Global look at sustainability: “Transatlantic Summer Academy on Sustainability” starts at Jacobs University

 August 1, 2016 Through August 10th, nearly 30 young adults will continue to deal with sustainable global development in the context of the Transatlantic Summer Academy at Jacobs University in Bremen. They have come from the USA and Germany and will approach questions related to sustainability from different perspectives and technical backgrounds. In common to all of them is a genuine interest in sustainability and intercultural interrelationships. Nine German and 19 American students, alumni, and young professionals arrived at the campus in Bremen-North in recent days. The event is taking place for the second time already – a cooperative effort of Jacobs University, InterCultur, and AFS Intercultural Programs USA. “We would like to give the participants the unique opportunity to experience personally that global challenges can only be solved in an integrated manner and through the cooperation of all perspectives and disciplines!” said Professor Arvid Kappas, Dean of Jacobs University, on opening day. With different cultural backgrounds and university educations, the 18-to-33-year-olds learned about and discussed new theoretical contents for nearly three weeks, working on practical examples, and participating in workshops. The focus was on the comparative analysis of the German and American understanding of sustainability, in order to reach conclusions relative to applications. This is exciting in many ways, especially, however, because of their diverse technical disciplines – they are students or graduates in environmental and sustainability sciences, cultural and communications sciences, or city and regional management, as well as geography and natural sciences, such as mathematics and biomedicine. Together they will deal with questions such as international energy and environmental policy, environmental ethics, climate change, and ecology. The program covers theoretical and practical contents, alternating between lectures and workshops. Professors at Jacobs University and experienced trainers from the intercultural cooperation of InterCultur and AFS provide support to these young adults. The culmination is an excursion on the research ship Aldebaran on the North Sea or in the Hamburg Harbor. “We are happy again this year to be able to work with competent partners and are already looking forward to 2017”, emphasizes Arvid Kapps. “Next year Jacobs University will again invite students and young professionals.” Additional information at:www.summeracademy-bremen.orgwww.aldebaran.org About the Transatlantic Summer Academy on Sustainability:For three weeks, the campus of Jacobs University will be the meeting place for young people from the USA and Germany, who will deal with the topic of “sustainability” – and will do so from an intercultural perspective. The collapse of entire ecosystems and the realization that resources are finite are indeed global topics. Yet the manner of dealing with them is often viewed through national eyes, based on the cultural background of the actors. That makes it all the more important to find a common, intercultural basis.  InterCultur gGmbH, Jacobs University, and AFS Intercultural Programs USA organize the Transatlantic Summer Academy on Sustainability. The Academy is sponsored by the German Program for Transatlantic Encounters of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.