YouAlberta
Sustainability is more than just a buzzword for students. From the U of A’s Certificate in Sustainability to Green Spaces program, our campuses encourage sustainability. In fact, you can find courses and research that address all three pillars of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic).
The term “sustainability” has skyrocketed in use since the 1987 Brundtland Report, a 900-day-long international project which synthesized professional and public approaches to sustainable development. Also entitled “Our Common Future,” this report reminds me of a critical question we should ask when discussing sustainability: “Sustainability of what?”“Sustainability of what?”
Despite the common usage of sustainability as a buzzword or “selling point,” we can’t lose sight of what exactly it is that we are trying to sustain. Throughout my years leading the blog team at SustainSU, the university’s grassroots student sustainability group, I’ve learned to let my volunteers’ passions lead the way. I ask all students to consider what is important to them (be it fashion, family, social justice, animals or energy) and think about how we can best sustain these interests.
For the first time, SustainSU is partnering with the Sustainability Council to host the Student Sustainability Summit on February 1, 2020. Experts, community advocates, and students across Alberta will come together in an attempt to “mind the gap” between the present and the sustainable futures we are working towards.
Samar Kauser, a student and member of the planning committee, hopes that the summit will encourage students to be “motivated enough to weaken, if not reverse, the climate crisis. Motivated enough to keep trying and know that every action counts.” The summit welcomes sustainability beginners and opens doors for those already involved.
To Samar, sustainability means maintaining an ecological, economic, and social balance: “These three pillars of sustainability are intertwined and mimic a positive feedback loop, since protecting one pillar amplifies the protection of the other two pillars.” A textbook answer that rings true in community-based sessions such as Eriel Tchekwie Deranger’s opening keynote on climate justice and Indigenous rights.
“I want students to be aware that sustainability is everywhere: energy, waste, ecosystems, Indigenous and minority rights, politics,” Samar says. “It’s to the point where you cannot avoid it. The ubiquitous nature of sustainability should encourage students to foster a communal response, to integrate ingenious sustainable policies and actions in their personal and professional lives. Not only will this help the world, but also help students to be resilient, diligent, and compassionate global citizens and leaders, a fitting role for a UAlberta student!”
The session Samar is most looking forward to at the summit is Dr. Wanda Costen’s closing keynote. “It will be LIT,” Samar says. “I’ve had the opportunity to listen to her presentation before, and am excited to hear her factual, motivational, and awakening words once again!”
Visit the Student Sustainability Summit’s webpage for registration and information on the program and speakers.