Gunter's Fables: Transformation in education connected with the first solar boat
The heart of the original Bauhaus was an educational project. Established by the architect Walter Gropius in 1919 with the purpose to combine art, technology, and life to transform living and working processes. Prof. Gunter Pauli created a pedagogy approach through Gunter's Fables to synthesize academic knowledge, arts, emotional intelligence, systemic design, and the ability to implement. The bilingual collection contain 365 inspiring stories that illustrate how Nature help us find solutions.
Cross-border/international
France
Estonia
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
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Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Blue Education Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Axel Last name of representative: Rihs Gender: Male Nationality: France If relevant, please select your other nationality: Switzerland Function: CEO Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 14 Passage de la moutarde Town: Virieu-le-Grand Postal code: 01510 Country: France Direct Tel:+33 6 84 29 05 29 E-mail:contact@blue-education.org Website:https://www.guntersfables.org/
URL:https://www.instagram.com/gunters_fables/ Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @gunters_fables #guntersfables #blueeducation #gunterpauli #annabellecarneiro #nature #inspire #children #theblueeconomy
Children have an innate comprehension of the natural forces of Life but entering the educational system their perception of Life is compartmentalized into different subjects and they lose the inner ability to comprehend complex systems in order to face challenges in life.
The heart of the original Bauhaus was an educational project. It was established by the architect Walter Gropius in 1919 with the purpose to combine art, technology, and life to transform living and working processes. This prestigious school introduced theory with practice to develop students' observational, analytical, and thinking skills. The creative skills of students were unleashed by connecting different elements through systemic design based on biology, mathematics, and philosophy connected with forms, colors, and sounds.
Prof. Gunter Pauli created a pedagogy approach through Gunter's Fables to synthesize academic knowledge, arts, emotional intelligence, systemic design, and the ability to implement in real life. Gunter's Fables contain an inspiring story that illustrates how Nature can help us to find solutions in the 7 categories: education & ethics, energy, water, health, food, work, and housing. Each fable is inspired by an entrepreneur, a teacher, or a scientist. Fables inspire children to further discover the greatness of Nature, the creative spirit within them, their emotions, and their conscious ability to comprehend and learn from Nature to create a better world. Blue Education is a French publisher aims to bring Gunter-s Fables to educational system of European Union.
Education
Edcosystem Thinking
First Solar Boat
Nature Inspired Innovation
Regeneration
The project is connected with the first solar boat MS Porrima ever to circumnavigate the planet bringing sustainable innovations to local communities worldwide on its new Blue Odyssey. It is an exceptional chance to transform and go beyond of what was imagined for places of learning by connecting the classrooms and children to a true adventure beyond borders.
Gunter’s Fables allow children to learn about the ingenuity of Nature. ‘’Fishing without Nets’’ is the Fable that explains how to preserve a fishing stock in our seas and oceans while replacing something, fishing nets, with nothing-air bubbles. The world of dolphins and whales inspires future generations to imagine the local communities of abundance and regeneration.
‘’Plastics in my Tummy’’ is inspired by Catia Bastioli, European innovator of the year 2007. She is the leader in the local development strategy based on the innovation that replaces oil with thistle to create bioplastics that degrade in sun, soil and water. It allows future generations to imagine transformation in the industry with a simple plant like a thistle to replace oil-based industries in the European Union.
All Gunter’s Fables are printed on stone paper. ''Stone Paper'' explains how paper can be made without cutting down trees and using less water.
These innovations are not yet available in the education system and will create vocations of the sustainable future.
Gunter’s Fables collection of available 365 topics cover subjects that children can be inspired and learn about. For example what are the 7 physical laws for an apple climb to the tree? How can a Whale pump 100 liter of blood, with a hearth weight 800 kilogram only with 6 volts? Why are Zebras Black & White? How to be the strongest tree of the Forest?
Gunter's Fables are innovative in both content and form, as Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message", and so, with the stone paper media, its atypical feel and the way it allows the illustrations to stand out (surface printing, not absorption), we offer the reader a unique experience.
Blue Education is embarking on a reworking of the entire collection of 365 Fables to adapt and illustrate them, a goal over a decade.
The illustrations made by Annabelle Carneiro aim to be faithful to reality in terms of appearance or proportions, in order to also convey information through the illustrations. The illustrations are very aesthetically pleasing and positive, inspiring and inspiring young and old alike.
This kind of illustration with the stone paper creates a perspective effect that gives a "3D" impression.
Moreover, the Fables boxes are also made of stone paper, as it is a paper that is naturally resistant to tearing, it allows to have closing systems based on cuts and folds only and to play with the support like an origami in order to create an immersive and magical universe.
