Socio-Ecological Literacy

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors, dealing with an uncertain and complex context, defend that socio-ecological literacy is crucial for societal evolution since it contributes to changes in attitudes and behaviors, and, as a consequence, it promotes society transformation. This can be accomplished through Social Labs (SL), carefully designed and professionally facilitated, promoting genuine dialogue. These SL end up operating as privileged learning spaces contributing to socio-ecological literacy citizenship. Through evaluative interviews of the stakeholders involved in the SL created within the MARGov Project, the authors show how the SL created were able to bring to the table angry stakeholders and turn a negative discourse into a positive one, engaging the community in search of joint solutions. As reported by the participants, knowledge was expanded and new knowledge was built during the sessions showing that the multiplicity of learnings does contribute to the promotion of a more resilient and sustainable community, while increasing the socio-ecological literacy of the ones engaged.