Ricerc@Sapienza

Sapienza's commitment to sustainability has been manifested in recent years through a number of actions: university's policies and plans, increasing involvement of the structures, the provision of innovative courses and the activation of individual practices. However, top-down and technocentric approaches, as well as mainstream practices often result ineffective in the long term. The social sciences suggest that policies need to be tailored to the specificity of different contexts. Community approaches, in this regards, have largely demonstrated that the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) requires a careful understanding of how top-down policies are translated and interact with situated meanings, practices and behaviors.
This project addresses in particular the perception of justice and responsibility, key factors that have theoretical and applied relevance. By looking at Sapienza as a sustainable community in the making, the current project will integrate sustainability studies in higher education institutions with socio-constructivist approaches to sustainable transitions, and it will reach three objectives. 1) Map the social representations of sustainability and SDGs developed by the different components of the Sapienza community (students, teachers, staff); 2) Deepen the role of perceived justice and responsibility in fostering or hindering the adoption of sustainable practices; 3) Propose tools for enhancing communication and public engagement in order to enhance sustainability in higher education institution.