This response describes the development of a comprehensive approach to sustainability education that is embedded in the curriculum and school culture and involves all actors in a school working together. The authors use their school in Mexico City, a city that is directly impacted by the climate and environmental crises, as an example. The school’s efforts include arts projects on topics such as ‘La Tierra Es Mi Amiga’ (The Earth Is My Friend), themed days and weeks focused on sustainability, curriculum design that incorporates direct engagement with the natural world and outreach to experts. They also utilise philosophy for children and debating to encourage critical thinking and empathy and support student-led social enterprise projects focused on sustainability.

To open this eceletic book of ideas, we present the key themes and ask the question, Is our education system providing the right opportunities, knowledge and skills to empower children and young people to thrive on planet Earth? Introducing the concept of the series, we explain that there seem to be three existential uncertainties - the climate and environmental crises, fractured communities and insecurities about self and purpose - that require a diverse collection of voices and their ideas to bridge academia with the practitoner wisdom in classrooms.

This response provides two examples for which an understanding of the biology of stress has informed approaches to supporting children. In the first, educators at the University of Cambridge Primary School are trained to view children’s behavior as a reflection of their needs and to utilise a variety of support strategies, including coaching, non-violent communication, careful language choices and emotional health education. In the second, the Yoga Story Time project, implemented in an at-risk school in Sicily, aimed to support the well-being of children who had experienced trauma. Through interactive storytelling, creative activities and yoga poses, the project sought to improve children’s communication skills, emotional regulation and social interaction.

This manifesto emphasises the need to move beyond traditional, siloed approaches to education and embrace transdisciplinarity, particularly in the context of the rapidly changing modern world. Transdisciplinary is about collaborating across the sciences and arts, and including the diverse voices beyond the academic, including those of children and families. The manifesto argues that this can help us move beyond simply preparing for a predicted future and instead enable us to actively shape it together. It explores the concept of transdisciplinary creativities, arguing that knowledge and understanding are not limited to language and traditional academic disciplines and that embodied experiences and engaging multiple senses are crucial for effective learning. This approach challenges the separation between humans and the natural world, recognising the interconnectedness of all things, and proposes that education becomes a process of ‘making-with’, where humans and non-humans engage in collaborative knowledge production.

The response describes initiatives at the University of Cambridge Primary School (UCPS) and Laborschule Bielefeld in Germany that promote democracy education and provide children with the tools and opportunities to engage meaningfully in democratic processes. At UCPS, a Children’s Congress allows students to participate in school decision-making processes, a collaboration with academic researchers sought to understand how children think and feel about their disenfranchisement and a democracy curriculum teaches children key concepts and empowers them to form their own opinions and articulate them effectively. Laborschule Bielefeld focuses on peaceful conflict resolution as a foundation for democratic education. It uses the concept of ‘nonviolent communication’ to teach children how to express their feelings and needs constructively.

This manifesto advocates for granting voting rights to children, emphasising that voting is a right of citizenship, not a privilege of competence, and should be extended to all, regardless of age. It asserts that excluding children from the democratic process is unjust and impractical. It challenges common arguments against child enfranchisement, arguing that concerns about children’s competence, potential policy chaos and the sequencing of rights are flawed. It underscores the principle of political equality, highlighting that children, like adults, possess inherent moral value and unique perspectives deserving of respect and representation. Furthermore, it contends that enfranchising children would offer them much-needed political protection, ensuring their needs and concerns are considered in policy decisions.