The project will last until the end of 2025, so in 2024 we will conduct further classes related to changes in educational curricula, but we will also organize further laboratories for teachers, also in English. We will also issue publications, organize workshops and meetings to disseminate knowledge about sustainable development in the media.

 

Heading to the end, we talked a lot about future plans for the SUMED project. What challenges or difficulties do you see related to the project and, more broadly, media education?

 

The biggest challenge is to introduce changes in educational outcomes to include achieving sustainable development goals in a systemic way.  The changes taking place in the world and in higher education go in this direction. Recently, for example, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) turned to the United Nations with a proposal to expand the Sustainable Development Goals to include responsible communication that shapes ethical relationships with stakeholders. The appeal was issued on behalf of over a hundred industry organisations from all over the world, including Poland. But such a systemic change requires time and cooperation of many bodies. A lot of creativity is also required when designing changes in programme content or preparing pilot classes. We must take into account our resources, opportunities, but also the expectations of students, teachers and employers. Fortunately, we do not have a problem with the enthusiasm of students for whom the ideas of sustainable development are a primary value. As part of the bachelor’s design seminar that I run, such projects are carried out.

 

What are these projects?

 

As part of undergraduate seminars, some students prepare their diploma theses in the form of projects. Our seminarians carry out radio and TV reports, podcasts, PR strategies, educational projects, and others. They do it themselves. They must also organize premiere shows and events, prepare an evaluation of their project, and describe the results. This takes a lot of effort, time, creativity, and commitment. And I must say I am proud of their achievements. For example, there was an excellent radio report on freeganism, titled „Wyrzuty jedzenia wobec sumienia” [“Food remorse against conscience”], by Kamila Fabianowicz and Natalia Kołodziej.  A team of students (Wiktoria Dziurdź, Julia Gulbicka and Maciej Kraus)  prepared and implemented a PR strategy for our university’s Academic  Sports Union. Currently, as part of my seminar, students are preparing a series of podcasts on sustainable ways of traveling (apart from mass tour ism) and reports on the advantages and disadvantages of electric cars.  In their projects, they address important, current social issues related to women’s rights, religious tolerance, minorities, contemporary threats to civilization and interpersonal relations. They set the bar high.

 

Thank you very much for the interview and I wish you good luck in the further stages of the project.

 

Beata Czechowska-Derkacz - Ph.D. in humanities, public relations specialist, assistant professor at the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication of the University of Gdańsk. Spokesperson of the University of Gdańsk in 2003-2020 and journalist with many years of experience, currently a PR specialist for the promotion of scientific research. Author and co-author of several dozen publications in the field of public relations and press advocacy: including monograph: Rzecznictwo prasowe.  Oczekiwania i możliwości. Perspektywa teoretyczna i praktyczna [Press  advocacy. Expectations and possibilities. Theoretical and practical per spective] (DIFIN 2015), Identity and Image In Media Communication (Novae Res 2016), Uniwersytet Gdański wobec wyzwań polityki rozwoju  regionu pomorskiego. Sposoby prezentacji w mediach [The University of  Gdańsk towards the challenges of the development policy of the Pomeranian region. Methods of presentation in the media] (Wydawnictwo UG 2020), Antologia młodych mediów [An anthology of young media] (Wydawnictwo UG 2022) and a series of scientific articles on communication crises at universities and the image of scientists. Her research interests focus on research on image and communication strategies in the media. She combines theory with practice, conducting classes and workshops in public relations, social communication, and journalism.  Member of the Polish Society for Social Communication, the Polish Public Relations Association and the Association of PR and Promotion of Polish Universities. Prom. Awarded in the PAP for 2020).

 

 

 

Embedding Sustainability Skills into the Media Education Curriculum at  Turku University of Applied Sciences

 

Pentti Halonen and Anna Kuusela

Senior lectures, Film and Media, Arts Academy, Turku University of Applied Sciences

 

Introduction: Why we need sustainability skills

 

Critical thinking, creative problem solving, responsibility, and systemic thinking are crucial skills when navigating in a world facing multiple challenges. These skills can be categorised as sustainability skills, helping us to understand and even solve, various, often difficult, problems. This extends beyond ecological crises and global warming to encompass issues such as inequality, the threat and consequences of pandemics, the rise in mental health problems in younger generations, and even war and aggression in international politics. In the media field, sustainability skills as well as ethical responsibility are needed to meet the challenges of media illiteracy, fake news, and misinformation.

 

The Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) play a key role in providing students with these critical skills in sustainability. The SUMED project (Sustainable Multidimensional Media Contents) engages five HEIs in Europe, focusing on supporting sustainable media content production. An important part of the project is the development of media education: curriculum, learning environment and courses, as well as teachers’ competence and knowledge. To embed sustainability into teaching and give students the crucial skills and competencies described above, Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) has redesigned the media education curriculum and individual courses, not forgetting the training of teachers.  In this article, we share our experiences, give examples of good practices, and discuss how they could be replicated in other HEIs.

 

Background: The call for sustainable education

 

The call for higher education institutes to move towards a more sustainable education is not new. As early as 1992, the UN’s Agenda 2021 programme, published as a result of the Rio Conference or Earth Summit, stated that education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving people’s capacity to address environmental and development issues (UN Agenda 21, Section IV, Chapter 36).

 

Ten years later, in 2002, the Ministers of Education in the Baltic Sea Region approved a programme of education for sustainable develop ment: An Agenda 21 for Education in the Baltic Sea Region - Baltic 21E.  This programme aimed at making sustainable development considerations a natural part of our education systems as a permanent commitment to change.

 

UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) programme for the decade 2005-2014 identified important ideals and principles of ESD that are still relevant today: poverty alleviation, environmental preservation and restoration, intergenerational equity, gender equity, social tolerance, and just and peaceable societies. (UNESCO, 2005)

 

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development high lights the importance of education in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for 2030 programme identifies new challenges that increase

 

the need for sustainability skills. For example, as technology develops, critical thinking and sustainability values are becoming increasingly important. (Education for Sustainable Development, A Roadmap, UNESCO

 

2020, p. 18) Media education should respond to this challenge. Finnish Universities of applied sciences have approved a joint pro gramme for sustainable development and responsibility. The goal of the programme is a sustainable, responsible, and carbon-neutral universi ty of applied sciences by 2030. The core of the programme consists of strengthening the ecological handprint of universities of applied sciences and reducing their carbon footprint. These ideas have been depicted as 14 promises and concrete measures that were planned to start at the beginning of 2021. (Sustainable, responsible and carbon-neutral universi ties of applied sciences.pdf (arene.fi))

 

Turku University of Applied Sciences has its own sustainable development and responsibility programme. As stated in the programme, Turku UAS is committed to producing experts who promote sustainable development in working life and society.

 

Turku UAS is also committed to integrating sustainable development and responsibility into all degree programmes and strengthening the role of sustainable development and responsibility in all curricula. (Turku UAS, 2024)

 

Chapter 2: Sustainability work in media education at Turku UAS

 

 In Turku UAS media education, steps towards a more sustainable education have been taken even before the SUMED project launch in 2022.  Individual courses and projects have considered sustainability issues in content and teaching methods. For example, the journalism students have written articles and created mobile documentaries about themes in sustainability. In the ongoing SUMED project, Turku UAS, along with the partner HEIs, works towards applying a more holistic and value-driven approach to sustainable development in higher education. In Turku UAS, we have discovered that sustainability needs to be root ed in the learning plans in all aspects of teaching, learning and research.  Ecological, financial, cultural, and social sustainability in all specialities of media, need to be considered closely by the teaching staff with help and support from sustainability experts. Equality and safe space thinking should be highlighted and discussed so that both the students and the teachers can trust these issues to be deeply rooted in the curriculum in the future. Everybody in the media education community should feel safe to work and study in their chosen field. This requires education for educators.

