A Conceptual Reference Framework for Sustainability Education in Multilingual and Cross-Cultural Settings: Applied Technology, Transmedia, and Digital Storytelling

Background

In an interdependent world where knowledge and innovation are major drivers of development, good quality education and learning are becoming even more important determinants of the well-being of individuals, the progress of countries and the quality of humanity’s common future. The opportunities offered by developments such as applied technology and the knowledge revolution, increasing capacity for innovation and closer global cooperation for overcoming obstacles to progress have never been greater. One of the educational areas involved in this chapter is related to education for sustainability which for decades provided the main reference for environmental education. Since the early 1990s, international organisms, academic societies and field experts have generated concepts and ideas on the environment that constitute the current compromise and sensitivity towards the knowledge and vulnerability of nature. Environmental education has promoted the understanding of the interrelationships and interdependence among living beings and between them and nature. The concept of sustainability has its origin in this social concern to find a balance between current and future demands and the capacity to protect life on earth and preserve natural resources.