Sustainable Development: A lever for action
Marina Ader, Project Officer, and William Savard, Project Assistant in UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development Division, opened the session with their expertise on the topic.
Marina Ader reminded participants that sustainable development provides a framework for action aimed at meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. It is based on three interdependent pillars:
- Economic: promoting responsible innovation models, including technological ones, that do not deplete natural resources;
- Environmental: preserving ecosystems, reducing pollution, and protecting biodiversity;
- Social: ensuring well-being, justice, and decent living conditions for all.
William Savard emphasized the central role of citizens, particularly young people, in the transition to sustainable societies. Understanding the consequences of our actions—whether in transportation, consumption, or agricultural production—is essential to changing behavior. In the face of global challenges such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, it is crucial to measure the impact of our actions and foster responsible attitudes from an early age.
Measuring our actions is essential to evolve attitudes and encourage everyone to care for their environment.
William SavardProject Assistant, Education for Sustainable Development, Education Sector, UNESCO
Marina Ader also highlighted that UNESCO’s education programs for sustainable development aim to equip young people with key competencies: critical thinking, cooperation, a sense of commitment, and the ability to act.
UNESCO data show that many teachers still feel insufficiently prepared to address these topics in the classroom, and that school curricula still integrate climate change education too little. This represents a major educational challenge.
What matters is taking action- raising awareness in your community and becoming an actor at the institutional level. Young voices must be heard and we need to listen.
Marina AderProject Officer, Education for Sustainable Development, Education Sector, UNESCO
The need for responsible, inclusive, and contextualized innovation
The second intervention at the Campus was led by Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO of Women in Tech, who has been active for over twenty years in the global technology ecosystem.
She encouraged students to think about “smart” innovation; it is designed for the common good and within a sustainability perspective. According to her, innovation can take many forms, including technological. Digital tools and artificial intelligence, for example, can help optimize resource management, improve water use efficiency, support more resilient agriculture, and anticipate floods and droughts.
However, she stressed that the relevance of a technology is not based solely on its performance but on its overall impact: Is it clean and sustainable? What are its social and environmental effects? Does it strengthen local capacities or create new dependencies?
Ayumi Moore Aoki emphasized a fundamental point:
Technology, including artificial intelligence, remains a tool. It is neither a magic solution nor a standalone answer to the complex challenges of the contemporary world.
Ayumi Moore AokiFounder and CEO, Women in Tech
Facing environmental and social challenges, solutions must be sustainable, systemic, and rooted in education. Without a solid educational foundation, technological innovation cannot produce profound and equitable transformations. She also noted that any innovation must consider geographic, cultural, and social realities. Solutions cannot be imposed from outside; they must be co-created with communities, not developed for them.
Another major challenge she highlighted is misinformation and the spread of false information. In a context of massive digital content circulation, it is essential to develop critical thinking and digital literacy skills from an early age. Using technology responsibly requires learning to identify reliable sources, distinguish verified information from misleading content, and understand how messages spread online. Education plays a central role here: it not only protects against harmful uses of technology but also empowers students to become informed and responsible digital actors. Understanding risks, mastering tools, and exercising judgment are all essential skills for navigating a complex information environment.
Through her presentation, Ayumi Moore Aoki encouraged students to view innovation as a lever for autonomy, responsibility, and inclusion, serving more just and sustainable societies.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/innovating-responsibility-education-heart-sustainable-and-equitable-future?hub=701
