In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Essentially, sustainability is about the relationship between people and planet; remembering that we are inextricably part of this planet, and that our societies (including economies) depend upon healthy biological and physical systems. At its most literal level, sustainability refers to the quality of a state or process that allows it to be maintained indefinitely. At present, the way we are living is not sustainable. If we carry on as we are, the Earth's natural resources and physical systems will be irreversibly damaged and depleted. The problems we face in achieving sustainability are large, but they can be overcome. They can't be solved just by changing your light bulbs (though that is certainly a good start). We will require new ways of thinking about how we live our lives—how we work, how we do business, how we eat, shop, travel and participate in our communities. We need to view resources use, and, above all we need to review and correct the way we get involved and participate in the defense of a more sustainable world.
Published in Chapter:
Entrepreneurship Education: A Dimension of Citizenship Education
Francisco Banha (University of Algarve, Portugal & CEFAGE, University of Evora, Portugal & and University of Algarve, Portugal),
Sandra Saúde (Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Portugal & CICS, NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal), and Adão Jesus Gonçalves Flores (University of Algarve, Portugal)
Copyright: © 2021
|Pages: 26
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4402-0.ch006
Abstract
This chapter is based on the assumptions, methodologies, and results of two intermunicipal entrepreneurship education projects carried out in Portugal, specifically in Dão Lafões and Baixo Alentejo regions. It analyzes and demonstrates how, in formal and/or non-formal educational contexts, developing work methodologies that promote entrepreneurship consolidate competencies of creativity, proactivity, group work, planning, division of tasks, focus on problem solving, which are fundamental to full and active citizenship. The projects undertaken, supported on learning by doing methodology involved different agents of the communities beyond the schools, are and/or have been valuable contributions to the formation of more autonomous and proactive citizens with a democratic, pluralistic, critical, and creative spirit. Entrepreneurship is a competence for life. Taking initiative, mobilizing others, and getting them on board with ideas and/or solutions to problems are useful skills for daily life in our society and contribute to the sustainability of our common world.