 

Planning the new curriculum for the Turku UAS Film and Media pro gramme has been a year-long process, based on the best practices found in the old curriculum and rejuvenating the goals according to new educational needs and sustainability substance. The work started with clarifying the task at hand and considering the university policies.  Teachers started the planning from scratch and created new courses with open minds and visions of future innovations.

 

Competence in sustainability issues is important also for the teachers, and the teachers need encouragement, support, and training to  make sustainability a central and natural part of their work (Konst, 2022,  p 99-109) During the SUMED project, emphasis has been put into the personnel’s education in Turku UAS media education: several lectures and  workshops on sustainability and responsibility have been offered for the  teachers. The emphasis has been both in the ecological and social aspects of sustainability.

 

For example, coordinator in sustainable development, principal lecturer Taru Konst from Turku UAS held a sustainability workshop where the importance of ecological sustainability as “a prerequisite for everything” was emphasised. Konst also pointed out that sustainability in education needs to be considered in contents and themes and pedagogical choices, implementation of the courses and assessment. “This is important, as sustainability competence is not only about knowledge: it is also skills to put it into practice and motivation to promote sustainable development both at work and in leisure time”, Konst adds. In the planning phase of the curriculum, the students’ opinions were also heard. To gather students’ experiences, suggestions and points of view, the teachers planned a new course “Sustainable Media” as part of the SUMED project. The course aims to increase the students’ understanding of sustainability and to embed sustainability in the students’ working life skills. The assignments range from creating a sustainable media product to planning a course of one’s dreams and giving feedback on the current curriculum.

 

The course is online-based and flexible, allowing students to choose whether to complete all learning assignments (5 ECTS) or only part of them. All the course material is available online in the course learning environment, and the learning assignments are designed to be completed individually. The teacher is available for advice and tutoring. Asking students for their opinions proved fruitful and useful in planning the new curriculum. For example, one student suggested that the principles of sustainable development should be integrated into all courses, with an emphasis on eco-social education and systemic thinking. The student called for an education that prepares students to understand and communicate issues such as climate change, biodiversity, and the complexity of environmental crises. Another student pointed out that responsibility should be emphasized more in the courses, but this requires teachers to be knowledgeable about the subject. For this student, the social responsibility issues such as well-being at work and issues of representation are important.

 

Many sustainability learning goals were filtered into the curriculum through our long process. For example, in the course Well-being Skills at Work, a social sustainability learning goal is safe work community. The students identifying their own values will take place in a course focusing on career planning skills. Taking economic and ecological sustain ability into account in project planning is learned in the course Project Competence and planning a production while considering sustainable development perspectives takes place in production studies, as well as applying the principles of professional ethics in their own field in project activities and examining the project from the perspective of circular economy. In the course Law and Ethics in Media, the focus is on learning the social sustainability guidelines on professional ethics in one’s own professional field.

 

The courses described above are examples of compulsory courses for all media students. Sustainability skills are also an essential part of the later courses where students specialise in different branches of the me dia. In these courses, skills are put into practice in learning environments that simulate working life, in cooperation with working life, and in work placements.

 

During the film studies the students learn many social and cultural sustainability skills:

 

 

FILM STUDIES SUSTAINABLE LEARNING GOALS

 

l encourage teamwork between oneself and others

l show fairness, appreciation, and respect for others

l identify environmental aspects in directing and production choices

l encourage themselves and others to collaborate with people  from diverse backgrounds

l show honesty, compassion, and loyalty to community members l how scenes are susceptible to different interpretations in different audiences

l representation of art and its dimensions

l showing artistic freedom to oneself and others

l management methods that support the well-being of production members

l conscientiousness and efficiency in achieving agreed goals l implementing small-scale production while respecting well-being at work

l perseverance in the face of problems and adversity during pro ductions

 

In addition to the SUMED project focusing on media curriculum and courses, sustainability issues are being integrated into the curricula across the whole Turku UAS. In the spring term of 2024, a new course “Funda mentals of Sustainable Development”, made by principal lecturer Pirita Juppi and senior lecturer Eemeli Huhta from Turku UAS, is being piloted as a part of the “Sustainability in Media” course. The course “Fundamentals of Sustainable Development” is later going to be offered to all students and personnel of Turku UAS.

 

Chapter 3: Conclusion and Suggestions

 

The redesign of the media curriculum taught us many important les sons. For example, we learned that to increase teachers’ commitment, the redesigning of curriculum is best done collaboratively in teams where everyone has the possibility to participate. Our experience showed that this can lead to fruitful discussions and new insights when planning the curriculum and courses. However, it is important that one, or in our case two, members of the team have been given the responsibility for coordinating the work. This way, uncertainties or inconsistencies can be addressed in a balanced way.

 

We also realized that a good redesign process takes time. In our case, this was not a problem since the team members responsible for the work considered this and reserved enough time for the teams to meet and concentrate on the redesigning work.

 

Degree Programme Leader Markus Hatakka describes the curriculum progress as quite linear, starting with the background work, identification of change needs and restructuring. The process then advances through the preparation phase of course descriptions (by field of special isation and general studies) and the creation of curriculum description texts. . Finally, it concludes with integrating the digital system into the university platform, finalising, and officially approving the curriculum. The teaching staff has given positive feedback on the process, especially on the time allocated to the work and the methods used, such as working in workshops.

 

Hatakka thinks that this was a highly successful way to implement a major curriculum reform. The resource received through the SUMED project and a sufficiently generic development framework (sustainable development) for the entire curriculum provided a good framework and at the same time enable the renewal of the curriculum in other areas as well. He would see areas for development at least in the scheduling of joint staff meetings and in the content and structure of assignments given at the end of the meetings.

 

Compared to previous curriculum, the values and learning outcomes of sustainable development and responsibility reflect extremely well in the new curriculum, Hatakka exclaims. Of course, there is still room for improvement, as the learning outcomes are not fully targeted at the topics of the courses – these should be further specified in the implementation planning. Hatakka looks forward to seeing how the new curriculum works and whether it lives up to the expectations set for the renewal work.

 

Pia Oförsagd, Degree Programme Coordinator led the process together with Markus Hatakka. Oförsagd thinks that our method was a successful way to implement the curriculum reform, and there was enough time for planning. Oförsagd points out that the future working life needs were mapped out during the planning phase, both through research data and interviews.  Oförsagd emphasises that it is important to provide students with tools for sustainable working life, which is why courses on sustainable development, teamwork skills, well-being at work and career planning skills were  designed for general studies in the field of media. Student well-being was also supported by paying attention to the accessibility of the curriculum and clarifying the structure of the curriculum. Oförsagd sees the value of hearing the students while planning the  curriculum. We highly recommend hearing the students’ suggestions for developing courses. Even though not every wish may be fulfilled, the students’ opinions can help to address some issues or problems that might otherwise stay hidden. Redesigning the curriculum can sometimes raise objections, especially if the institution’s culture does not encourage changing and developing old habits and ways of working. Motivating the teachers to embed sustainability into their work can in that case be challenging. Some might see this as another new task and feel overwhelmed by it. A helpful approach might be that sustainability education is not something you put on top of the old tasks but something that is implemented by rethinking and re-inventing old ways of doing things.

