The project titled “Green Legacy for the Future: Climate Change and Sustainability Education for High School Students,” led by Prof. Dr. Rana Atabay Kuşçu, Director of Istanbul Medipol University Vocational School of Social Sciences, has been successfully completed. The project aimed to raise awareness of climate change and sustainability among high school students in Beykoz.
Conducted by Prof. Dr. Rana Atabay Kuşçu and supported by the Social Contribution Commission, the project delivered training to a total of 1,036 students across eight high schools in Beykoz. Lasting 20 weeks, the project team included Lecturer Yusuf Bilgi, Ahmet Faruk Korkmaz, İlayda Teper, and İbrahim Emre Ötegen, with additional contributions from the Faculty of Education, the Sustainable Development UAM, and the Distance Education UAM. This social contribution initiative sought to increase young people’s awareness of environmental issues and encourage them to take responsibility.
In the first phase, university students received 45 hours of training focused on the main themes of Climate Change and Environment, Sustainability, and Educational Sciences. Through the “Training of Trainers” program, university students were equipped with the skills needed to deliver lessons in high schools. In the second phase, these university students gave presentations on climate change and sustainability to raise awareness among high school students.
The project successfully created awareness on climate change and sustainability within the target group and enabled a scientific examination of students’ attitudes toward climate change. Supervised by expert academics, the project also evaluated the impact of peer-education-based awareness training on students’ perspectives.
