The student union of Tallinn University, Estonia’s third-largest higher education institution, is organising a variety of online events regarding sustainable development throughout April.
The mission of the Tallinn University Student Union is to represent the rights and interests of the students and to advance their development opportunities and a “green month” is a great opportunity for developing skills regarding sustainability, the union said in a statement.
“This year, Tallinn University decided to devote one whole month to sustainable development and support its members – students, academic, administrative and technical staff – and the society as a whole to address social, cultural, economic, health-related and environmental issues,” Katerina Chantzi, a master’s student in social entrepreneurship at the university and the project manager behind the “green month”, told Estonian World.
A path to sustainability
Chantzi said Tallinn University “appreciates the Student Union’s efforts to involve and include every student in the activities related to the sustainable development of Estonia” and encourages everyone to take action and discover and show their potential as “green heroes”.
“Sustainability is addressed as a way to meet our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is not limited to environmentalism – through workshops, experiential learning and collaboration, the ‘green month’ aims to address different aspects of sustainability and intends to encourage action,” she added.
“My vision is to organise impactful and meaningful activities for everyone so that the environmental action will not stop on 30 April, but each participant can learn something and put it into action in their lives afterward and define their own sustainability path in their everyday life,” Chantzi, herself a founder of the social enterprise called BinFree that offers pickup recycling services, noted.
The events involve learning how to eat sustainably by cooking together, how to live with less by playing the 30-day minimalism game, how to consume responsibly upcycling coffee grounds, how to balance our hormones by making our own cosmetics and how to cut plastic waste by discovering the benefits of bees.
Nurturing well-being
The “green month” will also address mental and physical health by organising panels for nurturing our well-being, by bringing examples from Estonia and warmer countries such as Greece and Cyprus, and Italy.
The international diversity of the Tallinn University community – more than 7,500 students from 70 countries and every tenth academic having a foreign background – is reflected in the working language of the events, English.
Those interested to participate in the events are encouraged to see the list with all the events and register in advance. For any questions and requests, please get in touch with Katerina Chantzi.
Cover: Tallinn University’s campus is near Tallinn’s city centre. The image is illustrative. Photo by Tallinn University.
