The Impact Trust is a registered charity and public benefit organisation dedicated to advancing sustainable development by promoting sustainability leadership in practice. Our Routes to Resilience programmes support the integration of sustainability principles in education, enabling the development of leadership skills in effective sustainability practice and encouraging the enactment of global citizenship for a more resilient future.
WHO WE ARE
WHAT WE DO
We focus on building the literacies that contribute to sustainability leadership in practice and citizenship in action.
Sustainability leadership encourages:
global social &
environmental consciousness
systemic thinking
integrated literacy
active citizenry
resilience
WHY EDUCATION IN SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP?
Today’s younger generations will face a very different world from that in which we live now, a world that will present unknown and, in many instances, as yet uncontemplated challenges, often referred to as a VUCA world – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous
Within this context, we have to question the contribution that the education sector can and should play. One of the major barriers to strong leadership in sustainability education is the low level of understanding and subject knowledge which inhibits substantive engagement with the topic in the curriculum or classroom practice.
The value of participation in programmes that develop relevant knowledge and effective action competence is growing, most especially as the private sector places sustainability front and centre of business skills needs. Yet few programmes are serving educators at a professional development level or the learners they are responsible for, most especially at the higher school grade levels.
WHY EDUCATION IN SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP IS CRUCIAL NOW
LEADERSHIP
Current leadership capabilities are out of sync with a rapidly emergent new global paradigm.
CHANGE
The pace of change is accelerating beyond the capabilities of traditional approaches to education.
EDUCATION
There is a disconnect between the theory of sustainability and the practical implementation thereof at an educational level.
DISCONNECT
There is an increasing disconnect between what skills exist, what skills are being offered in education and development, and what skills are needed in a rapidly changing world.
NEW SKILLS
New skills are needed to navigate the nature and pace of change and chart a different course of action: changed thinking will change outcomes. Year 9 and 10 learners, in particular, are at a critical stage with respect to their subject and career choices for the future.
OUR WORK
Our “Routes to Resilience” programmes seek to increase global leadership in sustainability practice, so promoting social and cultural change towards more sustainable lifestyles.
Our focus is on Sustainability Leadership in schools-based education in order to develop young adults as active, resilient global citizens with early opportunities for “future proofing” life and career path decisions.
We do this by engaging educators and management in continued professional development programmes to build their knowledge confidence and capacity to confidently integrate sustainability into classroom and operational practice, by providing practical tools and curriculum content across a variety of disciplines and by delivering a variety of programmes for youth at key career path decision points in high school or in gap year programmes. Our aim is to help educational organisations become leaders in a resilient, sustainable future.
TESTIMONIALS
Feedback from learners that participated in our Routes To Resilience curriculum programme
