Sign Festival OFF – Val di Susa.
The future is you.
Make the right choice!
The Sign Festival partners with the “Des Ambrois” School Institute of Oulx for Eco-Active Schools with the climatologist Luca Mercalli.
The future is you. Make the right choice! With this slogan, the first conference for a sustainable school took place in Oulx, organized by the Des Ambrois School Institute in collaboration with the Sign Festival Cultural Association, which created an OFF edition in the Susa Valley as a preview of the packed 2024 program.
The Des Ambrois program began in the 2021/2022 school year with the aim of engaging the local community with wide-ranging initiatives, thanks also to the active participation of the municipalities of Susa, Oulx, Sestriere, and Bardonecchia.
“There is a strong synergy between our institute, the Regional School Office, and local authorities on these issues, emphasizes Domenico Baglioni, headmaster of Des Ambrois. It couldn’t be otherwise, starting with a day of reflection like today and then moving on to increasingly concrete and impactful actions for students, families, and teachers. Protecting nature and the environment is a priority for us: we are an innovative school surrounded by greenery, and we can’t ignore it. ”.
Last school year, important results were achieved, such as the installation of drinking fountains to reduce plastic consumption, the collection of 400 kg of electrical and electronic waste (WEEE) with an improvement in the separate waste collection system in classrooms, and finally, this year, an awareness campaign involving students and teachers as testimonials.
“We want to make environmental sustainability a core topic within the school, emphasizes Antonio Prencipe, head of the environmental sustainability team at Des Ambrois. Currently, there are no common policies for schools that outline procedures, actions, and concrete interventions to implement. We want to understand what we can do to actively contribute to the ecological transition immediately and effectively, conveying this message to students first, and then to the local community, teachers, and the families of our students. Every school should have a sustainability manager; this seems like a priority to me. ”.
The overall objective, therefore, is to create an environmental sustainability agenda designed for schools, in line with the UN 2030 Agenda. Its targets include measuring the schools’ ecological footprint, eliminating CO2 emissions, and integrating sustainable development issues into the teaching of all subjects.
The slogan and the intelligent robot chosen as emblems of the sustainability campaign for the Sign Festival OFF Val di Susa and the IISS Des Ambrois.
The meeting then progressed to students recounting the projects they’ve completed at the institute in recent years. These included commercials encouraging respect for the environment, highlighting good practices such as proper waste separation (the best videos are at the bottom of the article). This was followed by presentations by industry experts. In particular, the Sign Festival project—a partner of the initiative—was discussed by Alessandro Germani, President of the organizing association.
Furthermore, climatologist and science communicator Luca Mercalli explained to students what good practices could be implemented in a school, starting, for example, by understanding the “weight” of a person, a class, or a school building in terms of energy consumption and CO2 production.
Climatologist Luca Mercalli during a speech.
“We must save the planet, but above all ourselves, the human species. 2023 was the hottest year since 1850, and is likely the hottest year in the last 125,000 years. – Luca Mercalli states worriedly – And so we can no longer pretend nothing is happening. We experienced a 2023 marked by the long-lasting drought in the Alps, but which also saw, on the other hand, extreme weather events of the opposite nature that led to the devastation caused by the floods in Emilia-Romagna ”.
The Piedmontese climatologist then delved deeper into the UN Agenda’s objectives, including peace. “With the war, Mercalli explained, there can be no ecological transition, and the targets to be achieved will increasingly be pushed beyond 2030, with catastrophic consequences.”
Des Ambrois Student Involvement
The day featured interactive sessions and workshops, where students could express their ideas and proposals on crucial issues such as climate change, pollution, and the responsible use of resources. Through a series of hands-on activities and open discussions, the students were encouraged to reflect on and concretely address the issue of sustainability. Luca Mercalli shared his experience and knowledge with them, actively engaging everyone in an open and constructive dialogue.
An Increased Commitment to Sustainability
The initiative was not limited to the conference, but was part of a broader initiative in which the school has actively engaged in promoting sustainable practices. Students have launched several ecological projects, such as creating a teaching garden, recycling, and promoting sustainability awareness events. These projects have not only enriched the school’s curriculum but have also contributed to creating a more aware and responsible community.
A Future to Build Together
The conference “You Are the Future. Make the Right Choice!” represented an important step toward a more sustainable future, strengthening the link between education and environmental commitment. The students of the Des Ambrois High School demonstrated that the new generations can and want to play an active role in protecting the planet, starting with their daily behaviors and personal choices.
In conclusion, the event emphasized the importance of collaboration between institutions, students, and industry experts. Only by joining forces will it be possible to build a future that not only promotes the well-being of our planet, but also offers new opportunities to young people, inviting them to become agents of change. Commitment to sustainability is a crucial choice, and with events like this, the foundation is laid for a future generation more aware and attentive to environmental challenges.
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