In the research and development project "Learning and Teaching the Anthropocene" (2019-2022), the University College of Teacher Education Lower Austria has addressed the challenges that the Anthropocene – the 'Earth Age of Humankind' – poses to teacher education. As a framework for transformative learning processes, the Anthropocene enables fact-based, future-oriented science communication – with a special focus on cultural sustainability. Learning and teaching are the central cultural techniques of human beings and a constant impulse for social transformation. The PH NOE sees it as its goal and task to strengthen teachers in their function as change agents in the sense of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Eötvös-Loránd-Universität, founded in 1635, is the oldest university in Hungary. The Eötvös Loránd University Budapest has eight faculties. The Faculty of Humanities includes the Institutes of Modern Philology, which are divided into philological sciences and corresponding teacher education. Eötvös Loránd University is committed to promoting sustainability and lifelong learning in both teaching and research. The expertise of the participants in the CNL project lies in the field of foreign language didactics as well as literature and cultural studies in the subject of German as a foreign language.
Univ. Prof. Dr. Berbeli Wanning teaches German language and literature, as well as their didactics, at the University of Siegen. She also heads the Research Center for Cultural Ecology and Literature Didactics, which advocates for sustainable literary education. Her research focuses on the communication of ecological topics in literature classes, particularly energy, climate change, and species extinction. Additionally, she delves into Animal and Plant Studies, as well as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Furthermore, she is involved in providing further education for German language teachers on sustainability and futures literacy. The CNL project integrates these research interests with her extensive teaching expertise.
Dr. Jana Mikota holds the position of Senior Lecturer in Higher Education at the University of Siegen. Her current focus areas include historical and contemporary children's and youth literature, literary learning, and ecological children's literature. She is, among other things, the editor of the Siegen Workshop Conversations with Children's Book Authors, initiator of the Siegen Prize for First Reading Literature, head of the Research Center for Writing Culture, and a member of the extended board of the German Academy for Children's and Youth Literature. Additionally, she serves as the chairwoman of the Jury for "Three for our Earth" of the German Academy for Children's and Youth Literature, where she monthly recognizes outstanding works in the categories of climate, nature, and environmental protection.
Felix Lempp is a Research Associate (PostDoc) at the Chair of Literature Didactics at the University of Siegen. In 2022, he obtained his PhD at the University of Hamburg with a thesis on spatial stagings in contemporary drama and theater. Currently, he teaches and conducts research on topics including drama and ecology, Anthropocene competence and theater, education for sustainable development in literature classes, as well as the intertwined history of botany and literary aesthetics, particularly in texts from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Dr. Uta Hauck-Thum has been a professor of elementary education and didactics at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich since 2018. She teaches and conducts research on questions of school development in the context of digitalization and sustainability. At the UniLernhaus, a collaborative school of the university, she implements innovative teaching and learning concepts with students, teachers, and children.
Dr. Christian Hoiß is an Academic Senior Officer at the Institute for German Language and Literature II at the University of Cologne. Previously, he was the research coordinator at the Munich Center for Teacher Education at LMU Munich and coordinated the multiple award-winning certificate program "el mundo - Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education" at LMU Munich. His research focuses on cultural science approaches in language and literature education, implications of digital transformation for German language instruction, and subject-specific didactic research in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Ivo Frankenreiter is a research associate at the Chair of Christian Social Ethics at LMU Munich. Currently, he is finalizing his PhD thesis on the socio-ethical evaluation of acceleration processes in the Anthropocene. He publishes and lectures on topics such as the Anthropocene, nature relations, societal transformation, materialities, and European identity. Among other things, he teaches the interdisciplinary colloquium "Lektüren der Mensch-Natur-Umwelt-Beziehungen". His expertise lies in the analysis of socio- and environmental-ethical issues in the 21st century.
LMU is committed to the sustainability principles and has initiated extensive measures in recent years. To institutionalize this commitment, the Safety and Sustainability Unit was established in 2014, serving as a coordinating platform to identify and strengthen sustainability-related projects in both academia and administration. Since July 2015, the "LMUgrün" initiative has fostered a network, resulting in the Sustainability Steering Committee, consisting of members from academia, student representation, and administration. This committee consolidates activities and exchanges related to all relevant aspects of sustainability in the university sector. It promotes information and networking through appropriate communication channels and events. The Rachel Carson Center is internationally leading in the field of Environmental Humanities, the certificate program "el mundo - Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education" prepares teacher education students for handling the eco-social challenges of the 21st century in an educational context, and the Center for Sustainability, founded in 2022, consolidates diverse efforts in research and education towards sustainable development.
Prof. Dr. Jana Ambrožič-Dolinšek is a professor of Botany at the Faculty of Education (PEF) (https://www.pef.um.si) and the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (FNM) (https://www.fnm.um.si/) . Her research focuses on public acceptance of biotechnologies and socio-scientific issues.
Prof. Dr. Alja Lipavic Oštir is a professor of German at the Faculty of Arts (PhF) (https://www.ff.um.si) in Maribor, Slovenia, and at UCM in Trnava, Slovakia. Her research areas include CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), problem-based learning, outdoor learning, interdisciplinary teaching, and migration research in various contexts. She founded and directed the first Children's University in Slovenia and initiated various lifelong learning programs.