 

When redesigning the curriculum to embed sustainable education skills and competencies, the staff should be offered training and knowledge. It is also important to encourage the personnel to discuss sustain ability skills and values and share their experiences in implementing them in their teaching. Teachers’ competence, knowledge, and commitment to develop their methods in teaching are key factors for succeeding in implementing sustainability values into teaching.

 

Evaluation of the process is needed to find out how successful we have been in implementing the curriculum and its values. It is also important to make improvements to the curriculum where necessary. Collaboration between disciplines and higher education institutes, as well as other relevant industries, can help evaluate and develop the curriculum and course contents.

 

The redesign of the curriculum is just the beginning of a long and ongoing process that aims to embed sustainability in higher education at all levels and to equip students with the sustainability skills they will need in working life in the complex world of the future.

AI tools were used as a tool for checking grammar.

 

Sources:

 

Turku UAS. The programme for sustainable development and responsibility of Turku University of Applied Sciences, read 12.2.2024, https:// www.turkuamk.fi/media/filer_public/eb/8b/eb8b8c82-3815-46cc a8ef-9ee1194bd468/the_programmefor_sustainable_development_and_responsibility_of_turku_university_of_applied_sciences.pdf

 

Students’ assignment answers in course Sustainable Media, autumn 2023 and spring 2024, Turku UAS

 

Konst.T. (2022). Kestävää tulevaisuutta rakentava korkeakoulupeda gogiikka. In Korkeakoulupedagogiikka – Ajat, paikat ja tulkinnat. Mäki, K. & Vanhanen-Nuutinen, L. (toim.). Haaga-Helian julkaisut  7/2022. p. 99-109.

 

 United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014): International Implementation Scheme, UNESCO Education Sector 2005

 

    Sustainable, responsible and carbon-neutral universities of applied sci ences.pdf (arene.fi) https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/80771/op mtr36.pdf?sequence=1 https://arene.fi/ajankohtaista/universities-of-applied-sciences-sustain able-development-skills-for-everyone/ https://arene.fi/wp-content/uploads/PDF/2023/Maturity%20levels%20 of%20sustainability.pdf?_t=1685513832 https://www.arene.fi/wp-content/uploads/Raportit/2023/Kes t%C3%A4v%C3%A4%2C%20vastuullinen%20ja%20hiilineutraali%20AMK%20v%C3%A4liarviointi%202023.pdf?_t=1679863577

 

Experiencing life

– i.e. human wellbeing

Dorota Godlewska-Werner, Ph.D., from the Department of Economic and Organisational Psychology of the Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Gdańsk, talks to  Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, Ph.D.

 

Wellbeing, or mental wellbeing, is a very broad concept. What meanings does it contain?

 

This concept is indeed very broad, and a thorough analysis would require explaining many aspects. Wellbeing is a scientific term, while in popular science terminology it is defined as happiness. In the 1950s, the World Health Organisation defined wellbeing as a state of mental, physical, and social health and the absence of disease. Currently, when it comes to wellbeing, we are talking about two approaches. We distinguish between hedonic wellbeing and eudaimonistic wellbeing. Hedonistic well-being means satisfaction with life: a sense of happiness and pleasure.  In the case of eudaimonistic wellbeing, we are talking about a sense of meaning in life, fulfilment, self-realisation, being in harmony with oneself and one’s resources, self-acceptance, and a sense of competence in coping with various challenges.

 

Can both approaches: hedonistic and eudaimonistic, be combined?

 

You can and even have to. Combining these two aspects gives you a sense of happiness and fulfilment at the same time.

 

The 1950s and the WHO definition are a short time for science.

 

This concept is definitely still relatively new and there is still a lot of work for scientists to do. For a long time since the WHO announced this definition, i.e. since 1948, not much has happened in the research sphere. Only at the end of the 20th century, Martin Seligman popularised this phenome non by developing the concept of positive psychology. He drew attention to the fact that in relation to human mental health, we should deal not only with the negative effects of life and disease, i.e. various types of disorders, burnout, and stress. We need to focus more on what to do to help humans develop, flourish, and grow harmoniously. In Poland, scientists started working on this topic quite early, at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. However, when it comes to organisations, they have been focusing on employee wellbeing for ten to fifteen years.

 

Why is this topic so common and noticed now? Is this influenced by dynamic changes in the world, modern technologies, and civilization revolution?

 

First of all, we are becoming more and more aware of what happens to us when we neglect aspects related to wellbeing. We see how negative phenomena such as stress and burnout affect us. On the one hand, we come into contact with this information in the media and more often see people around us who experience the negative effects of lack of wellbeing. On the other hand, we ourselves are beginning to feel the effects of political and economic changes, during which we worked very intensively and undertook activities that significantly impaired our physical health and mental state. Now we come to the realisation that we wanted too much and too much, and we start to analyse whether it is worth constantly exceeding our capabilities.

 

My generation, which has experienced all the negative effects of the political transformation, feels the lack of wellbeing very strongly. Younger generations, especially Z, have a completely different approach. They care less about material possessions and more about a sense of fulfilment. They get involved in volunteering, want to develop, and travel.  They escape from corporations and look for a job that will allow them to maintain their independence.

 

These different approaches to the world and life result from different socio-economic conditions in which particular generations grow up. Older generations focused on accumulating wealth because they were building a base that would provide financial security. For them, hard work was a guarantee of professional stability and prestige. There was more focus on wellbeing as the economic dimension of wellbeing. Nowadays, older generations should learn from the younger ones to enjoy life, to be satisfied with experiences, not possessions. Young people today often see no point in accumulating material goods. They consciously ask the question: Why do this? These differences in the area of values and goals are shown, among others, by the research of Professor Anna Maria Zawadz ka, my boss, who indicates materialism and consumerism as phenomena that destroy wellbeing. Ecological aspects and climate change are of great importance in “having less”, and they are becoming a priority for younger generations.

 

The post-war generations, and later the generation that entered the la bour market just after the transformational change in Poland, greatly valued work and put it first. We had the feeling that we had to constantly “make up for” something. Younger generations can afford a different approach, among other things, because of the wealth of their parents who have already accumulated certain material goods. Can we say more about the causes of this generational change and the research on it?

 

The basic reason is actually the financial status of families. Overall, society has become much richer. Numerous studies - including Jean Twenge’s - show that economic and social changes modify the expectations of employers and employees. Therefore, we can identify different values that determine the decisions made by representatives of different generations. And so, we moved from viewing work as a means of survival to approaching work as a source of satisfaction. Because Baby Boomers worked hard to provide for their families, Generation X had to be more independent and problem-solving. This, in turn, created conditions for the development of competences and raised generation Y, for whom relationships and atmosphere became important. However, the lives of their children, i.e. Generation Z, were influenced by technological and digital changes, which accelerated access to information, including feedback on activities undertaken.  We cannot yet talk about their descendants, i.e. the Alpha generation, in the context of the labour market. It is also worth emphasising that we have been struggling with a demographic decline for years, which means that younger generations no longer have to fight for work. It is easier for them to decide to change if the conditions are not satisfactory. It cannot be underestimated that younger generations, observing their parents and grandparents, are becoming more and more aware of the health consequences of lack of wellbeing and want to avoid them.

 

Is the concept of burnout related to wellbeing?