As explained in the attached article by Gunter Pauli "Paper Vs Digital", learning in physical format is extremely stimulating for children and allows for better neural development. Even more so with stone paper technologies as the printing is surface based.
Numerous projects could also be created as variations of the fables, bio-based toys, cartoons, card games etc., providing numerous art and learning materials for children.
The Fables also bring a positive vision in the way we represent the importance of each species, in the fables, all animals have a heart and they all have the same importance in our ecosystem.
Blue Education initiative is based on experience of many pedagogues, teachers, organizations, public authorities to develop inclusive access and affordability to all students. As mentioned in the attached document ‘’Paper vs Digital’’, Gunter’s Fables are distributed in China through a Ministry of Environment. Chinese Environmental Education and Communication division of the Ministry took on the challenge to translate the fables, provide training to the teachers, organize model classes, print and distribute the copies. It started with 5.000 green schools that have 2000 students each
The experience with the City of Curitiba in Brasil in 2001 shows that the innovative approach to printing Gunter's Fables on recycled paper was made available to access and be affordable for all 120.000 children and 6.000 teachers. A traditional printing job would be too expensive for City's budget. Eleven Gunter's Fables are translated into Portuguese in 1.4 million copies and distributed by the Teachers Union
In Estonia, Foundation for Future Education has organized annual teacher trainings based on Blue Education pedagogy since 2019. First 12 Gunter's Fables are implemented in the educational system since 2020. The organization is working in cooperation with other NGO-s and Tallinn University. Estonia is continuing with systemic teacher education and implementing further Fables both in education system and home learning
Blue Education recognized an ideal partner in New European Bauhaus as the best way to make this educational transition possible in EU with relevant stakeholders and consortium of organizations
In addition to our initiative in the EU, we are collaborating with an education organization in Nigeria to have the fables translated into 5 local languages to be accessible to all children. All 5 languages will be present on the same book, allowing children from different regions that are currently in conflict to work together on common issues and help ease tensions
As CEO and founder of Blue Education I studied in humanitarian logistics and in particular the "Denis Mukwege" class at the Bioforce Institute. An inspiring mentor whose work I greatly admired. I had the chance to spend a few years of my youth abroad during medical missions of my parents and I keep a great sensitivity for the African continent. It is also one of the objectives of Gunter's Fables to bring this valuable teaching in the right way.
During my work with educational associations in France, I was able to accompany groups of children in difficult and violent neighborhoods. The educational model was not adapted to their situations. They needed to take action and be more autonomous so as not to depend on outside help. This is where Gunter's Fables have a strong impact: it inspires children, gives them skills, creates vocations and pushes them to action. Implementing the Fables and the practical cases they contain in schools would allow children who are less suited to the educational system to find a path to fulfillment, keeping them away from violence.
Apart from partnering with European civil society we are engaged in forming a partnership with American civil organisation Change International that is focused on bringing rehabilitation sustainable Centers in Africa to help empower children with emergency education through Gunter’s Fables. Most of the children that escaped terror are trafficked In America or Europe. Dr. Yewande Austin is a recognised Woman leader both in USA and Africa and received President Barack Obama Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 and Vigor Unsung Heroes "Global Leader" Award in Tanzania in 2020.
Attached is a document explaining our initiatives in school development, including Laggarderg School in Sweden, The Mbaracayu Educational Center in Paraguay and The Blue Happy School, in Škabrnja, in Croatia.
On August 12th, 2022 Youth International Day, European Commission released a poster for children showing a map of Europe with little pictures that illustrate some of the national characteristics and traditions of each country. Apart from countries, a universal symbol for future generations of the European Union is MS Porrima, named one of the most extraordinary ships ever built in history. MS Porrima is supported also by the EU Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Unit C3 - Low Emission Future Industries.
It is owned by Prof. Gunter Pauli a visionary behind The Blue Economy with portfolio of opportunities that introduced for the first time zero emissions in the early 90s. MS Porrima is the first experimental ship that circumnavigated the planet only with renewable energy and it is on its new Blue Odyssey adventures bringing new and amazing innovations to communities around the world whether in the ports or online.
These amazing innovations inspired by scientists and entrepreneurs are translated to Gunter's Fables for children from 3 to 15 years old. They are not available in the educational system of the European Union except in a few schools that implemented this pedagogy approach. At the same time, they are recognized by the Chinese Government and coordinated by the Center for Environmental education and communication of the Ministry of Environment. China has already implemented 324 Gunter's Fables into the education system of 800 thousand schools so far with the aim to have 365 Gunter's Fables. Prof. Gunter Pauli was awarded by the Chinese Government and the Alibaba Foundation Award for Nature Education in China in 2019. The only foreigner to be considered among the ten best scientific communicators in China, according to the votes collected in December 2019 by the Chinese Association for Science and Technology.
