NTUA UNESCO Chairholder Professor Konstantinos Aravossis attended and participated at the 42^nd Session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, where he presented the role of innovation and education towards a circular economy model transition.

The General Conference consists of the representatives of the States Members of the Organization. It meets every two years, and is attended by Member States and Associate Members, together with observers for non-Member States, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Foundations. Its purpose is to determine the policies and the main lines of work of the Organization, via plenary meetings or even the Organization’s elections.

The 42^nd Session of the General Conference took place between 07 and 14 of November, in Paris. UNESCO Chairholder on Green Innovation and Circular Economy of NTUA, Professor Konstantinos Aravossis, attended the Conference during the proceedings of 13^th and 14^th of November, where he participated in the SC Commission’s meeting on Natural Sciences. His participation focused on Greece’s position on the general subject, as well as on the education and innovation challenges in the context of a successful and inclusive Circular Economy transition.

He highlighted the necessity of taking into account the social dimension of the transition to a circular economy model, by considering the need for skills development. In this regard, he described the important role of education from early age on green skills and innovation culture. Furthermore, he presented insightful relevant findings from the Chair’s 6-year long experience in organizing GreenTech Challenge, Greece’s leading national green innovation program.

Among others, he stated that “For a shift towards greater circularity we need to understand that research, information, education and training can play a key role particularly in providing consumers with comprehensive and easily accessible product information in order to make active citizens, who would take an active part in their communities”.

An excerpt of his speech is available here.