This article from the Guardian grabbed my attention, as it involves using education and human psychology to further the sustainable development agenda. It gets to the root of the sustainability challenge – how do we convince others that sustainable development is not only paramount for human survival but also rewarding and fulfilling? Attitudinal change is at the crux of this. As part of my MSc in Leadership for Sustainable Development I completed an essay on the role of cultural values in influencing support for public policy on SD strategies. It a fascinating area of study as it is ultimately about people. While government can lead civil society into change through ‘nanny state’ policy, this can only have limited effects as civil society must understand and witness the benefits of SD for themselves.
When I read this article it reignited that previous interest I had expressed in my essay. For all the policy government can dictate, incentives that can be given and scaremongering unleashed as to why we must change, without genuine commitment from civil society and a shift in cultural norms, beliefs and values, the potential for SD will be limited. Promoting ‘internal willingness to change’ is crucial. This article is about people and as with SD is about encouraging engagement and interaction and for that reason I found it very thought provoking.
NOTE: The essay I mentioned above was based heavily on a WWF report I read at that time called ‘Common Cause: The Case for Working With Our Cultural Values’ and well worth reading for a more in depth study of the concepts discussed in the Guardian article. It’s available at: http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/common_cause_report.pdf
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