Green my community

From 24 to 25 November, we had the opportunity to take part in a European project on sustainable development entitled Green My Community in Florence, thanks to the European university alliance EUniWell, of which Inalco is a partner.

The Green My Community project aims to facilitate exchanges between students and academic staff in order to work collaboratively on sustainability issues. This meeting enabled us to share common reflections and discuss ways to implement sustainable development within universities and to integrate this theme into institutional policies and guidelines.

The first day was dedicated to presentations of existing initiatives within the different universities. On the second day, group workshops allowed us to reflect on specific themes. One group focused on communication targeted at students, with the aim of making sustainable development more visible and engaging. The group proposed the creation of a central platform dedicated to sustainability, designed to encourage students to become better informed and to engage more actively in building a more sustainable future. This platform would bring together contact points between students and academic staff, online courses provided by recognised and certified organisations, as well as ongoing and upcoming “green” projects. Another group worked on sustainability initiatives primarily led by institutions, identifying shared challenges and concrete actions to be implemented at the institutional level.

One key proposal was the creation of a hybrid sustainability contact point within EUniWell, bringing together Green Offices, administrative services and student representatives. This structure would provide a regular space for discussion on project progress, good practices and encountered obstacles, while improving transparency and comparability between universities. It would thus strengthen network coordination and foster a collective dynamic around sustainability objectives.

Discussions also addressed concrete campus-related topics, including energy use, waste management and the effectiveness of information systems, with a particular focus on simple yet high-impact measures such as motion-sensor lighting.

Our contribution focused more specifically on the strategic role of visual communication and signage, highlighting the potential of redesigned signage incorporating visual elements and pictograms to facilitate the identification of sustainability-related resources, such as waste collection points, exchange spaces or future solidarity initiatives.

In this context, we proposed the creation of a “Green University Map” bringing together all sustainability-related locations and services in a clear, accessible and easily updatable format. The workshop showed that campus sustainability also depends on the ability to make sustainable practices visible, understandable and easy to adopt, thus confirming visual communication as a key priority.

This experience allowed us to draw inspiration not only from the actions and proposals implemented by other universities, but also from their strong commitment and motivation. The seminar highlighted the effectiveness of teamwork as well as the importance of sharing ideas, which is essential for their development and success.

Following this exchange, we feel even more motivated to implement these many proposals, especially as Inalco is supported in this process by the other partner institutions. This collaboration makes the process more enriching and enjoyable, while strengthening both team spirit and a positive dynamic of cooperation and friendly competition. In this way, we strive to make Inalco a more environmentally friendly and safer space for all members of the university community.

Valentine, L3 LLCER Korean student
Uliana, L3 LLCER Chinese student and L2 LLCER Literal Arabic student