One year ago, PILGRIM celebrated its 10th anniversary in Poland. In the eleventh year, the focus is on in-depth topics on how PILGRIM can affect students and schools. These questions were discussed at an international research conference on 18 November 2024 at the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the University of Silesia in Cieszyn, Poland, entitled “Sustainable Development in Education – Activities within the International Pedagogical Network PILGRIM”.
From Austria, representatives of the International Pedagogical Network PILGRIM participated and underlined the importance of the European network. All guests from 19 institutions working together in the PILGRIM project (Education for Sustainable Development and Spirituality) were welcomed by the Vice Dean for Science and Artistic Creation, Magdalena Szyndler, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Humanities and Education. Among the institutions were directors at schools, university professors, pastors of the local community, kindergartens, a nursing home and a penitentiary.
A spiritual musical festival was performed by students of the Institute of Music and enriched the programme.
In the second part of the meeting, a workshop took place on the topic “What can be added? What innovations need to be implemented? Proposals for PILGRIM”, in the course of which guidelines were developed for the existing and future new PILGRIM institutions.
Altogether, the theme taken up by the organisers of the conference raised extremely important questions related to sustainable development in education, i.e. the idea of PILGRIM.
Natalia M. Ruman, PILGRIM Ambassador in Poland
(article edited)