Sharing Lessons: Learning, Changing and Envisioning Together

In the ongoing discourse about ecological transition, several unyielding pillars come to the forefront: the ideology of growth, the central role of business and the market, the defense of the Western lifestyle, unwavering faith in technology, depoliticization, and a technocratic inclination—all underpinned by fundamental anthropocentrism (de Sousa Santos, 2022). Within the confines of this predetermined framework lie the proposals and official policies. The crux is that genuine socio-ecological transformation is unattainable within this scope. What is being presented is not a transition project but rather an adaptation and conservation—an endorsement of “green” capitalism (Felli, 2021). Therefore, It is imperative to carve out space for novel questions and perspectives, venture beyond habitual trajectories, and nurture new “heresies” around which to conceive and facilitate a comprehensive socio-ecological transformation. This is all the more necessary as the ongoing ecological crisis and climate changes are becoming increasingly evident,asistheconnectionbetweenhumanactivitiesandthedepletionofecosystems(WMO,2023). To instill a sense of shared responsibility and cultivate care for the “common home,” it is essential to establish a new ecological ethic (Mortari, 2020). Thus, we urgently need “shared lessons” (Vittori, 2022)– experiences of collective self-learning, the establishment of spaces and contexts for intergenerational and interdisciplinary exchanges, between formal and informal learning and knowledge, between human and non-human beings (Gadotti, 2005; Guerra, 2020)– to envision feasible socio-ecological transition pathways. Therefore, in this contribution, starting from the insights gained from some experiences of critical consumption and contemporary social movements, such as the Bilanci di Giustizia Association (De Vita & Vittori, 2015) and Landless Rural Workers Movement (Borsatto & Carmo, 2013; da Silva et al., 2018), the transformative and prefigurative nature of these initiatives will be highlighted (Monticelli, 2022; MST, 2021). Indeed, while on the one hand, consuming and producing food sustainably constitutes a direct action against climate change and the depletion of ecosystems (Ravn Heerwagen et al., 2014), on the other hand, these initiatives imply a clear pedagogical element aimed at shaping citizenship that transcends boundaries and lays the foundations for ecological and global citizenship based on the principles of care (Mortari, 2020; D’Antone & Parricchi, 2020; Antonietti et al., 2022), fostering good relations between generations, living and non-living beings (Alessandrini, 2022), as well as diverse identities and genders (Borghi, 2020; De Vita, 2022).