Sustainability Thematic Weeks for general education institutions

The Hungarian Government has launched the Sustainability Thematic Week initiative for schools aiming to introduce the SDGs with an edutainment approach, which was organized in 2016 for the first time. The mission is to provide any schools and any students and teachers (regardless any barriers) with free and accessible quality edutainment programs linked to SDGs during the thematic week happening in the same given week each school year in any school that joins. Besides the projects using innovative pedagogy and empowering students’ creativity, other interactive programs are also offered for schools. The program offers projects, thematic guidance for schools and teachers to organise a week-round edutainment program for students in general education (ISCED 1-3 levels). There are also national projects, campaigns, teacher trainings and events linked to the thematic week. Participating in the Sustainability Thematic Week is also the doorstep to becoming part of the national eco-school network. Every year, more and more schools join the program coordinated by the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary.

The program also receives volunteers from various sectors.

In the academic year 2020/2021, more than 370,000 students from 1,630 schools took part in the thematic week, which is about a third of all the institutions and students in Hungary. This online event was also a good example of the possibility of implementing quality ESD programs at the national level, despite the challenges caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

In the programs related to the Sustainability Thematic Week, students engage in active learning to address certain topics of sustainability. In addition to the extraordinary classes, the program series also includes in-service teacher training (with the active participation of 1,070 teachers in 2021), workshops and applications. In 2021, in addition to President of State Dr János Áder, Jane Goodall also gave an extraordinary lesson. Besides, about 20 online lessons and more than 30 adaptable lesson plans were shared (and used during the theme week) by the participating institutions. Between 2016 and 2021, the Sustainability Thematic Week programs reached every second student in the country.

In 2020, an online survey was also conducted during the Sustainability Thematic Week with the voluntary participation of around 25,000 students, in which student attitudes, experiences and competencies related to sustainability were assessed: data are still being processed.

From 2020, the programme was extended to the Carpathian basin involving Hungarian speaking students from the neighbouring countries to Hungary.