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6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 JANUARY 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Maltese researchers participate in the creation of e-learning platform on sustainability AS the world confronts in- creasingly complex challenges like climate change, biodiversi- ty collapse, and increasing ine- quality, the need to transform institutions in more sustaina- ble directions is both increas- ingly evident and ever more urgent. The UN's sustainable devel- opment goals and the European Union's Green Deal emerged in response to this impulse, but much remains to be done to put the values of such frame- works into practice. To this end, Maltese research- ers Professor Paul Pace and Dr Jane Spiteri are participating in a European research project on integrating sustainability in education institutions, called Sustainability in Education In- stitutions, or SUSEDI. The project uses what is known as a Whole Institu- tion Approach to Sustainabil- ity, which involves looking at everything from the institu- tion's curriculum to the way it is managed and governed, to how the institution is embed- ded in the wider community. It is thus a holistic frame- work which emphasises both community engagement and continuous learning, and em- powers all students and staff to take on the responsibility and commitment to create a sus- tainable future. As part of the SUSEDI pro- ject, an e-learning platform has been created for educators. The platform includes audio lectures, quizzes and exercises, a Moodle with online resourc- es, learning outcomes, and a space to interact with a broad- er community of practice. It is designed to provide compre- hensive support and resources for educators and institutions aiming to become sustainable institutions. The e-learning platform of- fers an organized and easy- to-use structure for the navi- gation and administration of educational activities. You can visit the platform via the link: https://elearn- susedi.projects- gallery.eu/ The project also involves the creation of a certifica- tion scheme. The certification scheme will be based on a list of sample activities aligned with the systemic framework. In keeping with the WIA to Sustainability, the activities span organizational, social and pedagogical areas, target- ing various sustainability goals (e.g. policy formulation, cur- riculum integration, sustaina- bility workshops and systemic SDG adoption). More information on the project may be found on the project website here: https:// susedi.projectsgallery.eu/ Project participants in their most recent meeting in Larissa, Greece (Photo: SUSEDI) Zabbar cemetery extension proposal includes plans for 1,332 new graves A private company is pro- posing the construction of 1,332 new graves on land next to the Zabbar cemetery. The land is designated by the local plan for future cemetery extension. The application presented by Alex Tanti on behalf of Alt Holdings Limited also envisages the construction of a boundary wall set to in- clude ashes, urns and steel entrance gates. The wall will also include a doorway linking the pro- posed extension with the ex- isting cemetery. The company proposing the extension does not own the land in question but has been granted consent by the owners. The application is being presented after the Planning Authority had rejected a previous attempt to change the zoning of this plot to a residential one. The previous zoning ap- plication sought to re-zone the land so as to allow the construction of a residential block. However, this appli- cation was refused by the PA in 2023. The local plan approved in 2006 does not allow develop- ment on this 1,300sq.m plot of land since it is earmarked for cemetery expansion. The land directly abuts on- to the existing Żabbar ceme- tery along the southeast side and has a frontage on three schemed roads, namely, Triq il-Misqa, Triq il-Hawt, and Triq il-Papa Piju XII.