^{Dr. Rachel} Bowden was invited in mid-May to serve as a keynote speaker at the annual Teacher Professional Learning Conference hosted by the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (CPI). The CPI has many years of expertise in school-based teacher training: schools receive two years of support to implement development projects and reflect on them together.
Under the title “Better Together: Teacher Professional Learning & ESD Whole School Development,”^{Dr. Bowden} presented the Free State of Saxony’s ESD Pilot Program, which provides one year of support to “change agent” teachers in schools to help them structurally embed ESD in their schools. She emphasized that the program’s effectiveness fundamentally stems from close interaction with school-specific conditions.
Using the example of a rural elementary school, Dr.^Bowden demonstrated what such favorable factors might look like in practice: visionary school leadership, a collaborative school culture, and an established interdisciplinary network with partners outside the school. These favorable conditions significantly amplified the program’s impact and helped to sustainably strengthen both the ESD competence and skills of the participating teachers. Structural changes at the school, as well as benefits for the local community and other stakeholders in the school network, also became apparent.
The exchange was enriching for both sides. Dr.^Bowden was particularly impressed by the format of the Cypriot teacher training conference: teachers and school administrators presented their development processes from the past year in short, lively presentations to colleagues from other schools. The poster presentations, which captured the year’s process through images, graphics, and short texts, also proved to be inspiring. They served simultaneously as a prompt for reflection, as visual aids during the presentations, and later as lasting working materials in the schools.
From a Saxon perspective, the exchange once again highlighted how important collaboration with extracurricular partners is—to bring new perspectives, teaching methods, and resources into the school and to strengthen the school as a vibrant place of collaborative learning.

You can find more information about the LONAVE project here.