 

There is still a debate in the world of science as to whether wellbeing and burnout are extreme ends of the same continuum or are completely different variables. However, without going into details, you can see that these concepts have a lot in common. By introducing various wellbeing activities, organisations focus on those areas that help avoid burnout. In various studies and studies, apart from wellbeing, we also find illbeing as two extreme concepts defining life satisfaction or its lack, as if two sides of a coin.

 

What is professional burnout?

 

We define burnout as a state of individual exhaustion caused by excessive tasks set by the work environment. These expectations exceed the resources at our disposal. We also do not have appropriate conditions that would allow us to use our resources effectively. The employee feels frustrated due to the inability to achieve the intended results despite the great dedication put into the activity. The individual puts so much energy into work that there is no longer enough strength to continue it with the previous efficiency. There are three groups of symptoms based on which we can identify professional burnout. The first ones are related to a state of emotional exhaustion: feeling a permanent state of tiredness, discouragement, lack of enthusiasm and motivation to perform tasks at work, and, consequently, decreased activity. Later, depersonalisation occurs, i.e. indifference towards colleagues or clients. We treat them as objects, we have less patience, we are contemptuous and sarcastic towards them, and finally we avoid contact with them. The third component is reduced satisfaction with achievements, feeling of lack of useful ness at work and competence, and loss of ability to solve problems and adapt to professional conditions.

 

The red light that turns on in my head is when I lose the sense of joy in the work I do.

 

Of course, the joy of doing work, as well as the sense of meaning, fulfilment and professional development influence satisfaction and, ultimately, the effectiveness of our work. When we are happy with our work, we are able to build more constructive relationships with people and perform our duties better and more creatively. Research conducted by Harvard Business Review has shown that employee happiness translates into commitment to work and measurable effects, such as increased sales. And the research of Martyna Wojtaś, Ph.D., associated with our plant, shows that a positive attitude towards work increases wellbeing and effectiveness.

 

Is there research showing how many people suffer from professional burnout?

 

There are many different reports. There are reports that even over fifty percent of employees experience single symptoms of professional burn out. Slightly more optimistic ones, e.g. People at Work 2022, indicate that burnout affects every fourth employee.

 

Are there any professions that are particularly susceptible to professional burnout?

 

Until now, it was believed that the people most at risk of burnout were those who worked in helping professions, i.e. those that involve contact with other people, for example in the service sector, health care or education. Currently, professional burnout is associated with stress and frustration resulting from the conditions in which tasks are performed.

 

The most stressful professions were considered to include journalists and teachers. Does this mean that we should take special care of ourselves?

 

Absolutely. These are professions that involve the need to perform many very diverse tasks at the same time. In the light of research by neurobio-psychologists, multitasking increases the time to complete a task and increases the risk of making mistakes, which negatively affects the perception of success and satisfaction with results. In addition, the teaching and journalism professions often lack work-life balance. It is difficult to separate private time from work. Especially in today’s world of modern technologies, which, on the one hand, make our work easier, but on the other hand, do not allow us to quit it. We constantly check e-mails, take part in afternoon online meetings, and work on the computer at home to prepare our tasks for the next days. It is not clear when the working day begins and when it ends. In addition, there is also an element of demanding contact with another human being.

 

Are these negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread use of remote work?

 

New technologies have their bright and dark side. Remote, permanent work is becoming an increasingly serious problem, which is why the concept of technostress has appeared in the literature. It depends on many factors, but one of them is the feeling of compulsion or need to be available, the so-called connected state. The expectations of our superiors are changing, as they believe that we should respond to emails after formal working hours, but also of our colleagues, who require us to be in constant contact and respond quickly to their messages. More and more attention is being paid to the fact that employees in various organisations receive information and work orders via private messengers not directly related to work.

 

Are there any systemic solutions that would help maintain work-life balance? In France, for example, in some industries and organisations, a ban has been introduced on using business e-mails after working hours, mailboxes are simply blocked.

 

This is a very good solution, especially as a counteract against work ad diction, but unfortunately in Poland we do not have systemic solutions.  There are companies that introduce rules aimed at ensuring work-life

 

balance, for example by prohibiting contact with an employee during leave or staying at work during overtime hours. However, it is more a matter of organisational culture. In this aspect, it is important to appropriately shape the atmosphere so that it fosters openness, trust, and good interpersonal relations. Many studies show that positive social relationships are a fundamental condition for human wellbeing, not only in the organisation, but also outside it. I am very happy that the University of Gdańsk has a Psychological Support Centre. These types of initiatives should be implemented systematically in organisations.

 

Are Polish companies and institutions ready for such changes?

 

Polish companies are increasingly shaping their organisational culture, taking into account work-life balance and employee wellbeing, often using Western models. However, in most cases they concern hedonistic wellbeing. This is also visible in public institutions. A very good example is the chillout room, which was created at the Faculty of Social Sciences of our university as a relaxation zone. This space is very eagerly used by students, but also by employees of our faculty, so it is possible that the dean authorities will soon have to think about allocating another similar place. When it comes to shaping organisational culture in terms of wellbeing, there are companies that employ people in positions related to happiness, for example the Chief Happiness Officer. This is a person who constantly monitors employees’ wellbeing, implements strategies to improve satisfaction and supports the development of competences related to coping with stress. You can contact her to ask for support in more difficult professional situations. It organises non-work activities, such as trips to the theatre, concerts, trips to the forest under the slogan “hug a tree”, i.e. forest bathing, physical activities and many others.

 

As part of the project, I lead: “SUMED - Sustainable multidimensional media contents”, I was at the University of Applied Sciences in Turku, and although I know that Finland is much ahead of us in terms of taking care of wellbeing, the university space and the rules there made a great impression on me. First of all, it is an open and multifunctional space. There are plenty of places to stay together, rest and work, and carry out joint projects. Rooms intended for employees are rare, because it is more convenient to use shared spaces, even the rector does not have his own office. There is a clear focus on abolishing hierarchy and tolerance, there are common bars and places where you can meet, discuss, and work.  You can shape your own study programme, students choose subjects, teachers, and are open to discussions and additional activities. Ther no consent for xenophobia, racism, or sexism. There is time for lunch, relaxation and even fun. I had fun sliding down the slide to the lower floor.  In addition, there is architectural order and pro-ecological solutions.

 

These are fantastic solutions. Appropriate arrangement of a friendly, harmonious space affects our wellbeing, which is why companies have been trying for many years to shape it in such a way that it promotes the wellbeing of employees, makes their work easier, gives them the opportunity to rest, take a break and strengthen relationships with colleagues.  Large, especially American corporations, provide space and tools for physical activity and fun: there are slides, billiard tables, and social rooms where you can have breakfast, lunch, and make coffee are the basic standard. Polish companies sometimes implement such solutions, although with varying results: we have different economic conditions.  Employees point out that they do not need a pool table, but a higher salary or bonus. However, an appropriate organisational culture not only affects our wellbeing, but is also an element that results in greater efficiency at work. There are studies that show that taking breaks at work increases our satisfaction with the tasks we perform. After some time, satisfaction with the tasks performed decreases, and a break from work allows you to return to the original level of satisfaction or even increase it. However, it should be remembered that man does not live only by pleasures and positive emotions. Giving employees the opportunity to choose and giving them space to make decisions regarding matters related to the workplace is also of great importance. This is confirmed by Aleksandra Peplińska, Ph.D., with whom I share an office, who has shown that people who voluntarily choose some solutions, event those less favourable to them, demonstrate a higher level of wellbeing at work.  Anyway, I envy them their slides...

