Sparkling Science project nominated for Sustainability Award

The innovative climate project “Klagenfurt goes climate-neutral – Participation and Justice in the City of the Future” is funded as part of the “Sparkling Science 2.0” research funding programme and was recently nominated for the Sustainability Award in the RESEARCH category. This means it is already certain that the citizen science project will receive an award!

The nominated Sparkling Science project “Klagenfurt Goes Climate-Neutral” ties in with the EU’s “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030” initiative, in which the city of Klagenfurt is the only Austrian city to participate. In the project, researchers from the University of Klagenfurt are working together with three partner schools and five cooperation partners, including the City and Youth Council of Klagenfurt, to find solutions for the path towards a climate-just future. The pupils are involved in the project as citizen scientists and actively participate in the ethnographic research methods. Another key focus of the project is to place the pupils themselves at the centre, as citizens directly affected by climate change. The project explores the impact of their active role on the design of teaching and learning, as well as on school development, in the context of transformative Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

The interdisciplinary approach, which combines science, education and participation of the public, promotes awareness and commitment to climate neutrality and provides important motivation for sustainable urban development.

The Sustainability Award is presented every two years by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research (BMFWF) and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BMLUK) and recognises outstanding achievements in the field of sustainable development. The aim is to raise the profile of creative and effective initiatives and to provide impetus for a sustainable transformation of society, the economy and the environment.

Visit the project website