The stories of 8 senior students of the BIBA Forum Alumni 2022 have been selected for publication!

The narratives of 8 senior students of the first micro-story contest of the BIBA Forum Alumni 2022 on diversity in sustainable development have been selected for publication.

The students of the first session of the BIBA Forum 2022 were invited to participate in a call for short stories on the topic “diversity in sustainable development”. The texts could be written in English or in the mother tongue with a maximum length of 100 words.

The micro-stories of 8 participants were selected. They are published on the Arqus website as a formal recognition to the work of these senior students. Congratulations to all of them!

The selected texts together with their authors are presented below. Enjoy them!

Ronald Glaeser (Leipzig University)

My thoughts on diversity and sustainability from a business perspective are:

Strategies to Enable a More Circular and Low-Carbon Economy:

• Design out waste and use materials responsibly.
• Keep materials and products in use.
• Create a low-carbon future.
• Regenerate natural systems.
• Ensuring respect and dignity for all people.
• Improving the lives of people who make our products and strengthening the communities where they live and work.

And we need clear and proven metrics to measure and control these challenges.

Valentina Merzi (University of Padua)

I decided to propose an old African fairy tale that I heard years ago. One day in the forest a big fire broke out. All the animals left their dens and ran away scared. As he escaped, the lion saw a hummingbird flying in the wrong direction. “Where do you think to go?” – asked the King of the Forest – “There’s a fire, we have to run!”. The hummingbird replied: “I’m going to the lake, to collect water in the beak to throw on the fire”. The lion blurted, “Are you crazy? You don’t think you can put out a giant fire with four drops of water!?” The hummingbird concluded: “I do my part”.

Anna Starschowitz (University of Graz)

Let’s think about “wasted space in cities“! Why? A building up of small and large green areas (courtyards, villa grounds…) in all cities. How? To explore large areas that are “only” built up by shopping centers, etc… The parking areas are huge but totally sealed. Realignment: Inventory of existing shopping centers – rebuilding as multi-story residential building + (partial) rededication of the parking areas (with underground garages) in green space with trees (only useful fruit or gardens and no conifers…). + Paid main responsible for the green spaces + additional volunteers (perhaps in rotation?). In my opinion, no joint project works without responsible people.

Carmen Aguilera Carnerero (University of Granada)

Tears fell down Violet´s face in that cold and foggy winter morning because she had lost her research grant, with which she was planning to obtain sustainable energy from different part of plants and improve the lives of so many. What would she do now? She decided to spend the last savings inherited from her mother after she died of cancer. She dried her tears and opened her computer. She would never give up, for her mother and so many others. A beautiful morning with a radiant blue sky was seen on the cold horizon of the city.

Peter Chlechowitz (Leipzig University)

(In German)

Nachhaltig zu leben habe ich seit meinem Rentnerdasein viel mehr in die Tat umsetzen können als das bis dahin für mich selbst möglich war. Neben meinen Möglichkeiten mich in meiner Stadt Leipzig hauptsächlich mit dem Fahrrad, zu Fuß und dem ÖPNV fortzubewegen wäre da noch die eigene Ernährung zu nennen, die in diesem Zusammenhang für mich wichtiger wurde. Konserven und andere vorgefertigte Lebensmittel wurden dabei für mich fast zum Tabu. Meine Frau und ich bereiten uns unsere Mahlzeiten nahezu komplett aus Rohmaterialien selbst zu. Wir sind glücklich das selbst tun zu können und es schmeckt auch besser.

(In English)

Since I retired, I have been able to do much more to live sustainability than was possible to me before. Also, my options to get around my city of Leipzig are mainly by bicycle, on foot and by public transport. I also have here my own diet, which became more important to me in this context. Canned food and other pre-packaged food almost became taboo to me! My wife and I prepare our meals almost entirely for raw materials. We are happy to be able to do this ourselves. And it tastes better too!

Elena Tardivo (University of Padua)

The great love of his life saved him from the boredom of retirement: the bicycle. Not just any bike, but a stolen bike. One day a friend called him, asking to volunteer as a bicycle mechanic. Actually I,t was more about teaching mechanics. The teens who gathered every day at the school park thought it was cool to play gang and decided to steal a bike. The one who got caught was Amir. How bored did he have to be to do such a stupid thing? Boredom and bikes: twice a week Amir and he killed time mending bikes together.

Jesús Carrillo Camacho (University of Granada)

(In Spanish)

Alegato: Ellas serían la respuesta a la sostenibilidad del mundo. A ellas, a vosotras que poseéis el don de procrear, la virtud de amar y cuidar a vuestros seres nacidos ¡direccionad el mundo antes que este sucumba!. A ellos, a nosotros, bueno a algunos pocos de nosotros que son ellos, imitadores de “Ares” y “Cronos”, atentan contra la magnanimidad de las cosas: ¡¡paren ya!!, dejen paso a las herederas de “Gea” antes que acabemos entre los seres del Jurásico, han malgastado su oportunidad, mas existen otras alternativas. A vosotras que en algunos países Africanos supisteis desactivar sus guerras. ¡Estamos a tiempo!.

(In English)

“Plea: They would be the answer to the sustainability in the world. To them. To you all ho possess the gift of procreation, the virtue of loving and care for your sons and daughters. Direct the world before it succumbs! To them, to us, to some frew of us who are them, imitators of Ares and Cronos. They attempt agains the magnanimity of the things: stop now, make way for the heirs of Gea before we end up among the criatures of the Jurassic. You have wasted your opportunity. Nevertheless, there are other alternatives. To you who, in some African countries, knew how to deactivate wars. We are on time!”.

Rafael Reche Silva (University of Granada)

(In Spanish)

Los años avanzan, se abren paso, crece el pelo blanco, surcos en mi frente, los huesos resisten, como una roca erosionada por el viento, van cediendo los días y meses, miro a través de la ventanapasar las estaciones, siempre el mismo cielo limpio de estrellas y de nubes, cada vez más alto. ¡No llueve! Hace años que no llueve, las palabras sedientas, la yerba secada por el sol, el aire árido sopla con fuerza, los brazos esqueléticos del único árbol, restos pulido del bosque, oigo el trinar de un famélico pájaro. ¡Hay esperanza!

(In English)

The years pass, they get through, the hair grows white, wrinkles on my forefront. The bones resist, like a rock eroded by the wind, the days and the months give way; I watch through the window how the seasons pass, always the same sky clear of stars and clouds, higher and higher. It doesn’t rain! It hasn’t rained for years, the words are thirsty, the grass has been dried up by the sun, the rough wind blows wild, the skinny arms of the only tree, the naked remains of the forest; I hear the song of an emaciated bird. There’s still some hope!