The NUS Vice President, Piers Telemacque, has launched a new appeal, Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS).

It is a network of 50 student organisations from 5 continents. Its aim is to help these organisations to co-operate internationally in order to tackle the environmental crisis. The project wants to encourage students to think about ways they can help this global movement.

Telemacque argues that there is a demand for sustainability to shape the curriculum in more universities.

He stated in The Guardian that, according to research carried out by the Higher Education Academy, “80% of students want their institution to be doing more on sustainability, and 60% want to learn more about it”. He also suggests that students should be challenging lecturers and tutors if they think that the educational content in their courses is preparing them to “repeat the mistakes of the previous century”.

Another recommendation to students by Telemacque is to focus on the “bigger picture”. He writes “only 3% of people in the world go to university, but they make up 80% of global leaders. Statistics like this remind us how powerful education is, and how important it is that we don’t only think nationally when it comes to sustainability”.

Telemacque also argues that thinking about where food is sourced from and its ethical implications, contacting MPs and joining divestment campaigns are some of the ways in which students can help tackle the sustainability crisis.

 

(Image: Flickr)

Katie Lowes