Discussions on responsible consumption on university campuses all around Finland this autumn
How do companies take the climate, the environment and human rights into consideration in their activities? Do stores offer responsibly produced clothing? How about laptops or phones?
These are the questions to which we are trying to find answers in autumn 2022, as theme weeks or events for sustainable development related to responsible consumption are held on nine university campuses. We can expect interesting discussions, workshops, movie nights, webinars and excursions concerning, for instance, responsibility in the clothing and electronics industries. The goal is to challenge students to change their consumer habits in a more responsible direction, and to promote responsible consumer decisions also within student organisations and universities.
The events are held by the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL), the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY), the Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä (JYY), the Student Union of the University of Turku (TYY), The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University (ÅAS), the Student Union of the University of Lapland (LYY), the University of the Arts Student Union (ArtSU), the Student Union of LUT University (LTKY), and the Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland (ISYY) in Joensuu and Kuopio. Some of the events are organised together with Pro Ethical Trade Finland and Fairtrade.
Read more about the programme here: www.syl.fi/en/uphold-sustainability/. You can follow the events on social media with the hashtags #kekeviikko, #kannatakestävyyttä and #upholdsustainability.
Events of the week:
Mon 24.10. at 12-4 pm Flea Market of Responsibility Week // Main Lobby of University of Lapland
Tue 25.10. at 2-3 pm Responsibility training // Fellman-hall
Wed 26.10. at 1-3 pm Collective trash-picking –campaign // with Pidä Lappi siistinä // Main Lobby of University of Lapland
Fri 28.10. at 6 pm Responsibility Sittning // Ainejärjetötilat, University of Lapland
Wed 16.11. at 4-5 pm Will coffee and chocolate run out? Discussion between Fair Trade and LYY onfood security // F1011 Esko ja Asko –hall (Teams)
The theme weeks and events are part of SYL and the student unions’ joint project Sustainability holds us up, uphold sustainability. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted the project support for communications and global education projects.
“Sustainablity themes and responsible activities are very important to the student union of the university of Lapland, and it is implemented extensively in organizational activities. We educate student organizations to pay atention to, among other things, reducing garbage, and we lend sustainably produced tableware to arganizations for various events. Other responsability measures pushed on by the stduent union include, for example, plastic collecion points in the university premises and the annual calculation of the carbon footprint of student oragnizations. In addition our student union declared itseflf plant-based as the second student union in Finland.”, says Emma Hietaniemi, the vice-chair of LYY’s responsibility committee.
Additional information
The student union of the university of Lapland (LYY) executive board member: Viljo Vuorimäki Viljo.vuorimaki@lyy.fi