📢 Invitation for participation in SYNAPSES Academy Conference Join us for the final SYNAPSES Academy Conference: “Designing environments for teaching Sustainability Citizenship in schools.”📅 Date: March 27–28, 2026 📍 Location: Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece We are looking for educators and researchers to share their work! You can participate in two ways: 📄 Call for Papers Submit your research or detailed case studies on sustainability education (deadline 30 January 2026). 🖼️ Call for Posters Showcase your success stories, innovative school practices, or student projects (deadline 20 February 2026). 🔗 Visit the website to register and submit your work: https://conference.synapses-academies.eu/

by: Ellinogermaniki Agogi The Synapses Academy International Professional Development Course 2025 took place in Marathon, Attica, Greece, from June 29th to July 4th, gathering educators and school leaders from across Europe for a week of inspiration, learning, and exchange. The week was filled with keynote talks, hands-on workshops, cultural experiences, and unforgettable moments of community. The summer school welcomed participants from across Europe, beginning with arrivals, registration, and introductions. Six keynote presentations set the stage, exploring essential themes like the foundations of Sustainability and Active Citizenship, the challenges of assessing complex competences, and how schools can act as living labs…

From SYNAPSES project towards a reform of national curriculum: ‘Actions for Active  Citizenship’ Organisation: IEP   The SYNAPSES project (2024) establishes a learning ecology which integrates sustainability and citizenship towards a development of a curriculum which is oriented to action-related Knowledge. Such an education encourages students to become agents of change, capable of transforming their local environments while maintaining a global perspective on environmental, social, and economic challenges. In alignment with these principles, the new Greek national curriculum ‘Actions for Active citizenship’ (Government Gazette 6048/2024, Issue B), accompanied by Teachers’ Guide for actions of active citizenship, develop an educational environment…

Organisation: Ellinogermaniki Agogi At Ellinogermaniki Agogi, we’re empowering our teachers through dynamic workshops and in-school training to bring energy-focused learning to life. Inspired by our school’s solar panels, which are steering us toward a net-zero environment, our programs include creating solar panel recycling businesses, optimizing installation angles, calculating economic and environmental benefits, and understanding international design regulations. These engaging activities promote creativity and critical thinking, making sustainability a tangible subject for students. Our dedicated participants, primarily physics and professional orientation teachers, are leading this green initiative with enthusiasm. The head of our secondary school is also actively involved, ensuring these…

Organisation: ESHA Over ninety pre-service teachers at Dublin City University's Institute of Education participated in a dynamic series of workshops organised by the DCU Synapses team. These workshops prepared students for integrating Sustainable Citizenship into their future teaching practices using the syllabus of the upcoming Leaving Certificate subject, Climate Action and Sustainable Development, which is set to launch in Ireland in September 2025. The workshop series introduced students from various BSc programmes in pre-service teacher education, including Physical Education and Mathematics, Physical Education and Biology, and Science Education. Programme topics covered foundational concepts, active teaching methodologies, and innovative lesson-planning techniques.…

Organisation: Masaryk University From the beginning of September 2024 to the end of the year, Masaryk University successfully organised nine seminars tailored for educators and professionals from the wider public. These seminars aligned closely with one of the most pressing topics in education today—the preparation of a new national curriculum. This updated curriculum integrates the critical themes of sustainability education and sustainable citizenship in innovative ways. These seminars provided a platform for exploring how these areas can be effectively developed in primary schools once the new curriculum is implemented. Participants were introduced to cutting-edge approaches and methods such as place-based…

Organisation: DCU Ireland Over ninety pre-service teachers at Dublin City University's Institute of Education participated in a dynamic series of workshops organised by the DCU Synapses team. These workshops prepared students for integrating Sustainable Citizenship into their future teaching practices using the syllabus of the upcoming Leaving Certificate subject, Climate Action and Sustainable Development, which is set to launch in Ireland in September 2025. The workshop series introduced students from various BSc programmes in pre-service teacher education, including Physical Education and Mathematics, Physical Education and Biology, and Science Education. Programme topics covered foundational concepts, active teaching methodologies, and innovative lesson-planning…

Organisation: DWEC Ireland At the DEC, SETU 2024 conference, Dr. Daithí Ó Murchú from DWEC dazzled a diverse audience of national and international educators and policymakers with his session, SYNAPSES on a String! The activity cleverly demonstrated how Sustainability Citizenship (SC) is everyone’s responsibility, woven into every action, anytime, anywhere—literally done “on a string” with zero extra budget required! Stakeholders were inspired, with one attendee stating, “This proves sustainability isn’t about resources—it’s about mindset!” Another exclaimed, “I’ll be teaching my students about ‘zero-budget sustainability’ starting Next Week!” The session energised the crowd, showing how simple actions create global ripples.

Organisation: DWEC Dublin West Education Centre In a heartening display of commitment to environmental stewardship, a recent Practice Reflection Workshop (PRW) hosted by DWEC, in November 2024, highlighted the remarkable progress Irish schools are making in integrating sustainability citizenship education (SCE) across their SESE curricula. The PRW event, which combined remote participation, brought together over 30 teachers from 7 schools, including those with prior involvement in the SYNAPSES Summer Schools’ programme 2024. The workshop showcased innovative approaches that have taken root in these classrooms, blending technology-enhanced tools with hands-on, whole-school, community-engaged sustainability initiatives. Schools shared their developed frameworks for embedding…

by DCU The most recent SYNAPSES Teacher Academy partnership meeting took place at Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket in Sweden, providing a beautiful setting for the visiting partners to interact with teachers and students involved in the upcoming project implementation phase. These transnational partnership meetings facilitate face-to-face exploration, sense-making, and planning for project implementation. As a three-year project with multiple interdependent work packages, a close working relationship is crucial to the success of the SYNAPSES Teacher Academy. After significant progress in the first 12 months, attention now shifts to the crucial upcoming implementation phase, with partners busy organising professional learning events with…