Written by GSP Advocate, Büşra Dursun
As an Advocate for education for sustainable development (ESD), I had the privilege of contributing to two impactful events focused on ESD: the KBK Sustainability Summit and the ESEP Congress.
These events allowed me to collaborate with learners, educators, and experts, creating platforms where ESD was not just discussed but actively explored and showcased through handson projects, research and dialog.
I organized the KBK Sustainability Summit 24' event as an advocate at Bahçeşehir College Kocaeli Campus that took place on November 20th, 2024. Four local high schools, UNESCO Turkey Commission, Sabancı University, and UNITAR participated.
As part of this event, we had four invited speakers, a 10-stand EXPO fair, and 18 simultaneous student presentations. UNESCO Turkey Commission member Professor Dr. Barış Alpaslan, UNITAR CIFAL Istanbul expert Dr. Yasemin Ülker, and Sabancı University academic Dr. Ozan Duygulu supported the event with their speeches.
Dr. Yasemin, a UNITAR-CIFAL expert, shared information about UNITAR projects. Dr. Ozan Duygulu, an academic at Sabancı University, who is an expert in economic sustainability also participated in the discussions.
The EXPO showcased three experiments, two statistical research projects, two simulators, one software project, and two research presentations. The program ended with simultaneous student presentations in two groups of 9+9.
The student presentations discussed all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and. It was exciting and inspiring to witness students who had conducted their own research and presented their findings to the guests. One student gave a presentation on the Global Schools Program, introducing it to new schools in attendance.
In the EXPO section, some students conducted experiments, such as water purification and an aquaponic system. Three of my students developed software for measuring carbon footprints, which they also presented.
Additionally, At the EXPO, various topics were presented, including statistics on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, equality in education statistics in Turkey, climate change and its effects, the aquaponic system, water filtration, the EN-ROADS simulation by MIT, the Fields of Fuel simulator game on agriculture, carbon footprint measurement software, and the water piano STEM project.
Many attendees mentioned that they would never have learned so much about climate change and carbon footprints in a normal classroom setting. They found the software particularly interesting.
I had a team of 66 students who worked very hard. They were highly motivated and even prepared 270 cards for guests, programs, and certificates. They never gave up, collaborated well, and had a lot of fun!
Beyond organizing the KBK Sustainability Summit, I also had the opportunity to participate in the ESEP Congress, an international event held in Turkey. I presented an oral presentation titled “Planning a STEM Lesson with Global Schools Activity Guides: Sustainable Agriculture.”
Through this presentation, I designed a hybrid lesson plan integrating Smithsonian Institution Modules, the Turkish education system’s STEM framework, high school learning objectives, and the Global Schools Activity Guide. My lesson plan was a computer-based STEM activity that utilized the Fields of Fuel simulator game to teach students about sustainable agriculture.
As a result of my participation in the congress, my research article was published as a full paper in the official proceedings book. In my study, I incorporated Global Schools activity guides, Smithsonian science modules, Turkish national curriculum requirements, and STEM policies. I also designed custom activities, assessment tools, and educational simulations that demonstrated a sustainable agriculture model by tracking water usage, energy consumption, carbon footprint, pricing, and crop yield.
Having my work published alongside other academic studies was a significant milestone, and this experience reinforced my passion for integrating sustainability education into STEM learning.
The KBK Sustainability Summit 24’ and my participation in the ESEP Congress show the importance of collaborative learning and innovative teaching methods in sustainability education. With these initiatives, I hope to inspire more students and educators to take an active role in shaping a sustainable future.
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