Transcript Possibilities of future generations to enjoy a

Quality of Life is a person’s individual
evaluation of his place in life in the context
of the culture and value system in which a
person lives, and it is related with his goals,
hopes, standards, and interests.
Happy Planet Index
Index = Life Satisfaction x Predicted Life
Expectancy / Environmental Pollution.
New Economics Foundation (Great Britain)
Consumer Culture
It is a possibility of a person, a group, society to
understand their needs and to find the most
efficient ways to meet them both morally and
economically.
Possibilities of future generations to enjoy a
good quality of life should not be destroyed by
irresponsible behaviour of the current
generation.
Consumer education is one of the priorities of the EU
Constitution in the area of consumer policy. (Part III,
Chapter 6, Article 235...)
The goal of the consumer culture education is
to develop an informed, critically-thinking,
independent consumer whose way of life is
based on the responsibility for the quality of
life of his own, other people and future
generations and is in accordance with the
provisions of sustainable development.
Objectives (1)
• to develop awareness of governance,
economic and social systems and the impact
of the consumer on these systems;
• to develop the values regarding taking care
for the future and public welfare;
• to teach to actively participate in public life
by expressing their opinion by responsibly
selecting products and services;
Objectives (2)
• to be aware of the responsibilities of a
consumer and to protect the rights;
• to know where and how to apply for a
defective product, where to get consultancy;
• to encourage learning how to manage
income and expenses economically;
• to understand the relationship between the
budget of a person/a family and the
country/world economy;
Objectives (3)
• to provide knowledge on the advertisement
and its goals, to develop the ability to analyze
an advertisement and to evaluate it critically;
• to teach how to search for information on
target goods and services;
• to provide knowledge on the impact of the
consumer behaviour on the environment;
• to teach how to manage resources;
Objectives (4)
• to critically evaluate the models of different
lifestyles and behaviour and to choose the
optimal one, taking into consideration
environmental protection and the principles of
sustainable development;
• to introduce risk factors at home and in the
environment;
• to teach how to assess product safety;
• to develop responsibility for their own and
other people’s security.
• “... A high gross domestic product (GDP)
reveals the actual quality of life...”
• “…And it may be increased only by larger
consumption ...”
(International Monetary Fund)
Is it a “vicious circle”? Is it realistic to get
out of it?
Consumer Culture and the Real Life
Clouds of pollution over the major industrial cities of
Europe are visible from space.
EDUCATION, MEDIA, THE MOVEMENT OF THE
GREENS, ACTIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL
PROGRAMMES, ETC.
- Is all that sufficient today to ensure sustainable
environment and consumer culture acceptable for all of
us?
What we consumer in a year, it will take the Earth
a year and two months to restore it (we exceed
20%).
It is evident that in order to maintain at least “Status
quo”, (if it suits us) it is necessary to activate the
efforts of ALL OF US in all the areas of consumer
culture by at least the indicated 20%.
WHO HAS TO DO THAT?
We are all consumers, and all of us are more or
less trying to be cultured and responsible in this
field.
Let’s ask ourselves - are those efforts sufficient?
Can we improve our “personal rates” by at least 20
per cent? And to encourage others to do the same...
WHAT TO DO?
AN ORDINARY THREE-STEP PLAN:
1. To clearly identify all the problem areas of consumer
culture (done - see. goals, objectives, ...);
2. To develop interesting and understandable educational
measures for different social groups and cultures (you need
to select and develop the most effective ones);
3. To take effective practical action immediately, including
the structures which have “leverages of power”
(politicians, business) and the general public.
One of the concrete actions - “edutaiment” type YOUR
OWN CIRCLE club - is another simple idea.