The diverse European landscape of climate consciousness is shaped by political values, financial constraints, and country-specific point of view. The aim of the study was to unravel age-specific ecological awareness, forms of engagement, and perceptions, contributing to a nuanced understanding of climate dynamics.Selected regions: Germany (Rheinisches Revier), the Netherlands (Amsterdam Metropolitan Area), and Poland (Upper Silesia/Metropolis GZM) present different states regarding recycling/Circular Economy principles, and different environments.The research design incorporates an inductive qualitative approach to investigate environmental awareness and attitudes toward ecologically friendly behaviors. Six FGIs (Focus Group Interviews) were conducted across three European regions, involving participants from diverse age groups (20–39 years and 40–60 years) in each region.The study shows that ecological awareness varies between countries and generations, reflecting distinctive environmental strategies shaped by cultural and developmental factors. Participants in each region and age group exhibit diverse levels of engagement in sustainable activities, and highlight issues such as the need for tailored strategies, concerns related to eco-labelling, greenwashing, and inadequate waste treatment, as well as information gaps.These variations in pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors across age groups and regions underscore the need for tailored strategies and regional policies. Transparency in waste management, eco-labelling, and sustainable transportation alternatives should be prioritized. Educational initiatives addressing information gaps, especially regarding lifestyle choices, are crucial. Collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches are essential for fostering positive change and a sustainable future across the European Union. Transparent communication, regulatory measures, and accessible eco-friendly options encourage widespread adoption of pro-environmental behaviors.
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Metropolitan Cebu, the third largest agglomeration in the Philippines with a population of approximately 3 million, faces significant challenges in managing domestic wastewater and solid waste. This mismanagement has led to the pollution of its water bodies, including the Mahiga Creek and the Butuanon River, the latter of which was declared dead in 1992 and can no longer support flora and fauna. Between 2017 and 2025, seven international River Challenge Climate Cafes were conducted by Dutch universities of Applied Sciences and Filipino universities . During these events, teams of young professionals assessed the upstream, midstream, and downstream stretches of Metro Cebu's rivers and evaluated the vulnerability of 12 urban poor communities living along these rivers. The primary aim of these rapid appraisals was to raise awareness among community members, local governments, and students, as well as to build capacity. Throughout the process, there was a shift from merely gathering data on pollution levels to engaging the community, identifying risks, and finding feasible solutions to mitigate these risks. Various methods were employed to measure water quality, river width, river discharge, flood heights, ecology, plastic waste pollution, and residents' perceptions. The results were shared online via Climatescan.org with the global climate adaptation community. The findings demonstrate that river challenges are effective tools for creating context-rich learning environments for students, with more than 250 participants. The River Challenge Climate Cafe enable young professionals, primarily with technical backgrounds, to gain firsthand field experience, exposure to environmental degradation, severe pollution, and vulnerable communities, thereby enhancing their environmental awareness. Additionally, the river scan challenge proves to be a valuable tool for increasing awareness of river pollution and promoting rehabilitation effortsHow to cite: Heikoop, R., Boogaard, F., Abrenica, B., Fornis, R., Borgonia, K., Ledesma, D., Nasara, J., Boer, E., and Oudendammer, T.: Enhancing Environmental Awareness Through River Challenges: A Case Study of Metropolitan Cebu, Philippines , 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-1052, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-1052, 2025.
