Write or suggest/ being virtual
awareness campaigns about various population issues and their possible solutions
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Recently, I organised a discussion session with several people which was not only about environmental awareness but about the larger component, awareness of sustainability. Actions to raise awareness about sustainability are vital to convince people that their individual actions do matter and that bottom-up movements do work. The following question was asked during the discussion, how can we increase awareness of sustainability among the people? The different opinions have brought me much insight into the topic and I also think it is a nice summary of everything that has already been shared here. During the discussion, it became clear there is no one-size-fits-all answer and many arguments always came back.
It is all-important to provide the people consequent, simple, reliable and correct information, and research plays here a fundamental role. For example, it is not because it is snowing outside that climate change is not happening (weather ≠ climate). Misinformation is still a huge problem nowadays so showing people the correct facts can raise awareness and change their behaviour and point of view. Information can be provided in many ways, through education, (social) media, in stores/shops and much more.
Education (including parenting) is, as mentioned several times here, very powerful. Every level of education should include actively and directly lessons, activities, programmes and/or events about sustainability and the environment. Important is that education is efficient and is really paying off (because in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, where I live, we learn French in school for eight years and still no one can properly speak the language).
Media can both have a direct and indirect role in stimulating sustainable behaviour. Directly, the media can provide good information in news, documentaries and talk shows. Indirectly, the media is also very powerful, think for example, in fiction series or movies that are close to reality. People tend to reflect their own lives to the characters. If you see a character on TV using a drinking bottle or being a vegetarian, people can be stimulated to do the same. Moreover, in TV-series for children, sustainability and environmental awareness should become common topics. For the youth nowadays, social media and YouTube can be very influential.
Raising awareness is not always enough to change people their behaviour and additionally, we have to be realistic. To obtain sustainability and to deal respectfully with the environment, society needs to be changed. This is something that takes decennia of gradual changes, it is an evolution, not a revolution. People are committed to their habits and do not like to change them. Slow and gradual changes would have worked if we started several years ago but now, we do not have this time anymore. As a result, people should also be stimulated in other ways to implement much quicker a sustainable lifestyle.
Financial stimulation is extremely important because it cannot be denied, most of the time it is all about the money. Make sustainable alternatives cheaper and more efficient, for example, improve public transport and make trains for medium distances more interesting than a plane. However, in a capitalistic system with demand and supply, this can become difficult. Still, governments or institutions like the European Union can play a role. Think, for example, of subsidies, but here we have to be careful since they can also interfere with the market. However, when they are efficient, implemented for the long term and reliable, they can be a stimulation.
In addition, the government or other authority institutions have to take the necessary measurements by implementing rules and laws with the eye on reaching sustainability. People will be ‘forced’, which will cause discontent, but it is one of the only ways to make the quick changes towards sustainability the earth is craving for. However, clear communication and information are crucial, people cannot have the feeling that only measures against them are taken but also against, for example, the industry. These rules and laws do not have to imply large financial investments from the people’s sides. Additionally, a problem which can arise in terms of governmental actions is that climate and sustainability become a political game. In Belgium and many other countries, this is already the case. The problem is, when you make climate and sustainability political, you will never have everyone’s support.
In general, actions towards environmental and sustainable awareness should come from different stakeholders and levels going from individuals, families, schools, local authorities, NGOs, governments to the European Union and the United Nations. Information, education and (social) media are important but to really change people’s behaviour in the short term, some kind of stimulation is crucial.