Trust for Sustainable Living - International Schools Essay Competition 2026

Eco-anxiety refers to negative emotional responses arising from the environmental and climate crisis. A 2024 United Nations report says that eco-anxiety is an ‘emergency crisis hidden in plain sight’ and is likely to have a massive impact on the world’s children and youth. Recent global surveys have indicated that over 50% of young people experience eco-anxiety and are worried about environmental and climate change, with many reporting feelings of sadness, anxiousness, anger, powerlessness, helplessness and guilt. Such responses are natural and healthy, and many believe these feelings can be channelled to help encourage engagement, understanding and action at an individual and group level, as demonstrated by the recent rise in youth engagement and action over the last few years.

TSL wants to help young people develop a sense of agency, empowerment and hope for solutions and action by creating a safe and supportive space and outlet for expression for students and teachers to explore moving from feelings of eco-anxiety, to eco action & empowerment. We are open to accepting any form of student response, you can choose to create a piece of artwork, music, video, poem, essay, letter, story, etc..  There are very few restrictions on the type of work submitted. We want students to be open and creative when interpreting the theme. All entries must meet the submission criteria.

In the TSL 2026 International Student Competition, we want to hear what young people think about SUSTAINABILITY CULTURE! 

For example,

• what does “sustainability culture” (or its opposite) look like?
• Can you imagine a world in which sustainable cultural practices are the norm?
• How do our existing cultural practices need to change?
• Are there any examples of cultures, past or present, which we can learn from?

These are just a few examples of ways students may wish to approach the topic, but all perspectives are welcome, as long as their entries are focused on SUSTAINABILITY CULTURE in some way. Please remember: creative and original submissions are strongly encouraged, and entries are welcome in a broad variety of media.

TSL wants to help young people develop a sense of agency and empowerment, by creating a safe and supportive space to explore their thoughts and feelings on SUSTAINABILITY CULTURE. We are open to accepting a very wide range of responses, e.g. artwork, music, video, news or opinion piece, podcast, vodcast, poem, essay, letter, story. There are few restrictions on the type of work which can be submitted. We want students to be open and creative when interpreting the theme (as long as their entries meet the submission criteria).

A Brief History of the International Dialogue on Sustainability Culture

Ten years ago, at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, all 193 UN Member States signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs serve as a universal commitment to ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring peace and prosperity for all people.

While the SDGs remain vital, the reality of achieving them is proving challenging for many countries around the world. Ten years, or two-thirds of the way, into the 15-year timeframe for delivering the SDGs, progress has proved inadequate, with only a fraction of the SDG targets on track, and many goals stalled or regressing.

In 2022, at a UNESCO summit in Mexico, over 150 States adopted an ambitious Declaration for Culture, recognising that it was time to unleash the potential of culture for sustainable development. Today, Ministers of Culture from around the world are calling for culture to become a stand-alone goal in the post-2030 international development agenda, and a follow-up summit, the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2025, was recently held in Barcelona, Spain.