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Fridays for Future are a global movement of schoolchildren, protesting against climate change and government inaction

Berlin schools start signing climate agreements with their students

Berlin schools start signing climate agreements with their students

The agreements will ensure schools implement certain sustainability measures, developed by the students

Today, students from Senefelderplatz, a school in Berlin signed one of the first three climate agreements with their school administrations. The agreement should put students and their school administration on somewhat equal footing.

The school will now have to implement certain sustainability measures proposed by the students. These include a comprehensive recycling operation. Furthermore, the agreement calls for an energy service as well as environmentally friendly breakfast boxes. All these measures should work together to reduce waste from the school.

Astrid-Sabine Busse, Senator for Education, Youth and Family explained that these climate agreements are a way for schoolchildren to experience their political effectiveness directly in their environment.

Moreover, the school management and the student council published a joint statement, saying: "In our school, all the students were involved in the development of a joint climate agreement. Everyone realized that everyone can do something, even if it seems like a small thing. In the end, the sum of all plans and projects results in something big: our climate agreement for climate protection and environmental education.”

Climate change is becoming a vital part of school life

Climate change and sustainable development entered the school system officially in 2017. From the first to the tenth grade, the school curriculum has been centred around the topics of “Sustainable Development/Learning in Global Contexts” and “Education for Democracy”.

This has certainly made climate change a more immediate topic for a lot of children in school.

Furthermore, since the start of this school year, students have been able to conclude climate agreements with their school, as equal partners. This framework for tackling climate change was developed by a broad panel of experts, including scientists, school management and Fridays for Future Berlin.

Together, they devised a template for the agreement that had already been used in two other schools: Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium in Lichtenberg and Bienenwaldring in Neukölln. At the former, school authorities agreed to a consistent waste separation system, while those in Bienenwaldring agreed to a seasonal diet of fruit and vegetables in the cafeteria, among other things.

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