 

I admit that I do too. What about taking a nap at work? Is it abuse or re generation? Is such a luxury possible in Poland?

 

I think that allowing a nap at work is very difficult in Poland. There is a belief that someone who needs a nap during the day is in poorer condition, so we do not want to flaunt it. But organisations still find small spaces where employees can take a nap. An example is the Olivia Business Centre, next to the University of Gdańsk, where there is such a room. A fifteen-minute nap, no more, allows us to regenerate and return to our tasks with renewed enthusiasm.

 

Can wellbeing be included in the broader concept of sustainable development?

 

Without wellbeing, we will not achieve sustainable development. Well-being affects so many elements of our lives that it is a basic factor in sustainable development. It translates into our overall satisfaction, attachment to the organisation, and even pro-social behaviour, such as engaging in various common activities, including ecological ones.

 

In the SUMED project I mentioned, we assume the creation of new teaching methods in the field of broadly understood media education, including in the areas of media production, public relations, media relations, advertising, and marketing, as well as creating new initiatives and implementing solutions supporting sustainable development. Does the media have a role to play when it comes to disseminating attitudes related to wellbeing?

 

The media have a huge impact on society’s knowledge on a specific topic. Unfortunately, they currently face difficult competition - social media, which, according to the research results of Magdalena Iwanowska, M.A., are associated with materialism and thus reduce wellbeing.  An even more crucial role of the media is to disseminate the results of research on wellbeing and thus create fashion for a healthy lifestyle in all respects, both physical and mental. They should be promoters of good practices and solutions supporting wellbeing, as well as responsibility for fundamental values such as tolerance, truth and openness. In addition, the media can support the development of the so-called competencies of tomorrow, for example creativity or critical thinking, which will deter mine our effectiveness and thus increase job satisfaction. And since we mentioned earlier the importance of good relationships for wellbeing, an important role of the media is also education about constructive and inclusive interpersonal communication.

 

To sum up, what are the elements that contribute to human wellbeing?

 

Martin Seligman described a model he called PERMA. Each letter in this acronym stands for one element of wellbeing. “P” stands for positive emotions, good attitude, sense of satisfaction. “E”, from English engagement, means commitment, i.e. work consisting in concentrating on the tasks performed. “R” stands for relationships, and above all, cooperation with other people. “M” stands for sense of meaning and finally “A” for achievement, which indicates that satisfaction should be associated with success or visible positive effects of our work. In her concept, Carol Ryff, in addition to positive emotions and purpose, mentions self-acceptance and independence at work. She also develops control over the environment, a sense of agency in what we do, and a sense of competence in the face of difficult tasks and situations. An important element in achieving a sense of wellbeing is also the opportunity to improve yourself and self-development. Research I conducted together with Blanka Kondratowicz, Ph.D., showed that a development mindset is strongly associated with wellbeing. Even when I experience stress, I am able to achieve satisfaction if I feel I have influence on the situation, so I treat the difficulty as a challenge, not a threat. Other internal resources of the individual have a similar impact, for example the sense of free will analysed in other studies by Kondratowicz, Ph.D.

 

Which of these elements is the most difficult to achieve?

 

It is relatively simple to achieve a state of satisfaction resulting from positive emotions. Areas such as relationships with people and self-acceptance require more work and mindfulness from us.

 

We can only wish you to achieve all these elements to enjoy your work and life. Why do not slow down?

 

Above all, let us take care of ourselves. Let us remember that we are like cups, we can fill others if we are full ourselves. Let’s slow down to reflect on what is important to us and take time to live in accordance with our values. Let’s give ourselves the right to have fun and recharge our batteries.

 

Interview by Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, Ph.D., PR specialist for the promotion of scientific research, Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication of the University of Gdańsk.

 

Dorota Godlewska-Werner

 

Doctor of humanities in the field of psychology, assistant professor at the Department of Economic Psychology and Organisational Psychology at the Institute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk. Professionally interested in employee development, effective and counter-productive behaviour  in organisations and broadly understood leadership. She combines learning with practice by cooperating with organisations as a consultant, trainer, and coach; supports the development of soft skills. She is a graduate of the “Masters of Didactics” project implemented at Ghent University and the “Advanced Qualifications in Teaching” project implemented by the University of Groningen under the POWER programme, as well as the “Academic Tutoring” and “Academic Tutoring for Practitioners” courses conducted at the University of Gdańsk.

 

Development of skills and didactics to raise awareness about the importance of sustainability in the new generations of communicators

Julio Alexander Gonzalez Liendo Universitat Politècnica de Valéncia

 

Over the past few months, we have been dedicated to understanding the perspectives of teachers in the faculties and schools of communication at universities associated with the SUMED Research Group. By implementing three courses and interactive sessions with teachers, we have deepened their understanding of sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 2030 Agenda, and the pivotal role that communication plays in addressing the challenges facing our planet.

 

At the Universitat Politècnica de València, as part of the European Green Capital 2024 initiative, there has been ongoing discussion throughout the institution about the necessity to implement sustainability indicators and policies that facilitate the prompt achievement of these goals.

 

As part of SUMED’s WP3, which focuses on providing tools and developing skills for teachers to achieve higher and better teaching quality standards, a first training workshop with ten teachers was carried out during the third quarter of 2023. Three sessions were held in-person, and seven were conducted online. The workshop was dedicated to understanding the concept of sustainability and the importance of communication in this process.

 

Throughout the day, Dr Betsabé Arjona Blanco, an expert in digital transformation and sustainability at the Chamber of Valencia explained to the teachers the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs and how these objectives should impact university teaching, especially in schools and faculties of audiovisual communication.

 

A few weeks later, the course “Didactics and Methodologies to Incorporate Sustainability Content in Communication” was given with the participation of academic teachers from the Gandia, Alcoy and Valencia Capital campuses. They learned about various didactic and methodological alternatives shared by Dr Mónica Viñarás Abad from the Complutense University of Madrid. Dr Viñarás Abad who also conducts research in institutional sustainability, facilitated the session.

 

Additionally, participants engaged in a role-play activity to apply a dynamic approach in proposing options for addressing sustainability issues, drawing from their experiences with communication students.

 

On the second day, twenty teachers, five in person and fifteen online attended the interactive work meetings. Due to the distance from their headquarters to Valencia Capital, they expressed commitment to implementing the pilots being developed within the framework of SUMED WP4. This commitment would impact approximately 200 communication students at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

 

During these first two work meetings, key topics were discussed, such as:

 

• Definition and critical concepts relationship between communication and sustainability

• Ethical principles and social responsibility in communication • Good practices in journalism and sustainable media • Inspiring case studies and examples

• Development of sustainable campaigns and messages • Tools to measure the social and environmental impact of communications

• The role of communication in promoting sustainability

• Effective strategies to engage audiences on sustainability issues • Practical workshop: implementation of sustainability in communication projects

 

On the third day, led by Julio González Liendo, coordinator of SUMED from the UPV, the teachers who participated in the first two meetings, worked together to review the contents and define action plans for 2024.  Consequently, several recommendations emerged, which will be duly considered in the pilot training developed within the European project.

 

Promote the adoption of a holistic approach to communication, which consistently considers the social and environmental impacts of communicative actions, is essential. Integrating ethical principles and social responsibility in communication practices is vital for effectively addressing current environmental and social challenges.

