Climate change and education: The decisive role for our future!

Climate change and education: The decisive role for our future!

On May 21, 2025, there are several interesting events on the program at the University of Bamberg that deal with pressing social issues. One of the outstanding events is the lecture by the Bavarian Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber. This will take place on May 26, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in room U7/01.05 at the university. The topic of his lecture “Building 2050 – Challenges for cities and communities as a result of climate change” is diverse and will be treated as part of the lecture series “Sustainable Finance” and “Discourse Workshop: Interdisciplinary Sustainable Development”. The event is aimed at anyone interested and is accessible free of charge. If you need more information, you can find it on the University of Bamberg website nice link.

But climate change is not the only focus of the events on this day. At 6:00 p.m. there will be a parallel evening of lectures entitled “Childhood in War – Trauma Education and Therapy in Ukraine”. Dr. Kateryna Buchko and Prof. Dr. Cedric Sachser discuss the devastating effects of the war in Ukraine on children and how to support them through trauma education approaches. This event is organized by, among others, the Professorship of Pathopsychology at the University of Bamberg, Renovabis and the Archdiocese of Bamberg. Participation here is free for anyone interested and further details are below can be found here.

Trauma education in the context of the Ukraine war

A tragic example of the need for such initiatives is provided by the situation in schools in the war-torn region of Ukraine. Svitlana Merkulova, a teacher at Irpin Lyceum #2, took part in a workshop in Germany to develop teaching content and learn new methods. While her school is now back in operation, this is happening in two shifts. In order to enable more children to attend lessons offline, the lesson times are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Incidents in the classroom, such as the loss of a parent due to war, pose significant emotional challenges for teachers and students.

Merkulova reports on the need to train teachers in difficult situations. Children often seek help through their behavior, and it is important to recognize their needs. The workshop in Germany not only offered her a break, but also taught her techniques that she would like to use in class. Source: Dialogue4U.

Education as a key to climate protection

In parallel to these events, education plays a major role not only in trauma education, but also as an essential component in the fight against climate change. A study shows that teaching climate education to 16% of students in the countries of the Global North could save up to 19 gigatons of CO2 by 2050. This saving represents significant progress in climate protection. Education and understanding of climate change are considered crucial by UNESCO, the UNFCCC and other international organizations to effect social change.

Although there has been progress in Germany in integrating climate issues into curricula, there remains a significant need for improvement. A recent survey found that more than half of teachers say there is no interdisciplinary discussion about climate change in their schools. There is an urgent need for action here. Education in climate change describes these challenges.

The events at the University of Bamberg on May 26, 2025 are not only informative, but also necessary to create awareness of the current challenges in the areas of climate change and trauma sensitivity. They invite you to discuss and actively engage with these issues that affect us all.