Sustainability is an everyday topic, but what does it mean exactly? The concept of sustainability was introduced by the UN between the 1970s and 1980s, initially focused on ecology, and later expanding to include economics and society. Sustainability indicates a development that balances the environment, economy, and society, promoting efficient resource management and looking at the needs of both present and future generations. To provide UN countries with concrete guidelines in this direction, in 2015 the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was created: 17 sustainable development goals that all UN countries committed to achieving by 2030. The 2030 Agenda is the global framework for local, national, and international efforts to find common solutions to the world’s great challenges; solutions that are both technical and structural (for example, financing research for greater energy efficiency), as well as related to lifestyle models that individuals can adopt through new habits. Sustainability is in fact a response to current major issues such as poverty, climate change, environmental degradation, or health crises, which are addressed at different levels: governments, administrations, the economic and academic world, but also civil society and citizens are called upon to participate in change through concrete common and shared actions.
In Switzerland, the 2030 Agenda is put into practice at the national, cantonal, and municipal levels, with close collaboration between the different cantonal and municipal entities. In particular, the City of Lugano is committed to achieving the sustainable development goals at the local level, to the point of integrating them into the 2018-2028 development plans. Several cross-cutting projects are being pursued on topics such as mobility, green spaces, social life, and the economy (which can be discovered at luganosostenibile.ch). In 2021, the City’s Social Division launched the Lugano Sostenibile project, with the intention of raising awareness, informing, and involving citizens, and inviting them to contribute to making Lugano more sustainable.
With this intention, Lugano Sostenibile has dedicated 2023 to sustainable challenges: a contest open to all citizens that will start in April 2023 and end in March 2024. Each month of the year, a sustainability-related topic will be proposed and explored – from mobility to waste, responsible tourism to water. All citizens are invited to share on social media the small daily actions that can be taken to make our lives more sustainable. Each month, a winner will be randomly drawn, followed by a final grand prize drawing at the end of the contest.
To participate, follow @luganosostenibile on Instagram, where the challenges will be proposed over the course of the year; take a photo of your sustainable gesture related to the challenge and post it tagging #sfidesostenibili #luganosostenibile, and tag another person to inspire them to take up the challenge.
If small gestures become shared habits, change is a challenge that can be won.
Mark your calendars for April to discover the monthly sustainable themes and challenges with @luganosostenibile and @luganoeventi on Instagram.
For more information, visit luganosostenibile.ch
