Bern based ‘Students4Sustainability’ has recently joined SOS International as a member. Launched in January 2024, Students4Sustainability supports students from Bern’s four higher education institutions in realizing sustainability projects (University of Bern, the Bern University of Applied Sciences, the Bern University of Teacher Education and the Bern University of Teacher Education NMS).

Students4Sustainability provide financial and content-related assistance and organize diverse events, including Networks4Sustainability, a major networking event each semester. The goal is to foster student engagement and collaboration in sustainable development across all institutions. Together, creating opportunities for exchange, innovation, and impact through a community of changemakers for a sustainable future.

Some of the latest activities of Students4Sustainability include:

· Project grants: Supporting student projects with up to CHF 10,000 each. Students from all of Bern’s HEIs can apply for the grant and special attention is given to interdisciplinary projects that connect students across disciplines and institutions. Current projects include boat2bag (turning old river rafts into bags), You “C” Cards (developing new tools for sustainable learning in music education), Student Minds Network (promoting mental health across Bern’s HEIs) and Kompostbande (implementing composting projects in primary schools). Past projects ranged from Olis Kohle (sustainable charcoal production in Switzerland) to a lecture series in pluralist economics, the 2030 SDG Game and Films4Sustainability (movie screenings), showing the creativity and diversity of student engagement in Bern. Calls for projects are at the end of April and end of October.

· Networks4Sustainability events: Our upcoming “Meet & Mix” evening (21 Oct 2025) will bring students and staff together for hands-on activities on climate action, mobility, mental health, and more. We host a Networks4Sustainability event once per semester to connect and inspire the community across Bern’s universities.

· Creative outreach: From film nights (Films4Sustainability) to interactive workshops (SDG Game, Consensus Week), Students4Sustainability helps students experiment with innovative formats for sustainability education.

· International cooperation: Students4Sustainability also seeks to network beyond Switzerland and is engaged both in the Copernicus Alliance and the ENLIGHT university alliance. In the latter, we have recently launched a call for Student Sustainability Ambassadors, that will promote sustainability on campuses in Bern and beyond.

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