Blue Education was founded in January 2022 inspired by The Blue Economy and pedagogy approach through Gunter’s Fables of Prof. Gunter Pauli. We were inspired by educational initiatives around the world that started in Manizales, Colombia with the first Gunter's Fables supported by the Rotary Club. The City of Curitiba in Brasil offered in 2001 a unique platform to share the Gunter's Fables. After the decision by Casio Taniguchi, the then Mayor, the Teachers’ Union approved the introduction of Gunter's fables as a tool to bring nature, sustainability, and science to all children. This required the training of 6,000 teachers and offered a chance to reach 120,000 children with 11 fables translated into Portuguese. They needed 1.4 million copies. A traditional printing job would have broken the City’s education budget.
Then, the Chinese Government invited Prof. Pauli to embark on a great fable project. The Chinese Environmental Education and Communication division of the Ministry took on the challenge to translate the fables, provide training to the teachers, organize model classes, print and distribute the copies. +The history of Gunter's Fables is available in the attached document ‘’Paper vs Digital’’ written by Prof. Pauli.
Each Fable is linked to 10 to 50 themes classified by subject such as physics, mathematics, sociology to broadens perspective and deepens knowledge. The added value from this process is a creation of 600 different characters. They are all visually represented with a heart. Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, understanding their point of view, and connecting with their emotions, allow you to develop empathy, which is important for creating a more caring world. Stories do not contain heroes. Instead, they encourage us to accept our weaknesses and to be aware that we can grow, change and learn to cope with difficult situations. In the modern world, learning that builds self-esteem while encouraging respect for differences is invaluable.
Blue Education was founded in January 2022 just a month after MS Porrima started Blue Odysey around the world from Osaka, Japan in December 2021 on its third voyage around the world powered by solar, wind and hydrogen energy. We decided to translate and print the first five Gunter's Fables connected with MS Porrima in French-English language in stone paper.
MS Porrima is a collaborative and experimental lab that allows students, professors, and academia to explore the systemic design of all innovations as an underlying structure that enables the transition to low carbon, regenerative and just society that uses what is locally available. Gunter's Fables is the foundation for 3 to 15 years old children’s education to open the world of wondrous and exquisite nature-inspired innovations that would, later on, build on the premises of the living and learning environment of the first solar boat in the world through non-formal learning of the Blue Campus.
This gives innovative collaboration between Blue Education and Porrima Foundation to set up a corner for children on MS Porrima with Gunter's Fables and EU Commission poster. Possibility to connect classrooms with Porrima Blue Education corner so children can talk-interact-experience with the captain, Porrima crew, or engineers and scientists on the boat and ask questions about the Blue Odyssey adventure. We envisioned interactive classrooms that connect tangible places of learning MS Porrima with static and boring classrooms. Experience of adventure. Some of them will be inspired to attend the Blue Campus, later on, to bring forth Gunter's Fables stories into learning by doing on the boat.
In the European Education Area Initiative, the EU Commission has planned to help the European education system to make the transition towards a green and digital future after the Recovery, stressing that this should be an inclusive one. COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on learning for the green transition and sustainable development on 16th June 2022 states that The New European Bauhaus brings a cultural and creative dimension to the European Green Deal, aiming to demonstrate how sustainable innovation offers tangible, positive changes in our daily life, including in school buildings and other learning environments. As a partner of New European Bauhaus, we bring know-how and already available Fables to the EU education system connecting the school buildings_classrooms with creative, exciting, adventurous and learning environment of MS Porrima.
Gunter's Fables is a collection of 365 fables, available in multiple languages. Each one contains an inspiring story that illustrates how Nature can help us find solutions to the challenges facing humanity. This collection is divided into 7 categories:
WATER | ENERGY | HEALTH | HABITAT | FOOD | WORK | EDUCATION & ETHICS
Each fable contains a story followed by a «Did you know?» section inviting children to find out more, then a «Think about it» section for them to reflect on and ask themselves questions, and finally a «Do it yourself» section to experiment.
A guide for teachers and parents then supports the development of five types of intelligence: science, emotional intelligence, the arts, systems for making connections and finally, the ability to implement.
Gunter's Fables are translated in two languages always in English as a standard language. Our partner in France is a printing company that has a possibility to print Gunter's Fables in stone paper.
The first version of Gunter’s Fables was born in Brazil, in Curitiba. A team of pedagoges helped structure the fables to highlight pedagogy through the five intelligences: science, emotional intelligence, artistic intelligence, the ability to make connections and finally the ability to implement them.
