Religions. Environmental Education. Peace.

Prof. Dr Elisabeth Naurath acquired an Erasmus Plus project (Cooperation Partnership) as part of her research fellowship granted by the Jakob Fugger Centre at the University of Augsburg. Together with international partners, she will develop models of how interfaith and environmental ethics learning can be combined in training teachers of different religions.

In cooperation, Germany (University of Augsburg), Austria (KPH Vienna), Spain (Universitat Internacional de Catalunya), Albania (University College Beder), and Malaysia (International Islamic University Malaysia) will focus on the consequences of the climate crisis, opportunities for climate resilience and issues of climate justice, primarily using the topic of water as an example. The aim is to develop competence-orientated models of interreligious and environmental ethical learning in training teachers from different religious contexts.
Interreligious learning is to be (re)organised through impulses from international cooperation for teacher training in such a way that nature and climate protection, climate resilience promotion, and the reflection of climate justice are integrated into educational efforts as subject areas to advance urgently needed ecological transformation processes not only in terms of promoting environmental knowledge but also for joint environmental ethical awareness-raising.

Based on information transfer, discourses, and reflections on theological foundations and environmental ethical, and context-related approaches to dealing with nature conservation and climate change, the practice of training and further education of teachers (of all disciplines) is professionalised in such a way that interreligious cooperation on environmental education is transferred into school practice (didactic concepts, team teaching, joint teaching materials).

The connection between environmental and climate protection and the preservation of social and global peace is recognised and implemented by professionalised teachers in the field of interreligious education across all subjects in schools. This promotes a change in environmental ethics awareness because the opportunity for international and interreligious cohesion can be emphasised through criteria such as solidarity and justice, thus counteracting the increasing resignation of pupils.
The project will be funded by the European Commission from 1 November 2023 to 31 October 2026 as part of an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership with EUR 400,000.