The following article deals with the cooperation between civil society and university in the area of sustainable development. Starting with an analysis of the term sustainability, the article questions the compatibility of environmental and social sustainability on the one hand and the prevalent economic growth paradigm on the other hand. The author argues that approaches in international development cooperation, as well as the “education for sustainable development” based on the concept of the “one world”, are aligned with the economic interests of the West. This demands new perspectives on education regarding global and intergenerational justice. Inspiration and first steps towards exactly this can be found in recently developing regional and autonomous solidarity economies. The expertise in this field is mainly provided by civil society which should therefore receive better acknowledgement in educational institutions. An implementation of collaborative work is provided by a model project at the Institute of Geography and Didactics at the University of Education in Freiburg, Germany. Lecturers and students are cooperating with civil sustainability experts and developing teaching units which are then implemented together with teachers and school students.

Keywords
sustainable development, post-development, green growth, de-growth, regional economy, Education for Sustainable Development