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The Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale measures environmental concern in relation to sustainable development. This article will discuss how this scale was tested with three groups of Dutch higher education students. Findings demonstrate that anthropocentric and ecocentric values are independent of the students’ chosen course of study, suggesting that students attracted by the ‘sustainable development’ course title do not necessarily associate ‘sustainability’ with ecocentric aims. This article discusses why ecocentric values are beneficial to the objective of a sustainable society and proposes ways forward in which these values can be enhanced in learners. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci7030069 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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This chapter addresses environmental education as an important subject of anthropological inquiry and demonstrates how ethnographic research can contribute to our understanding of environmental learning both in formal and informal settings. Anthropology of environmental education is rich in ethnographies of indigenous knowledge of plants and animals, as well as emotional and religious engagement with nature passed on through generations. Aside from these ethnographies of informal environmental education, anthropological studies can offer a critical reflection on the formal practice of education, especially as it is linked to development in non-Western countries. Ethnographic and critical studies of environmental education will be discussed as one of the most challenging directions of environmental anthropology of the future. This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge/CRC Press in "Environmental Anthropology: Future Directions" on 7/18/13 available online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203403341 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Personal data is increasingly used by cities to track the behavior of their inhabitants. While the data is often used to mainly provide information to the authorities, it can also be harnessed for providing information to the citizens in real-time. In an on-going research project on increasing the awareness of motorists w.r.t. the environmental consequences of their driving behavior, we make use of sensors, artificial intelligence, and real-time feedback to design an intervention. A key component for successful deployment of the system is data related to the personal driving behavior of individual motorists. Through this outset, we identify challenges and research questions that relate to the use of personal data in systems, which are designed to increase the quality of life of the inhabitants of the built environment.
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Learning teams in higher education executing a collaborative assignment are not always effective. To remedy this, there is a need to determine and understand the variables that influence team effectiveness. This study aimed at developing a conceptual framework, based on research in various contexts on team effectiveness and specifically team and task awareness. Core aspects of the framework were tested to establish its value for future experiments on influencing team effectiveness. Results confirmed the importance of shared mental models, and to some extent mutual performance monitoring for learning teams to become effective, but also of interpersonal trust as being conditional for building adequate shared mental models. Apart from the importance of team and task awareness for team effectiveness it showed that learning teams in higher education tend to be pragmatic by focusing primarily on task aspects of performance and not team aspects. Further steps have to be taken to validate this conceptual framework on team effectiveness.
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In this article, we elaborate on the role of dialogical learning in identity formation in the context of environmental education. First, we distinguish this kind of learning from conditioning and reproductive learning. We also show that identity learning is not self-evident and we point out the role of emotions. Using Dialogical Self Theory, we then suggest that individuals do not have an “identity hierarchy” but a dialogical self that attaches meaning to experiences in both conscious and unconscious ways. We describe the learning process that enables the dialogical self to develop itself, and we elaborate on the characteristics of a good dialogue. We conclude with some remarks expanding room for a dialogue that would foster identity learning. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources5010011 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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In reflecting on Dutch Christmas shoppers, this article will discuss environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), postmaterialist values hypothesis, and ecological modernization theory. According to the EKC hypothesis, while at the initial stages of industrialization material resources are often used unsustainably, continuing industrialization leads to a threshold after which lead to progressively more sustainable technologies. According to the postmaterialist values hypothesis, only wealthier societies can ‘afford’ to care about the environment, assuming that wealth will lead to development of greater concern about and valuation of environment. Finally, ecological modernization theory postulates that environmental conditions improve with advanced technological development and suggests that enlightened self-interest, economy and ecology can be favourably combined and that productive use of natural resources can be a source of future growth. In generalizing economic, political and social trends in relation to consumption in The Netherlands, the aim of this article is to consider the consequences of Western-style consumption for the enterprise of global development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2013.05.004 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Stefan Bengtsson's commentary about policy hegemony discusses the alternative discourses of socialism, nationalism, and globalism. However, Stefan does not adequately demonstrate how these discourses can overcome the Dominant Western Worldview (DWW), which is imbued with anthropocentrism. It will be argued here that most policy choices promoting sustainability, and education for it, are made within a predetermined system in which the already limiting notion of environmental protection is highly contingent on human welfare. What would really contest the dominant assumptions of Vietnamese policy and, more specifically, education for sustainable development (ESD) is an alternative discourse that challenges the DWW. That alternative discourse embraces philosophical ecocentrism and practices of ecological justice between all species, and deep ecology theory - all perspectives fundamentally committed to environmental protection. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2015.1048502 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Presentation given at EURCRIM 2022 conference
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