you don’t stop to carry their troubles and their demands in the world. For weeks, students go on the road to more climate protection. Also yesterday, Saturday, there were in the whole of Switzerland rallies. At the Demo in Zurich 15’000 people ran, according to organizers. In the whole of Switzerland there were around 50’000. Motto: the climate activists: “We are here, we are loud, because you are stealing our future.”
Long ago, the protests have also reached the political level. In the Canton of Zurich, the Green really make you steam. You want to restrict the air travel for state employees and to the schools.
it Comes after the three green of the Canton of councils that submitted the proposal in March, and are allowed to state employees, agencies, members, and students to rise only in the plane, if the distance each way is longer than 1200 miles. And for students and teachers, the government should introduce regulations, “so that in the primary schools, vocational schools, and middle schools generally flights will be waived”, i.e., in the postulate.
around 15’000 teachers and approximately 200’000 students in the Zurich elementary, middle and vocational schools would be Affected by this regulation.
A similar proposal a Green party member of Parliament has already been filed in the Canton of Geneva – he goes in the schools but less far. The flights are only “reduced to a Minimum”, but not, in principle, be prohibited. The Great Council in Geneva has approved the proposal.
In Lucerne, a Kanti-class jetted to India
Also a strict flight waiver, such as is now demanded in Zurich, trailer. For example, in the case of the teachers ‘ associations. “The Board supports the requirement that schools not travel by air anymore”, as stated by the Zurich Association of teachers in vocational education and training. For a Grounding of the flying classroom also Rolf Butz, managing Director of the Commercial Association, Zurich. “I welcome the waiver of airline travel to the professional schools. Flying is by far the most environmentally harmful way to travel.”
Butz is the President of the school Board at the KV Zürich, the largest business management school, Switzerland. Here is a flight applies to already ban for the continuing education events of the teacher. And for language courses, the students would use “usually” the train and the Bus, says Butz. “However, the time factor is taken into account expenses.”
The most extensive traveling, the high school students and middle school students. “Are the hundreds of thousands of air miles, the high school students in the framework of school projects, to be responsible for?” Markus Elsener, President of the Association of Lucerne middle school teacher asks, in the latest Association publication. It is not only the credibility of the protesters, climate youth, but also those of teachers, writes Elsener. And after pushing the next question: “Let the words climate change and climate protection actions will follow?”
it is no longer in the Canton of Lucerne is still far away – at least, when it comes to school trips in the plane to rise. Of a single Kanti apart, so the “Luzerner Zeitung wrote” recently, in the Canton schools, no flight bans. The students swarming in all directions from – and some of them also like to do in the plane.
At the Kanti Musegg, Lucerne a free class flew Italian to Rome. The Speaking Club, the Canton’s school Sursee roared on the plane to London. And at the Kantonsschule Alpenquai Luzern in a class to travel to India for an exchange program called “Swiss-Indian class-room jetted”.
That there is another way, shows the Gymnasium Leonhard in Basel. Here, too, the students were flying around so far for the completion of travel or culture weeks awake in the world. After Cyprus, Croatia, Budapest, Lisbon, Barcelona or Madrid. This is now. From next year, air travel are deleted. “The waiver was not determined from the top down,” says rector Christian Döbeli. “The students and teachers decided together.”
In Wetzikon collect student signatures for a Petition
Also at the Berner high school Church field is now for high school travel is waived on the plane. In Zurich, Realgymnasium Rämibühl. In January, the College was obliged “to refrain from air travel,” says Vice-rector Tobias Weber. A cooperation with the language school in Dublin, will be abandoned next year. “We are looking for a partner school in the South of England, with the train or the coach.”
The flight boycott is expected to impact more schools. The young activists of the climate strike movement, such as the 17-year-old Jonas, a campus that is one of the leading representatives. He goes to the Kantonsschule Zürcher Oberland in Wetzikon. Here, the students have already set two years ago by the number of flights to two per year limited. “We are currently collecting signatures for a Petition to ban air travel to our school,” says campus. He was confident that the scheme come through. A first success there is to report: “This year air travel did not materialize – have signed up to little students.”
(Sunday newspaper)
Created: 07.04.2019, 07:41 PM
