Seminar 3: Professor Manuel Riemer (University of Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada) - Engaging Students in Climate and Sustainability Action: A Community Psychology and Systems Perspective

In this presentation, Dr Riemer will draw, among others, from his own teaching and research at the cross-section of community psychology, sustainability and systems science, and transformative education to explore key issues related to the engagement of students in climate and sustainability action. He will begin by presenting a theory of engagement for fostering collective action, which was developed in the context of the Youth Leading Environmental Change (YLEC) study conducted with countries from the global North and South. Dr Riemer will then apply this theory to specific pedagogical strategies intended to shift mental models, foster systems thinking, engage with sustainability and climate justice, and build action competence. He will conclude with some general considerations about student engagement in the current context of universities, including an increasing prevalence of negative eco-emotions among youth.