Teachers as agents for change for environmental sustainability- TACES” project, implemented by Fulbright alumni Zeqir Veselaj and Arlinda Beka, was part of the 2022 Fulbright Alumni Small Grants (FASG). The project aimed at building the capacities and skills of in-service teachers for integrating education for environment and sustainability into classroom activities. Throughout the project’s implementation, the Faculty of Education, in collaboration with the Institute for Research and Development of Education, has certified 60 teachers and awarded the best-performing ones, making it the first training of its kind in Kosovo to integrate sustainability education as a cross-curricular issue, as required by the Kosovo Curriculum Framework.

The project involved developing a comprehensive training manual and implementing three hybrid training sessions on integrating environmental and sustainability topics into the curriculum. Fifty teachers were certified with 16 licensing training hours according to the MESTI Decision on Accreditation of the training “Integration of education for sustainability in the classroom.” The selected participants were from 14 municipalities, from both urban and rural areas, with 95% being female and over 50% having 2-5 years of working experience.

This project is a significant contribution to the teaching community in Kosovo, with 28 schools benefiting from certified teachers trained to integrate sustainability topics into their curriculum planning and classroom activities. The project has also raised awareness about the importance of including environmental sustainability issues in national curricula and has paved the way for broader projects to include more teachers in the field of education for sustainability.