The best approach and methodology were already tested and implemented in China with thousands of schools and dozens of Fables in digital and printed versions on stone paper. The methodology and approach are explained in the attached document ''Print vs Digital'' written by Prof. Pauli. When after three years of testing 36 fables in a few hundred schools in Wuxi, the Chinese Society for the Promotion of Science and Technology with the support of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment decided that the fables should be made available to the 5,000 Green Schools with an average of 2,000 children per school. The digital option seemed to be the smart decision forward. The sheer volume of 10 million hard copies seemed to make this project huge in numbers. The Chinese Environmental Education and Communication division of the Ministry took on the challenge to translate the fables, provide training to the teachers, organize model classes, print and distribute the copies.
The Academy and the Ministry jointly studied the uptake of the content, the follow-up in the studies, the capacity to pursue logic, and most important, the motivation to pass on to action. The results were astonishing: children reading from a hard copy outperformed the youngsters working with digital versions on tablets. The key question that the pedagogues asked was “why”? A broad series of debates followed and the arguments were very conclusive: a tablet mobilizes 1,000 times less neurons than the printed books.
Gunter's Fables is a collection of bilingual educational books to dream of a better world based on how Nature provides solutions to humanity’s challenges with what is locally available.
Each of the 365 Gunter's Fables contains an incredible but true story! They are inspired by scientists, entrepreneurs and teachers. They thus address 365 educational subjects classified into seven categories: water, food, health, habitat, work, energy, and education and ethics.
Gunter’s Fables pedagogy approach is unique: not only developing the analytical brain with science but also the lymbic brain with work on emotional intelligence. Creative brain through artistic proposals allows children to see things in their globality, because everything is interconnected, and we are all connected. It is by integrating this that we can create a more beautiful and peaceful world. And also not only theory, but learning through experimentation and the concrete implementation of this learning to better live together and in symbiosis with Nature.
Blue Education has published the first five Gunter's Fables related to the Blue odyssey of the ship MS Porrima, the first experimental ship to sail around the world on renewable energy while bringing innovations to local communities around the world. The first five Gunter's Fables address the global challenge of plastic pollution on land and oceans, coral reef degradation, cutting down trees and spending a lot of water for the paper industry, degradation of the fish population, and pollution with fishing nets that destroy life in our seas and oceans and how was Life created on Earth.
Each Gunter's Fables inspire children to find solutions to challenges to be taken up locally (fishing with bubbles if he is on the coast, new agricultural and breeding techniques, textile and plastic industry, etc.) according to this which is available locally and which can create employment for all.
Blue Education is a start up from France only one year old but standing on the shoulders of many who made Gunter’s Fables available worldwide in Colombia, Brasil, China, Estonia and other countries.
In 2022 with the help of volunteers we translated first 5 Fables in French, Spanish and Croatian with a next 5 Fables at the beginning of 2023. In November 2022 we released first Limited series of Gunter’s Fables in French-English languages for sale in 5000 copies. In December 2022 we applied for New European Bauhaus Community Transforming the places of Learning to find partners with whom we can work together and apply for available funding through NEB dedicated or contributing calls. This will be our priority in 2023 to make most of NEB community and find appropriate funding.
Since Blue Education is a start up the main income stream comes from direct online sales from our official website both in digital format or printed on Stone Paper. In 2023 we will release second Limited Series of the next five Fables translated in French-English languages in 5000 copies.
Obtain EU publishing level in 2023 and be visible through New European Bauhaus platform.
In 2023, we want to develop the translations of the fables to have as many European languages as possible. Our goal is to have 10 fables in 10 languages by the end of 2023. The more the collection grows and the more languages we have, the more we will be able to create jobs and inspire children.
We also want to develop pilot projects in selected schools to implement the case studies of the fables in order to develop local and concrete initiatives to encourage children to take action and support local populations. Once the pilot projects are validated, we want to duplicate them in many schools.
To create a network of teachers and parents with the fable pedagogy in order to create mutual support and numerous educational resources.
Gunter's Fables cover all of the 12 competencies of GreenComp organized into four areas. Chinese Government recognized the foundation of education for future generations in the form of 365 Gunter's Fables. They cover sustainable solutions already available and develop academic knowledge, emotional intelligence, artistic expression, systems thinking, and the ability to implement them. Gunter's Fables are the ready-made solution to the European sustainability framework - Green Comp in all EU member states.
The great diversity of solutions proposed in the whole collection of fables allows to cover any type of problem in many different contexts, whether it is in ecological transitions of European heavy industry or in the quest for food autonomy in the middle of a desert while taking into account social and psychological dynamics.
It is also a repository that allows many entrepreneurs to have a common base to make connections and find solutions together and then share them with others.
This is in line with "United in Diversity" and to foster a mindset where our strength lies in our ability to act together and help each other.
