Introduction Universities have a critical role in both pursuing and critically interrogating the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their consequences. The SDGs combine an aspirational vision for transforming our world, whilst setting out an agenda for 2030. Unfortunately, the SDGs have been critiqued for their Western ontology and for their promotion of neoliberal development models, which can disenfranchise indigenous communities. It has been found that Education for Sustainability (EfS) can contribute towards a sustainable future and is fundamental to achieving humanity’s transformative challenge. In this era marked by unprecedented environmental, social, and economic challenges, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are being called upon to foster sustainability as a core educational imperative. The National Development Plan 2030 positions education as a vital agent in shaping equitable and sustainable futures (National Planning Commission, 2012). In response to this mandate and the need for deeper engagement by the Global South, a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project between two universities in South Africa and two universities in Sweden was seeded and funded by the South AfricaSweden University Forum (SASUF). The COIL collaboration, grounded in the principles of a green pedagogical approach, employed design thinking and digital storytelling as a conduit to integrating sustainability awareness and ultimately a sustainability praxis amongst future education leaders and social workers. Through this article, I share the experience of this pedagogical innovation (green pedagogy), the repurposing of existing university curricula and the impact of the project on developing a much more inclusive approach to the SDGs, as well as contributing to the evolving discourse on EfS. A Green Pedagogical Approach Rooted in the broader tradition of a critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Sterling, 2001), a green pedagogical approach advocates for a transformative learning experience that empowers students (and lecturers) to become active participants in shaping their world. It offers an integrative, reflexive, and experiential approach by engaging students in real-world problems through action driven problem solving (Wiek, et al., 2011). 67 A Journey of Innovation
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