Jelena Krivograd is the head of the scientific institute at the Faculty of Education Sciences at UM. Her responsibilities include project management and administrative support for projects, serving as financial officer for projects, assisting in project dissemination and evaluation, and developing new projects.
The University of Maribor (UM) (https://www.um.si/) also promotes sustainability in development and lifelong learning. The Faculty of Education (PEF) (https://www.pef.um.si), participating in this project, develops study programs for teachers at various levels and is actively involved in scientific research in the field of education and related areas. The Faculty of Arts (PhF) (https://www.ff.um.si) develops study programs and conducts research in twelve areas of humanities, social sciences, and education. The PhF has become a leading institution in researching current humanities and social science topics in eastern Slovenia, with a focus on practical implementation of knowledge in various areas of society.
Established in 1632, the University of Tartu is the oldest and largest university in Estonia both in terms of staff and student numbers, as well as the volume of its teaching, research and development activities. The Center for Educational Technology at the University of Tartu has been involved in several international projects connected to the development of digital teaching and learning. With an increasing focus on shifting towards sustainable futures, the Center engages in making technology use a meaningful part of teacher practice.
The 1st European Climate and Environmental Education Center (EKUZ) is an association based in the National Park community of Mallnitz. The association consists of four organizational/content-related pillars: the state of Carinthia, the Carinthian branch of the Austrian Alpine Club, the association ProMÖLLTAL - Initiative for Education, Culture, Economy, and Tourism, the National Park community of Mallnitz, GRIPS e.U., and the Hohe Tauern - the National Park Region in Carinthia Tourism GmbH. The representatives of these institutions/organizations, in close cooperation with federal and state authorities, regional institutions, as well as experts and NGOs, aim to develop and implement joint activities, focusing primarily on educational and awareness-raising work related to sustainability, renewable energy, climate, environmental and nature protection, as well as climate adaptation and tourism, thereby contributing to the preservation and improvement of environmental and living quality.
Dr. Anke Kramer has been the head of the Droste Research Center at the LWL Literature Commission for Westphalia since April 2021. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2014 with a thesis on water in the works of Novalis, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, and Theodor Fontane. She has been a Research Associate at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, a Fellow at the IFK Vienna, a University Assistant at the University of Vienna, and a Research Associate at the University of Siegen. Her research focuses on 19th-century literature, particularly Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, poetics of knowledge, Environmental Humanities, Plant Studies, Blue Humanities, elemental spirits, and digital literature communication.
The Droste Research Center at the LWL Literature Commission for Westphalia explores the works of Annette von Droste-Hülshoff and serves as an internationally connected hub for Droste research. It evolved from the former editorial office of the Historical-Critical Droste Edition and has since realized numerous exhibitions, publications, and events. In addition to researchers, it has advised numerous museums and public institutions, especially the Center for Literature at Burg Hülshoff, established in 2018.
The “Bildungsdirektion für Vorarlberg” (Directorate of Education for Vorarlberg) has 124 employees and is an important point of contact for learners, educators, and parents. It acts as a catalyst for pedagogical developments, innovative new school models, and modern teaching methods. It supports the organization of teaching and its further development. In the CNL project, it can serve as a communication interface for the Vorarlberg model region to promote the dissemination of the innovative educational concept for Anthropocene competence. Furthermore, its expertise lies in assessing and evaluating the legal aspects of CultureNature Literacy and its transformation into education.
is a retired professor at the Free University of Berlin and heads the working group on Geobiology and Anthropocene Research. His main areas of research and teaching include Earth history, evolution and ecology of reefs, the Anthropocene, future studies, and new methods of knowledge dissemination. He studied geology and paleontology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, obtained his doctorate and habilitation at the University of Mainz, held professorships at the universities of Stuttgart, Munich, and Berlin, and directed various museums and natural history collections, including the Natural History Museum in Berlin. From 2008 to 2013, he was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Federal Government's Global Environmental Change Advisory Council (WBGU). Since 2012, he has been a member of the "Anthropocene Working Group" of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS/IUGS). From 2014 to 2016, he was the founding director of the "House of the Future / Futurium" in Berlin. Since 2019, he has been a project group leader in the EU Horizon 2020 project "Marine Coastal Ecosystems. Biodiversity and Services in a Changing World" (Macobios), and since 2023, an associated researcher at the University College of Teacher Education Lower Austria in the EU Erasmus project "CultureNature Literacy". He was a co-initiator of the exhibition "Welcome to the Anthropocene" at the German Museum in Munich, "The Anthropocene Project" at the House of World Cultures in Berlin, and the project "The Anthropocene Kitchen" as part of the Excellence Cluster "Image, Knowledge, Design" of Humboldt and Free University of Berlin. Leinfelder's portfolio also includes participatory projects and knowledge comics.
For further information and a complete curriculum vitae, please see https://tinyurl.com/Leinfelder
Special Education Teacher (University of Würzburg), Child, Adolescent, Parent Counseling, and Psychotherapy according to IIK (Austrian Society for Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Vienna). Head of the Special Education Counseling and Support Team in the Canton of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. Lecturer at the University Colleges of Teacher Education in Zurich, Zug (Switzerland), and Lower Austria. Areas of focus: Education and upbringing in the context of emotional-social development and behavior perceived and experienced as noticeable, disruptive, or disturbed. (Support) diagnostics with ICF. New Authority and emotion-related presence in education and upbringing, instruction, and teaching.