Sustainable food system and global education priorities for teachers in addressing global food issues at school.

1. www.eathink2015.org
International exchange workshop
Saturday, October 17th 2015
Venue: Expo Milan 2015
Cascina Triulza / Civil Society Pavilion –Workshop Room 100

2. www.eathink2015.org
French delegation
• Sustainable Food Systems and Global
Education: priorities for teachers in
addressing global food issues at school
(topics and main challenges) + examples of
Global Learning Units

3. www.eathink2015.org
Institutional framework
and context
• Context: since 2004, sustainable development is part of all
school programs (all subjects, from primary to secondary
schools).
• We can benefit from different initiatives in Basse-Normandie
such as Eco-schools and Agenda 21 schools.
• Some students choose to become Eco-representatives of their
school.
• Since 2009 (in Normandy), a steering committee made of local
NGOs and institutions has also implemented a label for schools
developing a sustainable development approach.
• Since 2011, the French Education Ministry asked counties to
implement the same label (10 000 schools must be labeled in
2018).

4. www.eathink2015.org
Examples of activities and
educational practices
• Innovative features and lessons learnt:
• Our 6 teachers have worked on different topics
using different methods:
• Food waste, Honey (bees and environment),
Vineyards, Food habits (Nutella), Sustainable
Fishing.
• Teaching methods are very different: partnership
with local actors, direct implication of the
children, visits, role play, collaborative games.

5. An example of Global Learning Unit implemented: Vineyards

6. An example of Global Learning Unit implemented: Beehives

7. Sustainable fishing

8. www.eathink2015.org
1 - B i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e s i n
addressing such issues with our
students
• How does it work ? We try to develop diversity
and interdisciplinarity (one theme, various
subjects). Nowadays, the new educational
reforms imply more and more interdisciplinarity.
S t u d e n t s c a n b e n e fi t f r o m h o u r s o f
inderdisciplinarity in high and primary schools.
Next year it will also start from middle school, 4
hours will be dedicated to interdisciplinarity per
student.
We also tackle Sustainable Development issues
within our classes directly.

9. www.eathink2015.org
2- Biggest challenges in addressing
such issues with our students
(referring to different age groups)
• Checks and balances: lack of time dedicated
to the coordination of interdisciplinarity within
all subjects, reforms face resistance from some
teachers, all these activities lead to extensions.

10. www.eathink2015.org
The most relevant Global Education topics
addressed by our classes/schools related to the
sustainable food systems within the Eathink
Project?
• Impact of teaching on students’ daily life, how to link
theory to reality.
• Important skills enhanced: cooperation, taking
responsibility, autonomy, project management,
becoming an active citizen, develop critical thinking.
• Students should realize that the knowledge
acquired in class can be applied in the real world.
• BUT: do we all have the same definition of what
Global Education is ?

11. Thank you for your attention