 

Sustainable communication involves promoting messages and practices that drive positive change towards sustainability. Effective communication strategies can play a vital role in educating and raising awareness among audiences about sustainability issues and motivating tangible actions.

 

Moreover, it is imperative to seek opportunities across various sectors to apply the acquired knowledge in authentic and collaborative projects that promote sustainability. This can be realized through the creation of use case databases, providing practical examples of sustainable communication in action.

 

It is essential to highlight that the group of teachers expressed several questions that emerged during the WP3 discussions at the UPV:

 

• How will sustainable communication strategies evolve   in response to future environmental and social changes?

• What role will artificial intelligence and emerging technologies play in sustainable communication?

• What challenges will communication professionals face when implementing more sustainable practices in an increasingly digitalised world?

• How can we measure the impact of sustainable communication initiatives on society and the environment more accurately and effectively.

 

In this regard, Nuria Lloret Romero, deputy director of the Institute of Design and Manufacturing and leader of the SUMED project at the UPV, commented that it has been very satisfying to witness how, through the activities designed and executed to introduce teachers to sustainability content. They have shown a growing interest in delving deeper into the topic and understanding the available options for transferring knowledge to students.

 

The closure of this work package was successfully consolidated at the  meeting in Valencia, which was attended by Adam Jagiełło-Rusiłowski  and Aleksander Anikowski from Innocamp Poland; Prof Ġorg Mallia and  Dr Monika Maslowska from the University of Malta; Milla Järvipetäjä and  Kaisa Adair (remotely) of Turku University; Dr Dominik Chomik, Dr Beata  Czechowska-Derkacz, Anna Kietrys-Tusk from University of Gdańsk.

 

During the meeting, the attendees had the opportunity to hear three  presentations: non-financial information reports by sustainability expert  and advisor Isabel Garro; “Greenwashing and Communication Methods”  by the communications director of the Valencia Design Foundation,  Ona Bascuñán; “Didactic Strategies for Sustainability Education in  Communication” by Dr Sonia Aránzazu from the International University  of La Rioja and the Comillas University of Madrid; Finally, Dr Raúl Abeledo,  professor at the University of Valencia and Coordinator of the Spanish  Network for Sustainability who presented a paper on   Sustainability in  education in the training of social communicator. The occasion was also used to present the results of the work undertaken in WP3 and plan the tasks and responsibilities of WP4. This phase will begin shortly with the implementation of pilot sustainability courses in the universities associated with the project.

 

New Excellent for teachers: The vision of the UPV teaching staff.

 

Prof Nuria Lloret Romero’s statements stem from the evaluation and analysis of a survey administered to 50 communication teachers at the Alcoy, Gandía and Valencia Capital campuses.

 

The teachers posit that communication plays a pivotal role in sustainability by fostering organisational transparency (38%), aiding understanding of the planet’s evolving reality (38%) and emphasising the significance of sustainability training for communication teachers helps with understanding the importance of media in societal transformation (16%).

 

When asked to evaluate the importance of sustainability training for communication teachers on scale from 1 to 10, with one being the  least important and ten being the most important, the responses are as  follows: 18% rated it as the highest priority, 9 % assigned it a score 9 out  of 10, 27% ranked it in the eighth place, 9% rated it as a 7, and 18% rated  it as a 6.

 

When asked, “To what extent can sustainability training for communication teachers help them understand it?” 27% believe that it facilitates comprehension of various educational dynamics for transferring sustainability concepts and their professional implications to communication students. Another 27% argue that it assists in defining specific sustainability content and methods for its integration into subjects and communication. Additionally, 18% opine that such training aids in understanding the diverse dimensions of sustainability.

 

The teachers who participated in the survey revealed that undergoing training through courses and workshops on sustainability greatly enhanced their teaching abilities, enabling them to effectively incorporate this content into their study units (45%). Additionally, 18% acknowledged that such training would deepen their understanding of the true scope of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while 9% emphasized its role in elucidating the significance of communication within sustainability processes. Furthermore, it was noted by 9% of respondents that such training assists in addressing didactic shortcomings, facilitating knowledge transfer, and fostering a shift in perception regarding sustainability and its ramifications.

 

With the completion of WP3, culminating in a meeting at the UPV headquarters in Valencia Capital, representatives of the SUMED team were able to identify not only the weaknesses demonstrated by the teaching staff regarding sustainability content, but also new lines of action required, which could be addressed in new research projects. “It has been interesting to see how the implementation of these workshops with professors from our project’s partner universities has enabled us to not only assess the relevance of the sustainability training that we already have planned for the forthcoming pilots, but we also leave a more substantial contribution. By doing so, we have provided a broader and more complete map of the manifest needs in terms of sustainability, education, and technology for Europe’s benefit” as highlighted by Adam Jagiełło-Rusiłowski from Innocamp Poland and leader of the SUMED project during his visit to the Valencian capital.

 

The team’s contributions

 

Once all the recommendations issued by the professors from all participating universities in the project were evaluated, the contributions were divided into seven areas to facilitate their transfer to both the pilot programs currently being designed and to reports, leaving avenues open for new lines of research.

 

Firstly, the focus lies on the use of technologies, where the incorporation of virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence is recommended for pedagogical solutions aimed at addressing sustainability issues. Furthermore, the use of AI is proposed for image creation and knowledge gathering, fostering connection with younger generations through digital communication, as well as establishing an online collaborative learning platform. This platform would encompass use cases, examples for communicators and educators, educational and training strategies, tools, and evaluation methods, commonly referred to as the “Sustainability-in-Communication-Pedia”.

 

On the other hand, as part of the imperative to promote communication as a transparency tool, participating teachers also advocate for the integration of ethical principles and social responsibility into communication practices. This includes incorporating modules on legal knowledge into journalism courses and advocating for the balance of sustainability efforts with health and safety principles.

 

Teachers emphasize the importance of encouraging all teaching teams to cultivate diverse skill sets adaptable to changing industry trends in sustainability. They advocate for extending sustainability principles to primary and secondary education, advocating for mandatory media literacy, and developing self-care initiatives for journalism teachers.

 

Regarding effectiveness in education for sustainability, there is a proposal to compile effective communication strategies aimed at educating and raising awareness about crucial sustainability issues. This includes highlighting the importance of setting an example through course content, raising awareness, and promoting understanding across different educational levels. Additionally, there is a suggestion to provide clear and specific recommendations for future reading and podcasts for staff, as well as incorporating examples related to environmental protection.

 

At another level, attendees discussed the effectiveness of sustainability communication, emphasizing that it should involve and promote messages and practices that drive positive change towards sustainability. They underscored the importance of establishing strategies to reduce climate anxiety, fostering Earth coalitions, countering long term stress and seeking meaning at work.

 

Furthermore, they highlighted the importance of promoting critical thinking and fact-checking as essential tools for journalism students. They also stressed the need to address conflict management situations and employ non-violent communication strategies, especially those related to sustainable development, in future research endeavours.

 

Finally, the consulted professors assert that among the future challenges is the consolidation of communication as a vital tool for transparency and organizational sustainability. They plan to evaluate the evolution of sustainable communication in response to environmental, social, and cultural changes, with particular attention given to the implementation or utilization of technological resources such as AI and emerging technologies.

 

They propose that the challenges faced by communication professionals in implementing sustainable practices in a digitalized world be continuously discussed. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of measuring the impact of sustainable communication initiatives on

 

society and the environment, as well as on student participation and eco emotional communication in a world characterized by self-awareness.

