Educational horizons and competencies for sustainability. Social responsibility as a necessary challenge

The idea of social responsibility, recently outlined within the 2030 Agenda, requires that anyone involved in education and training must encourage all generations to embrace the value of sustainability as a common principle that applies to all dimensions of human existence. Starting from this assumption, the contribution has focused on the concept of "education for sustainability", considering all its complexity and entirety, referring not exclusively to the environmental dimension but also to the cultural and social dimension. The analysis refers to the 12 competences described in the study GreenComp, the European sustainability competence framework: the idea is to contribute to the achievement of the fourth goal of the 2030 Agenda (target 4.7). The value of sustainability is a real meta-competence that aims to teach specific values by making learners understand that everybody can choose which goals are essential for their existence. Considering that human well-being is closely linked to planet's health, students must necessarily understand that developing sensitivity towards the planet means helping themselves. We must instill in new generations the idea that there is a mutual relationship between man and nature, but it is up to the former to decide the fate of both. Only systemic thinking will allow society to evaluate and make long-term decisions; on the other hand, fragmentary thinking would lead to actions aimed at the short term, lacking planning and not corresponding to the real needs. By teaching young people about the future as a scenario that can be collectively designed, we will start from two perspectives: we will always have one eye on tomorrow and the other on the past. Creativity, imagination and awareness towards a more sustainable future must become the hand that sews the skills of tomorrow: using our imagination when we think about the future, drawing on one's creative space and generating possible scenarios, must become part of the contemporary educational action. The creation and consequent implementation of these 'new' competences passes through political action, both individual and collective. The individual can be seen as a monad that transforms the future by acting in synergy together with the social parts, working and emotional life. Small actions revolutionise global ones: small ideas generate change, invite reflection and contribute to the emergence of new political scenarios.