Sustainability and Well-being: The Perception of Younger Generations and their Expectations

The paper aims at analyzing the level of knowledge and the perception of the concepts of sustainability and well-being of high school students in Tuscany. It is an explorative study carried out during specific events held in high schools with the support of the teachers; during the events, students were asked to fill a questionnaire designed to elicit their relation with these topics as well as the level of involvement of their families. The results provide an interesting starting point for a debate about what the expectations of younger generations are and what we can do to match them. The debate moves from the assessment of the importance of sustainability and well-being indicators and the relevance of perceived threats. Moreover, the results put the role of institutions (and in particular that of public schools) under scrutiny to develop the level of awareness and to promote knowledge transfer