Empowering conscious citizenship: lessons from historical climate evolution

Bastos, Rosário; Pereira, Olegário Nelson Azevedo; Évora, Marina; Porfírio, José

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/22329

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Autores

Bastos, Rosário

Pereira, Olegário Nelson Azevedo

Évora, Marina

Porfírio, José

Resumo(s)

This research centers on a short-term e-Learning course titled “Climate change, human adaptations and entrepreneurship in historical tourism”. This course explores the diachronic impact of climate on human communities, the Anthropocene concept, its chronology, and predictive models. It aims to foster a conscious entrepreneurial mindset and promote sustainable historical tourism, respecting historical memory at social, urban, and environmental levels. Developed by interdisciplinary trainers from Universidade Aberta in Portugal, the course follows its e-learning model and targets Portuguese citizens with at least a 12th-grade education interested in historical tourism and climate change. Funded by the European Union Recovery and Resilience Plan through the T.I.A. – Tourism International Academy project, the course is free for trainees, with over 90% completion rates. Spanning from prehistory to the present, the course focuses on climate impacts over time and the Anthropocene. It emphasizes sustainable tourism, conscious entrepreneurship, and respect for historical memory. We analyzed a sample of 80 trainees to assess the impact of our pedagogical methods on their awareness of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the promotion of Sustainability Transition addressing primarily SDG 13 (Climate Action). Our research also connects with SDGs 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 10 (Reducing Inequalities), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 15 (Protecting Life on Land). Now in its fourth edition, the training underscores the importance of opening the Academy to the promotion of interdisciplinary approaches to enhance awareness of SDGs and encourage entrepreneurial action, democratizing the discussion of this critical topic. Conclusions highlight the significant impact of the training on enhancing trainees’ awareness, specific knowledge, opinions, and future behaviors regarding sustainable historical tourism. The training effectively increased understanding of the importance of sustainable tourism in achieving SDGs and inspired actionable steps towards this goal.