 

 

 

“The Beehive”

A proposal for designing sustainable media interventions

 

Aleksander Anikowski

Adam Jagiello-Rusilowski, PhD

INNOCAMP.PL

 

Introduction

 

The beehive, as a metaphor in educational contexts, has been used to capture the concept of a sustainable learning system and the added value of synergies purposefully evolved within communities of practice.  The approach can be traced back to the 1940s practices at Oxford University, where Professor Rege Revans laid the foundations for Action and Inquiry-based Learning. Revans’ catchphrase was ‘bartering your ignorance,’ encouraging scholars to bring puzzles and queries they deemed ‘unsolvable by an individual mind’ to a group of talented thinkers, regardless of their rank in the otherwise hierarchical academic culture. Learning in this approach functions through ‘Programmed Knowledge’ and ‘Questioning Insight,’ which can be applied to acquire new experiences for future learning. From a pedagogical perspective, it is rooted in Lev Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, which focuses on providing learners with ‘mediating tools’ or ‘scaffolding,’ allowing both individual and collective minds to communicate, understand each other, and change the world. These embedded mediating tools need to be explored before expecting minds to produce (re)actions and become creative or change agents (Lantorf & Thorn, 2006).

 

Making a difference or diffusing innovation usually involves balancing tensions related to change. Increasing pressure against opposing forces often results in strong resistance. The socio-cultural (beehive) approach promotes creating a sense of belonging to disarm resistance by understanding and empathizing with users rather than overwhelming them (Havelock, 1973). This overlaps with Vygotsky’s concept - the zone of proximal development, which is the space between what a learner can do without assistance and what a learner can do with adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. Change-making can be learned through experience gained within individual and collective spaces in the right (scaffolded) environment. The beehive, used for educational and design purposes, may lack ‘hierarchical structures,’ but the ‘buzz’ of cognitive, social, and cultural exchanges allows its creative outcomes to capitalize on the mobility of talents and synergies the system of their interactions can generate for sustainable solutions. The metaphor is meant to convey the continual effort of handling available natural resources in a regenerative, sustainable way, cross-pollinating different territories of expertise rather than exerting power. Like a bee’s dance or a honeycomb scaffolding, ‘buzzing’ exchanges and experimentation can help shift our knowledge and sustainable practice to a more resilient level of meaning-making and, more importantly, effective communication.

 

Participatory communication methods can further enhance this communication. They were developed to foster good and conscious participation, practiced in the challenging conditions of divided and conflicted communities in the USA and Italy [Sclavi, 2002]. Among them are methods derived from anthropology and social psychology, as well as the unique approach of active listening. This approach overturns the traditional view of a good observer as passive, neutral, and unaware of the emotions aroused by the exchange. Instead, it suggests being active, open to dialogue, and questioning one’s certainties [Squillaci, Volterrani, 2021]. Sclavi observes: ‘The active listener’s primary interest is in observing whether and how he or she and others are practicing active listening.’ She formulated seven rules to facilitate the use of this method:

 

Take time to conclude. Conclusions are the most fleeting part of research.

 

What you see depends on your perspective. To see your perspective, you must change it.

 

If you want to understand what someone else is saying, you must assume they are right and ask them to help you understand how and why.

 

Emotions are basic cognitive tools if you understand their language.  They tell you not what you see, but how you look. Their code is relational and analogical.

 

A good listener is an explorer of possible worlds. The most important signals to him are those that present themselves to consciousness as negligible and annoying, marginal, and irritating because they are inconsistent with his certainties.

 

A good listener welcomes paradoxes in thought and communication.  They approach disagreement as an opportunity to practice a field they are passionate about, creative conflict management.

 

To master the art of listening, you must adopt a humorous methodology.  But once you have learned to listen, the humour comes naturally. Following the rules allows participants to build relationships and social bonds characterized by trust, mutual respect, and engaging diversity; therefore, at least in premise, more solid and lasting. These rules have been used in quite difficult environments to achieve goals more complex than discussion and the exchange of experiences. As such, they can be used to better understand and gather knowledge from people of different ages, careers, points of view, and agendas.

 

In December 2023, INNOCAMP Pl organized a beehive called “Media for Climate”. Jacek Bożek, an Ashoka fellow, and the leader of the  Gaja Club, had proposed the idea of the beehive as a kind of design  thinking event, similar to a creativity workshop, which should lead to a  better understanding and building a network of contacts to support  sustainability among media professionals and students.

 

This article summarizes the concept of “the hive” as a communication intervention that allows journalism students to fully understand broad and complex ideas such as sustainability and sustainable development.  It capitalizes on the metaphor and the communication of bees to offer media educators some tested participatory communication methods to make their work for sustainability even more effective.

 

“Media for climate” beehive – the process

 

Innocamp Pl organized the event in the form of a two-day meeting in Tri-City as part of the SUMED project. The event had a well-thought out and planned course and a flexible framework for collecting the best possible results. Similar to a hive, which is an artificial space for bees, with movable combs enclosed in frames.

 

The participants were:

 

Moderator: Adam Jagiello-Rusiłowski, PhD in Education, Ashoka Fellow and coordinator of the SUMED project.

Experts: Jacek Bożek, Ashoka Fellow, ecological activist and president of the Gaia Club; Beata Tarnawa, visual artist and ecological activist of the Gaia Club.

Participants : PR and communication specialists and journalists from higher education, culture, and NGO sectors, Gen Z education NGO activists, local government officials in culture and education, and the head of elementary education. The group was diverse in terms of gender, age, experience, professional roles, and skills.

 

The beehive started with trust-building games and screening excerpts from a Netflix Polish comedy production, 1670 The participants could laugh at a specific kind of humour generated by the retrospective use of sustainability concepts and educational mobility (Erasmus student exchange). Next, Adam Jagiello-Rusiłowski presented Finnish research results on the impact of eco-anxiety on the well-being of youth, including the Wheel of Eco-emotions, the general concept of constructive communication on sustainability, and solution journalism as promoted by ASHOKA. The group concluded that the Finnish findings strongly suggest  that negative communication aimed at increasing the impact on  environmental protection does not work. Instead, it creates anxiety and news avoidance. A better practice is needed to communicate with positive emotions and help the audience develop some sense of belonging and agency. Finnish research had structured these insights into a useful wheel of emotions, which works by decreasing the intensity of feelings and increasing the pleasantness. The latter is produced by the experience of (self)efficacy – taking appropriate steps to take care of the environment on an everyday basis and witnessing the impact of such actions.

 

Jacek Bożek and Beata Tarnawa shared their experience with PR and  lobbying campaigns. They focused on the “Carp Still Alive” campaign, which was successful at the national level in terms of changes in national legislation, social attitudes, and cultural habits of Polish society. They emphasized the importance of empowering communication, which outlined the significant systemic changes for the campaign while also including a list of small steps for individuals. This inclusiveness helped to build a sense of community and general support for their cause, which facilitated the change in the law.

 

Journalists, PR specialists, and academic teachers were invited to the hive to share their experiences and explore how media campaigns related to sustainability impact the well-being and sense of agency of their audiences. The participants learned modern methods of personal well-being care and shared their expertise, research results, and case studies of positive, sustainable communication approaches. They discovered ways to cultivate constructive attitudes to save the earth and assist specific communities in adopting strategies and behaviours, fostering a sense of belonging and agency. They then deliberated on strategic choices stemming from the dilemma: capitalizing on eco-anxiety or fostering collective self-efficacy and resilience in young generations.

