Education for Sustainable Development: Preparing Students to Face Global Challenges

Today’s young people are growing up in a world shaped by immense challenges: climate change, social inequality, global health crises, and rapid technological transformations. To face these issues with intelligence, empathy, and responsibility, education must evolve — not only to teach academic content, but to prepare engaged citizens capable of building a more sustainable future.

This is the goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): to help students understand global and local problems and empower them to become change-makers in their communities — and beyond.

What Is Education for Sustainable Development?

According to UNESCO, ESD seeks to integrate the principles and values of sustainable development into all aspects of teaching and learning.

This includes:

• Developing social, emotional, and environmental competencies;

• Promoting critical thinking and the ability to solve complex problems;

• Encouraging respect for diversity and human rights;

• Fostering global citizenship and collective responsibility.

In other words, it’s about shaping not just good students — but good global citizens.

Why It Matters in Northeast Brazil

In the communities served by G&N Foundation in Northeast Brazil, many students already experience the effects of social and environmental challenges firsthand — from drought and lack of sanitation to economic hardship and gaps in public services.

Bringing ESD to these young people offers an opportunity to:

• Strengthen students’ self-esteem and sense of agency;

• Foster community pride and responsibility;

• Inspire real-world solutions to local problems;

• Open new career paths in sustainability and innovation.
  

How Can ESD Be Integrated into Schools?

For ESD to be truly effective, it needs to be embedded:

• In the curriculum: Sciences, geography, math, and even literature can all address sustainability topics.

• In the school culture: Initiatives like recycling, energy and water conservation, school gardens, and participatory governance set a daily example.

• In educational projects: Interdisciplinary, real-life projects that connect classroom learning with community issues reinforce deeper understanding.
  

Teachers, families, NGOs, and school leaders must work together to create environments where ESD can flourish.

G&N Foundation’s Commitment

At G&N Foundation, we believe that preparing young people to face global challenges is no longer optional — it’s an urgent necessity. That’s why our work includes:

• Supporting schools in creating more sustainable, future-ready learning environments;

• Offering scholarships for students pursuing careers in environmental sciences, education, and social innovation;

• Encouraging student-led sustainability projects in the communities we serve.
  

Our goal is to help develop young people who not only understand the world — but are empowered to change it.

A Sustainable Future Starts in the Classroom

Education for sustainable development is a long-term investment — but one that brings deep and lasting impact. The earlier we start, the better prepared our young people will be to face — and solve — the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Join us in this commitment to education, sustainability, and a more just and inclusive planet.