Challenges of Sustainable Development
Dates:
2007-2010
Funding:
EEA Grants
National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management
Countries:
Poland
Description – essential information
The project “Challenges of Sustainable Development” was realized jointly by the Centre for System Solutions and the Sendzimir Foundation. The objectives of the project were to promote the sustainable development among enterprises, public institutions and local governments. Our overarching aim was to initiate the sustainability transformation in Poland by transferring good solutions and models from Europe and from around the world, adjusting them to Polish conditions and working out new solutions that would be tailored to the needs of Polish organizations, companies and institutions. We also wanted to ensure the continuation of this process by establishing a network of sustainability experts and practitioners – the people with knowledge and experience, who would make it possible for the sustainable development principles to be implemented, followed and monitored in companies and other institutions.
In order to achieve the project’s objectives, we had launched a yearly, three-week long intensive course entitled “Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland” for the group of international students and conducted a series of workshops in local communities of Zawoja and Karpacz districts. We also issued two publications: “Challenges of Sustainable Development in Poland” and the periodical entitled “Applications of Sustainable Development in Poland”. As part of the project, a series of Internet educational games “Micro-worlds of Sustainable Development” was also developed and made available to the public online. To help create the network of sustainability practitioners, we also created an Internet community-educational portal ChallengeSD and launched yearly Competition of Small Grants, which would enable the laureates to carry out valuable projects aiming at sustainable development in Poland.