I recently attended the first conference on education for sustainable development. It was so refreshing to hear about the work being done by teachers in our schools assisted by the Centre for Environmental Education and Research of the University of Malta, which organised the conference, through Ekoskola, Green Flag and Dinja Aħjar programmes.

Of particular interest was hearing a group of nine-year-old students suggesting developing San Anton Palace in a more sustainable manner. This is how our future generations will be properly prepared to become lovers of nature, guardians of the environment and, above all, critical thinkers.

Parents should be grateful to the teaching profession for helping students learn how to gather knowledge and analyse it critically, hold collaborative and not competitive field work activities and be involved in hands-on projects, guided by correct values.

Thanks and congratulations to the organisers Paul Pace, Mark Mifsud, Vince Caruana and Alexandra Mifsud for their excellently delivered programme accompanied by healthy food.

I would have liked to see more involvement at the conference, however, by certain relevant authorities and NGOs.