World Student Community for Sustainable Development

by Ann Bozhko, Kostya Vasiliev

[The following is a translation of the article by Anne Bozhko and Konstantin Vasilyev that appeared in Politecnick, a publication of St. Petersburg State Politechnic University, in June 2004. The original article, in Russian, can be found here, in the September update from St. Petersburg Students for Sustainability.]

Do environmental problems matter to you? Do you believe in social justice? Are you willing to help develop ethnic tolerance among students, help the homeless, and stop the spread of AIDS? Do you want to have friends abroad who think the same way as you and get the opportunity to discuss these questions with them at international conferences in places like Costa Rica, Japan, and the USA?

If you answered “Yes” to these questions and would like to suggest solutions to any of these issues, you are encouraged to take part in the activities of St. Petersburg Students for Sustainability, which has existed at St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University since 2002. The aim of this group is to act locally at St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University to raise awareness of the concept of sustainable development and to work to implement its principles. “What is this concept about?†you may ask quite logically.

Sustainable development is a way of life for the global community, and following its major principles enhances mankind’s chances of survival. Although the term “sustainable development†and the basic principles of this concept were accepted at an international congress in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the idea of sustainable development is not new. We see these ideas, for example, in The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Such phrases as “Once you have gotten up in the morning, have washed yourself and put yourself into order — immediately put your planet into order†and “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed†help to explain the concept in a simple way.

It should be noted that it is possible for one part of the planet to develop in a sustainable way while other parts do not. To avoid such a situation, we should think globally. With this vision in mind, the World Student Community for Sustainable Development was created in 2002. The World Student Community for Sustainable Development unites seven local student communities, including some of the leading universities of the world, such as MIT (USA), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), the University of Tokyo (Japan), and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Switzerland). Every year, students from all over the world get together at an Annual Meeting in order to share their experience in research, learning, and efforts related to sustainable development. The first conference — at which Elizaveta Perova from St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University took part — was held in Costa Rica in 2002. A year later, in 2003, the conference was held in Tokyo and included the participation of Elizaveta Perova and Konstantin Vasilyev.

In March 2004, the Annual Meeting was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, under the topic “Sustainable Cities.†Of course there were Politecniks [Translatorâ€^TMs comment: our university's slang for students of St. Petersburg State Politechnic University; this is also the name of the publication in which this article originally appeared] Anne Bozhko and Konstantin Vasilyev, although this time they were there not only as paper presenters, but also as representatives of St. Petersburg Students for Sustainability (SSS). For the year prior to the Annual Meeting in Sweden, the St. Petersburg student community was on probationary period, during which time it had to prove its serious intentions to promote social change at the university and city levels. We passed this test successfully. We organized the call for papers to the Annual Meeting at St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University and assisted undergraduate and post-graduate students with submission of their papers. We also initiated close collaboration with the charity Mission Global Outreach, which included participation of our students in visits to orphanages in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Together with St. Petersburg School # 61, we organized a concert of the Russian folklore ensemble Rodnick at the Pavlovsk orphanage. In addition, we gave a series of lectures about English-speaking countries at Alexandrovsky College.

After the probationary period, members of the World Student Community at the Annual Meeting in Sweden voted in our favor and we can now proudly announce that we have equal rights with other participants in the international sustainable development movement, and, furthermore, that we are the only Russian representatives.

At the conference, nine paper presentations and four workshops were held. Konstantin presented a workshop entitled “Students’ Involvement in the Development of Ethnic Tolerance in Sustainable Cities.†Now students from as far away as the Ivory Coast may learn about the ways in which Russian students participate in the celebration of Maslenitsa (Pancake Week) and Easter, organized by the Russian folklore ensemble Rodnick. You can obtain more information about this project at www.wscsd.org/ejournal, where you can find the electronic publication of the WSC-SD.

From among all the paper and workshop proposals, the WSC-SD accepted the paper by Nikolai Bobylev. His paper was about the modern underground infrastructure for a sustainable city. To all those who were invited to Sweden, the WSC-SD granted a scholarship that covered return travel to Gothenborg and the Swedish Consulate provided visas free of charge, which was, no doubt, a pleasant appreciation of our hard work.

Sixty students took part in the conference, and within a day all of us became good friends, despite differences in languages, nationalities, and cultures. The wide theme of the conference was reflected in the variety of papers presented. There were papers such topics as solving transport problems in Tehran, walking as a sustainable transport alternative within historic city centres, and the usage of wood pellets as a means of heating residences.

Among non-official events, we would love to note the celebration of Iranian New Year, Nawruz, to which we were invited by Solmaz, a student from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden.

The next Annual Meeting will take place at the Massachussets Institute of Technology in the USA. If you want to increase the number of Politecniks taking part in the conference and receive scholarships to go to the Meeting, you need to become an active member of our community or to submit your scientific paper no later then the end of November 2004. The theme of the conference will be announced shortly. Please check the news at www.wscsd.org or ask questions by e-mailing studentcommunity@mail.ru. Beyond the conference in the USA, you can expect other interesting events and opportunities to see the world. Just go for it!

We look forward to hearing from those who think about the future of mankind and agree with the principles of sustainable development.

- Original article in Russian written by Anne Bozhko, student of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, and Konstantin Vasilyev, post-graduate student of the Faculty of Economics and Management, St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, Russia; translated by Marina Stroganova, student of the Faculty of Humanities, Svetlana Rodinskaia, alumna of the Faculty of Economics and Management, and Konstantin Vasilyev, St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University; members of St. Petersburg Students for Sustainability (SSS)