The sustainability education campaign launched by Nativa and the Italian B Corps which is sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Education is dedicated to Italian girls and boys.

The current crisis of sustainability, the result of the traditional economic model – focused on profit alone – is increasingly showing its effects. Environmental and social phenomena such as climate change, pollution, increasing droughts and fires, loss of biodiversity, increasing inequalities between rich and poor, discrimination – have now made the creation of a more sustainable and resilient society an imperative. 

The role of the younger generation is crucial to accelerate this transition, and the growing participation in movements such as Fridays For Future and Extinction Rebellion and the actions of people like Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai and Angela Devis demonstrate the increasingly vocal demand for a more just future.

In order to achieve and spread a more equitable and responsible socio-economic paradigm, Nativa, together with theB Corp Italy, has decided to give life to #UnlockEducation, the project born with the intent to provide to over four million Italian girls and boys between 14 and 25 years, knowledge, skills and tools to build and live a more inclusive and sustainable future, thus forming the first generation able to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. 

Girls and boys who take part in #UnlockEducation can enjoy the 10 episodes of the TV series available for free on the website unlockeducation.it, in which the well-known youtuber and influencer Adrian Fartade explains and illustrates the main issues concerning sustainability. A program that aims to stimulate an open and constructive discussion to allow young people to fully understand the major social and environmental challenges of the century, the basic principles for designing a sustainable economic paradigm and the solutions that today can accelerate a positive transformation such as the circular economy, the transition to a stakeholder capitalism, the pursuit of the 17 SDGs, and activism.

At the end of the training, participants also put into practice what they have learned by choosing one or more actions from the ‘Take Action’ modules offered on the website, such as enrolling in a number of programs including: “B Corp School”, the regenerative entrepreneurship and sustainable startup design pathway; “B Free Plastic Challenge”, for drastically reducing the consumption of single-use plastic in their school; “Biodiversity Lab” for the preservation of biodiversity within urban areas; “A Sustainable Life” (yours!)” for developing one’s potential through a sustainable lifestyle. 

After establishing a dialogue with over 500 schools to include #UnlockEducation in the school curriculum, Nativa and B Corp Italy are working to involve all Italian schools, so that it is available to individual students, classes and entire institutions where they can freely access the campaign. A goal favored by the fact that the project is part of the School Regeneration Plan, launched by the Ministry of Education to accompany schools in the ecological and cultural transition and in the implementation of educational paths to sustainable development. 

We are experiencing an unprecedented wave of change and the challenges we face today are only the beginning. Many young people are showing that they want to play their part, but it is not fair to shift the responsibility for this transition onto them. It is those who have the resources, knowledge, influence and experience to change the paradigms of production and consumption who today have two fundamental responsibilities: to accelerate a virtuous evolution through their own actions and to provide new generations with the tools to do the same. 

For this reason, as Nativa, together with other B Corp experts in the fields of education, training and sustainability – such as MIP-Politecnico di Milano, InVento Innovation Lab, Organizzare Italia, Esperta – we felt the need to promote a positive change also in the field of education, providing our resources and know-how for the creation of content and Take Action. A fundamental action to help leave the positive imprint we want on the world.

The new generations, thanks to their energy, their ability to bring new concepts to social groups such as families and the fact that they will influence the world in the years to come, play an important role in a decisive game such as the transition. For this reason, B Corp, whose goal is the diffusion of a regenerative economic paradigm, has decided to make its know-how available to Italian students, with the aim of supporting them in the challenges they will face in the years to comePaolo Di Cesare, co-founder of Nativa

Only by investing in young people will it be possible to go along with the global imperative of creating a more sustainable society. It is also with projects like #UnlockEducation, together with the synergistic work between teachers and our Green Community, that we will accompany schools in the ecological and cultural transition. The new generations will help us build a more inclusive, sustainable and ReGenerative futureBarbara Floridia, Senator and Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Education