 

New approaches to academic education in the field of journalism were considered in the context of emerging needs for social communication for sustainable development, as covered in the recommendations section of the article. Participants examined communication through the lenses of both old and new media. Everyone had the opportunity to share best practices and creative ideas.

 

Throughout the day, various individuals had the opportunity to share stories, express diverse opinions, provide examples, and receive feedback. Like bees, who communicate through dancing and pheromone distribution, participants engaged in communication akin to the waggle dance, where foragers convey information about the direction and distance to nectar, pollen-bearing flowers, water sources, or new nest sites to other hive members. Pheromones serve as multidirectional channels for exchanging vital information among the queen, workers, and even drones (male bees).

 

Participants defined sustainability in relation to science, religion, spirituality, climate, green solutions, technology, and culture, highlighting its diverse interpretations and applications in communication campaigns.  They noted that the eco-label is often misused, leading to a stagnation of critical public awareness and societal fragmentation. True sustainability, they argued, requires moving in the opposite direction and collaborating as a global community of practice, integrating various aspects of saving the planet, such as climate action, policy, and other initiatives. Initiating change can begin at various levels, such as actively participating in community initiatives, creating localized movements, and subsequently expanding the agenda. The ultimate goal is to foster a shift in mindset and policy.

 

Several members of the group made strong references to the change in their way of thinking during the meeting. The change was a result of the exchange of ideas and the acquisition of a more complex view of sustainability and communication. There was also a reinforcement of the importance of the latter, as well as the need to confront beliefs about sustainability and its communication with the perspective of others.

 

The whole group emphasized the importance of authenticity, awareness, and resilience in sustainability communication. In their opinion, only the constant, authentic effort to communicate environmentally friendly policies can improve community resilience, raise awareness, and facilitate dialogue with stakeholders, including politicians.

 

The following day, the whole group had the opportunity to share their thoughts and new ideas following the first meeting. They appreciated the value of professional and engaged feedback as well as trending methods for training journalists to become agents of change. In addition, they discussed and agreed on recommendations for sustainable journalists’ education which are included in the final section of this article.

 

The Innocamp event created a diverse, multidimensional environment for collecting a wide range of experiences, facts, and stories essential for a better understanding of sustainability. It enriched the knowledge and perspective of the participants and provided experts and the facilitator with insight into the expectations and needs of professionals from various sectors. While this good practice can be replicated in the future, certain conditions must be to ensure its success.

 

Analysis of the method

 

For the success of the hive, it is necessary to establish several boundary conditions. The first of these is a friendly environment. We invest effort and time to create an atmosphere of trust, based on active listening, without premature judgment. This gives participants space to share and openly discuss all the issues with respect.

 

Of course, to achieve this goal, the hive needs experienced facilitators and experts. They will share their knowledge, like the queen and worker bees, but through active listening and monitoring the course of discussion, they will collect new data and ideas and gain a better picture of the reality. Similar to bees observing dances and detecting the scent of pheromones from workers returning to the hive.

 

This requires experts and facilitators to have some prepared knowledge based content as a starting point for discussion and milestones to follow up further during an event. Together, they create scaffolding similar to a honeycomb, which participants can fill with valuable observations and discussion. To achieve this effect, we need a diverse, inclusive group of participants of different ages, life experiences, and worldviews who will support the discussion with diverse examples, broad experiences, and understandings from different angles, much like worker bees returning to the hive to dance and share new knowledge.

 

This means that everyone attending the hive event has space and time for discussion and storytelling, satisfying their need to be heard and share their points of view. It is not only satisfying for every single participant, but also fruitful for the whole group by broadening the collective horizon of knowledge.

 

Two final constraints improve the quality of feedback. Allowing participants to take a break, time to re-think, and to “sleep on” their collected impressions and knowledge results in the emergence of second thoughts and new ideas during a follow-up feedback session.  This practice is fruitful seeding further inquiries.

 

Expected results

 

The first expected outcome of this practice is a collection of insightful responses and observations for facilitators and experts. The second is a memorable experience, new knowledge, and perspective for the participants. Both sides gain new, interesting contacts for future collaboration.

 

Using the active listening technique at the event enriches the collected feedback and its value. If participants have the chance to learn it, it will influence their future ability to gather information and participate in social processes. Of course, relationships and social ties based on trust, mutual respect, and difference can provide journalists with a good starting point in their professional careers. Further training in this method can enhance their social skills and help them in conflict resolution situations.

 

Possible applications

 

This good practice can be replicated in the future to give budding journalists an insight into the complex nature of sustainability. It can be repeated with different groups or used for the same group with a changed set of external visitors.

 

Another application of this good practice is to disseminate complex knowledge about sustainable development among communication professionals and collect their conclusions, which can be useful in the education of journalism students.

 

Participants’ recommendations on sustainable journalism education Throughout the event, participants shared their suggestions for journalism education. They discussed and agreed on the most important ones during the feedback session focusing on three different directions:  institutional change, target group, and methods and tools. Firstly, sustainable journalism education cannot happen without institutional change in higher education. Academia needs to be oriented towards sustainability issues and methods that allow for more flexibility and multidirectional communication. As the participants experienced, changing institutions is far more challenging than changing individual attitudes. They showed that providing good examples is the best way to gradually influence institutional change, and they recommended this approach as the most effective.

 

Secondly, journalists should be trained to use positive, solution-oriented communication, which empowers those receiving media content, engages them in social initiatives, and prevents news avoidance.  There are many case studies, such as the Gaja Club’s “Carp Still Alive” campaign and Ashoka’s Solution Journalism, that can serve as a source of best practices to be used.

 

The meeting community focused strongly on the main target group of journalism training: current and future students. They agreed that young people can be reached more easily and effectively through digital channels. Not only are they there every day, but it is much less stressful for them because they are not stigmatized, so it’s an appropriate way to engage them in sustainability. Also, if Gen Z wants to be part of corporate campaigns, it is worth reaching them and getting them involved in sustainability that way. The final recommendations concerned tools and methods for training future journalists. Members of the group focused on fact-checking tools, methods to expose greenwashing, and any additional ways to strengthen critical thinking. They also pointed out the importance of meeting with people from different backgrounds: science, media, and culture, to get their perspectives and knowledge. It means leaving comfort zones and trying to reach people from other communities to build sustainability, which is fruitful for their future work. More than that, it also gives future journalists a better view and understanding of the complex nature of sustainability.

 

Bibliography

 

Encyklopedia pszczelarska, PWRiL, Warszawa 1989.

 

Gardner, Kathryn E., Thomas D. Seeley, Nicholas W. Calderone. “Do honeybees have two discrete dances to advertise food sources?”  Animal Behavior, Vol. 75, Issue 4 (2008): 1291-1300, DOI: 10.1016/j. anbehav.2007.09.032

 

Havelock, R. Change Agents Guide to Innovation in Education, Educational Technology Publications, 1973

 

Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006).

 

Sociocultural Theory and The zGenesis of Second Language Development. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Revans, R. (1982), “The origins and growth of action learning”,

 

 Industrial  and Commercial Training, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 248-249. https://doi. org/10.1108/eb003898 Sclavi, Marianella. Avventure Urbane. Milano 2002.

 

Squillaci, Luciano and Volterani, Andrea. Lo svilupp sociale delle comunità. Come il terzo settore può rendere protagoniste, partecipative e coese le comunità territoriali. Bologna 2021

 

 

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Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.