01 ESIC's 2026 | Decolonising the concept of sustainable development

ESIC is a series of seminars on Environmental Sustainability and International Cooperation, promoted by the UNESCO Chair in Engineering for Human and Sustainable Development of the University of Trento. This seminar explores how colonial ways of thinking continue to shape research, sustainability policies, and measurement practices, and introduces a decolonial perspective grounded in co-creation, plural epistemologies, and the move beyond top-down models. Through the experience of the project Gramigna – The Women’s Garden in a small town in Southern Italy, the seminar illustrates how these principles can translate into concrete practices of territorial development, environmental care, and social inclusion, emphasising participatory action research and shared narratives over predefined metrics. Panelists: Driver Ferney Ramírez-Henao (University of Cartagena, Colombia) Alessandra Miccolis (University of Trento, Italy)