At Tea Time Education on November 7, 2023, Stefan Rostock, Expert Promoter Climate & Development and Team Leader Education for Sustainable Development at Germanwatch, presented the principle of the handprint coined by Germanwatch and its use in educational work. According to Rostock, the handprint goes back to an Indian pupil who complained at an educational event that the principle of the footprint was too negative and passive for her and that she relied on the power of positive change initiatives. Accordingly, the principle of the handprint developed in response means: initiating changes that have a snowball effect, addressing framework conditions and permanent structures and laying the foundations for structural change by moving from everyday action to political engagement.

The educational work with the handprint presented by Stefan Rostock is based on the UNESCO "ESD 2030" program. It calls for the development of personalities and the transformation of societies. Education for sustainable development must, for example, enable pupils of all ages to present their knowledge as demands to decision-makers. ESD means being a citizen in action. Sustainability is not just a matter of volunteering, but concerns all aspects of being a citizen. The handprint is an approach to tipping the "slippery slope", which Stefan Rostock described as follows: "We are asking learners to be sustainable in unsustainable structures." Educational work must therefore stop "putting little green icing on the cake on unsustainable structures" and work to change structures.

Bettina Wiedmann, Managing Director of the Bonn-based exchange organization Experiment e.V., presented how the Experiment e.V. team uses the Handprint in its educational work with international groups as well as in the sense of the "whole institution approach" in its own institution and how it aims to inspire other exchange and educational organizations. For example, Experiment e.V. was the first German exchange organization to publish a sustainability report in accordance with the standards of the German Sustainability Code (DNK) - the impetus for this came from participation in an event at Learning City Bonn. It was there that contact was made with a sustainability expert who supports employees and managers in change processes, including Experiment's first sustainability report.

Ms. Wiedmann explained how the organization has consistently integrated sustainability into all business areas - from the revision of travel guidelines (e.g. domestic flights are only permitted in exceptional cases with special justification) to sustainable catering (organic-fair products, vegetarian/vegan as standard, meat the exception) and compliance to the climate-neutral office in an old building.