Successful transfer from science: workshop on ESD in voluntary work
On Wednesday, November 27, 2024, the Chair of Business Administration, in particular Sustainability Management, in cooperation with the Education Office and the Volunteer Coordination of the City of Kaiserslautern, hosted a special workshop focusing on the connection between volunteering and education for sustainable development (ESD). The event took place as part of the "Open Digitalization Alliance Palatinate" project.
The participants, all volunteers, were first given an introduction to the 17 sustainability goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda by Carolin Langhauser and Cynthia Loos . They showed how these goals are linked to the concept of ESD. It became clear how much volunteering already contributes to the achievement of goals such as "health and well-being", "gender equality" or "less inequality" - often without the volunteers being aware of it.
In an interactive work phase, the participants reflected on the points of contact between their own volunteering and the sustainability goals. The results were impressive: Many activities already make a significant contribution to sustainable development. In the second part of the workshop, the participants developed visions for making their volunteering more sustainable. They also discussed how digital tools could be used to further strengthen ESD in volunteering.
After three intensive hours, the conclusion of all those present was clear: the workshop was a complete success. The findings and ideas will now be incorporated into future projects. Due to the positive response, another workshop on a similar topic is already planned for spring 2025.
