Everything began with my participation in the SYNAPSES International Course 2024 (July 7–12, 2024), part of the Erasmus+ project SYNAPSES – Establishing Teacher Education Networks and Communities of Practice on Teaching for Sustainable Citizenship. This European project, a consortium of ten partners from seven countries, created a Teacher Academy dedicated to sustainability-oriented education and the development of green competences (GreenComp).
Within this framework, I designed the teaching scenario Sustainable Methods for Poster Design – Designing Posters for Sustainable Citizenship, now published on the official SYNAPSES portal.
The scenario was implemented during the 2024–2025 school year with my students and disseminated through national and local activities.
From Classroom to Community
What started as a classroom project soon evolved into collaborations, innovative practices, and broader outreach activities:
- Locally, through cooperation with another vocational high school and the co-organization of the Green Design exhibition.
- Nationally, by contributing to a teacher training event on eco-design in collaboration with the Association of Applied Arts Teachers and the national Education Advisor, as well as through participation in a nationwide student competition on climate change.
- Internationally, through conference presentations and engagement in European education networks.
Teacher Training and Professional Development
In February 2025, I presented the lecture “From Industrial to Eco Design” at a national training day for teachers, focusing on sustainability in design (circular economy, eco-design principles) and their application in the classroom. Read more.
Innovative practices from my school were shared as inspiring examples, such as our European VET Excellence Award 2022 and the recent implementation of the poster design scenario combined with participation in a national student competition.
The Teaching Scenario
Presented in May 2025 at the 11th International Scientific Conference I.A.K.E., the scenario aims to raise students’ awareness of environmental sustainability while cultivating knowledge, skills, and attitudes for critical thinking and creative production of works promoting a more sustainable world.
Students explore and communicate issues related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developing responsibility as global citizens. At the same time, they develop their digital competences by using design software to craft powerful sustainability messages.
Following the 5E inquiry-based model, the 10-hour scenario integrates experiential, project-based, collaborative, and transdisciplinary learning. Students are encouraged not only to investigate sustainable design methods and techniques, but also to create works that engage the public and inspire a sense of shared responsibility.
Beyond the Classroom – Competitions and Exhibitions
The scenario was applied in the framework of the national student competition “Climate is changing… I’m changing my life!” (ELLINIKI ETAIRIA for Environment and Culture, LIFE-IP AdaptInGR). Students approached the task with a professional mindset, designing posters that conveyed authentic sustainability messages. Read more.
One of these posters was selected for the Green Design Exhibition, co-organized with another vocational high school. The exhibition presented six creative projects blending art, environmental awareness, and eco-design, using techniques such as collage, printmaking, ceramics, and crafts. Themes ranged from climate change and the relationship between culture and nature to recycling, re-use, and ecological consciousness.
These works, developed through lessons, interdisciplinary projects, educational visits, competitions, and school programmes, illustrate how design can tell stories, raise questions, and propose creative solutions.
Explore the Green Design Catalogue.
For the exhibition poster, the student’s original figure of the Earth was transformed, bringing to life her own slogan:
“I listen to the Earth, I change my life.”
This journey demonstrates how art and design can nurture sustainable citizenship, turning creativity into a vehicle for awareness, empathy, and collective action. The Green Design exhibition is not the end, but the beginning of new practices that will continue in the coming school year.
Impact and Outlook
What began as one teaching scenario and a series of student posters has evolved into a broader creative ecosystem of sustainable education:
- Empowering students to act as responsible citizens.
- Inspiring teachers through training and professional communities.
- Building school-to-school collaboration and engaging local communities.
- Linking vocational education with eco-design and cultural heritage.
Thank you so much for your kind words! The Synapses Academy summer school was truly inspiring and gave me the motivation to bring this scenario to life. I look forward to new inspirations that will keep this creative journey growing.