European Sustainability Academy - Crete

07/03/2026

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Submission deadline 30th March.
📢 The Sustainability in Energy and Buildings (SEB) and Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM) conferences will take place simultaneously in
between 8- 10 July.

VENUE: The Minoa Palace Resort Platanias

These international conferences are a marvelous collaboration between our colleagues Professors Mark Jolly and Konstantinos Salonitis from University, with our ESA friends and associates from Metropolitan University, Professor John Littlewood BSc Hons PhD FHEA FCABE FRSA MCIAT MIET and Professor Denia Kolokotsa at Πολυτεχνείο Κρήτης / Technical University of Crete'.

ESA founder, Sharon Jackson, will be giving a keynote address about the 'human ingredients' that are needed for activating advancements in science and technology for impactful changes towards sustainable solutions.
You can find all the details, including the conference track themes and key dates:
➡️ SDM26| https://sdm-26.kesinternational.org
➡️ SEB26| https://seb-26.kesinternational.org

Conference proceedings will be published by Springer Nature as book chapters in a volume of the 'KES Smart Innovation Systems and Technologies' series.

Hoping to see you in Crete in July!

17/11/2025

FIXING the AGE of INCOMPETENCE - TEDxTALK
❓Can we 'Fix the age of Incompetence' that has brought us to this pivotal moment for humanity ?
🎤Sharon Jackson, Founder of ESA -Crete shares her thoughts about and in organisations, and for making impactful ACTION for reversing the awful many of us are experiencing...

⛈️ Sharon talks about the awful experience of having her home flooded, twice in the past 3 years, and living/ working with the fear of wildfires every year in .

She takes guidance from the natural world and how we can learn from bees.
🐝 number 1. priority is to 'Protect the Hive'.
🔥 Our HIVE IS ON FIRE!
What and do we need to protect it?



Fixing the Age of Incompetence | Sharon Jackson | TEDxPlaka

Sharon Jackson's talk focuses on the need for ‘Sustainability Activators’ and the essential subject of preparing everyone —inside organisations and in commun...

06/11/2025

Thank you to all of my friends from who came to hear me, and the other interesting speakers, at the event yesterday.

CONGRATULATIONS to the TEDxPlaka COUNTDOWN organisation team from Sympraxis Team in Athens.
The location Foundation Convention Hall the heart of the ancient Plaka streets was truly lovely.
Thank you all for the invitation to speak about 'Fixing the Age of Incompetence' which got us to this terrible situation of .

03/11/2025

For a boost on a November Monday morning, enjoy this beautiful, uplifiting short film (4 minutes) of our recent project closing event in Crete, with blue skies, beautiful food and happy people!
🎥 ➡️ LINK TO FILM HERE: https://eurosustainability.org/2020-news.php +-gennz-project-closed-at-the-creta-maris-resort-heraklion

29/10/2025

🎤 Getting ready to speak at in next week Wednesday 5th November.
❗ The series is closely aligned with the reasons why European Sustainability Academy - ESA Crete was built in in 2011.
ESA was built to provide an authentic, congruent natural materials, international training and research centre for hashtag people in organisations to help them shift from good intentions and rhetoric to impactful , practical actions at work.
❗ In 2020 in the depths of the global pandemic, ESA-Crete hosted a TEDxCOUNTDOWN event, fully online with excellent speakers and impactful dialogue. It is my pleasure, 5 years on, to return, this time on stage as a live speaker.
📢 My talk is entitled ‘Fixing the Age of Incompetence’.
The world is in a state of polycrisis, not least the crisis of a massive lack of and for addressing the biggest challenges to the natural environment and humanity.
🎤 I will speak about the Talk-Act-Gap that has prevented meaningful, strategic sustainability progression in organizations and has allowed ‘incompetency’ and to shamefully block progress towards a transition and .

👉 We have time to ‘fix it’ but we MUST MOVE FAST and in the RIGHT DIRECTION! I will share some suggestions, from my 25 years' experience as a sustainability business educator and my published research, for ‘blocking the gaps’ of incompetency. 👈

📢 FRIENDS IN ATHENS See you there!

11/10/2025

This time last week we were preparing for our project closing event at the Creta Maris Resort, convention centre, Hersonissos, Crete.
🍾 MANY CONGRATULATIONS to Stella, Nikolaos, Manuela and Peter for finishing the programme.
Olympia, Sofia and Georgia all received 'Attendance Certificates' in recognition of the time they were able to be with us on the course.

🎉 We are very grateful to everyone who joined us last Sunday for the celebration and to everyone who has contributed to making the GenNZ project for designing a workplace learning, teaching framework for learning and competencies in the and sectors. Our next steps include adapting the programme to other sectors.

👏 A BIG THANK YOU to all of the GenNZ team in
and , and our amazing guest speakers.

Our GenNZ research paper will be presented at the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) conference hosted at the University of Belgrade 21- 23 October and GenNZ will be the subject of Sharon Jaclkson's talk for COUNTDOWN in Athens on 5th November.
🎥 More news and videos to follow....

08/10/2025

It was a very busy weekend closing our + project, for green skills in the and sectors in and .

Last Friday I was delighted to speak about at the SOFTONE GLOBAL SUSTAIN Athens Sustainability Forum and to discuss the importance of training for in organisations.

On Sunday at the Creta Maris Resort in Hersonissos, Crete, we hosted a wonderful closing event. 24, specially invited, people from business, tourism and education gathered to hear the GenNZ project findings and to share lively disccussions about the 'next steps' for the GenNZ teaching framework. Photos and film of the event with beautiful views and delicious food to follow.

A special thanks to Konstantina Vougioukalou for her excellent presentation on sustainability training approaches for employees at Metaxa Hospitality Group and to her colleague Ioannis Giachnakis, ESG specialist, for joining us. We are grateful for your time.

20/09/2025

📌It's a wrap!
Looking forward to celebrating the achievement of the Upskilling Generation Net Zero teaching programme for in .

‼️If you are a tourism or professional or and you would like to join us at Creta Maris Resort , near Heraklion, Crete, please send a message or email [email protected]

15/09/2025

Are you interested in and for and sectors?

Upskilling Generation Net Zero, has been a 13 month project ( ) to find out WHAT TOURISM PROFESSIONALS WANT for training, DESIGN and PILOT a 8 week's online, on-demand course with rigorous assessment

Want to know more?

📢 Join us TOMORROW Tuesday 16th September
➡️ 5.30 - 7pm Athens time (GMT+2)
Η ΕΚΔΗΛΩΣΗ/ EVENT https://www.linkedin.com/events/7370506868324216832/
ΣΥΝΔΕΣΜΟΣ ZOOM/ JOINING LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82793440889

09/09/2025

ESA has won another for being voted as: Best 'Sustainability Education Provider of the year 2025'🍾

It is wonderful that our work, to help people develop their knowledge, skills and behaviours for managing and leading towards a , is being recognised.

This piece of crystal will arrive at in October and will live a lovely life there in the beautiful , natural materials, , designed building among the stunning rocks, olive trees and nature of .

JOIN US ON TUESDAY 16th SEPTEMBER, WEBINAR https://www.linkedin.com/events/7370506868324216832/ to hear the results of our recent project and meet the 2025 participants. This programme is one of the reasons that is .