Stand up for Science, Reason, and Dignity — A Statement by Sulitest
At no time in civilization has it been more important and urgent than now—in the face of systemic crises including anthropogenic climate warming and loss of biosphere integrity—that we humans in all our diversity come together, recognize our common plight, decide on concerted action, and proceed in a spirit of equity, inclusion, and fairness. Now, more than ever—with just five years left to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—it’s time to sound a global alarm. If ever there was a moment in history to recognize the need for truly global cooperation that eschews short-term planning, narrow national interests, anti-science thinking, transactional bargaining, and “might-makes-right” rhetoric and posturing—it is now, the year 2025!
And yet, here we are today, witnessing again—and at the highest levels of corporate, political, and media power—those darker attitudes, impulses, beliefs, and behaviors that brought us to such grief and hardship in the 20th Century: obscurantism, racism, authoritarianism, militarism, neocolonialism, nationalism, fascism, and yes—economic accelerationism driven by short-term thinking and decision-making based on market considerations alone. As a social-solidarity organization and global movement dedicated to building the knowledge, skills, and mindsets required of any equitable and sustainable future humanity might choose to build in the 21st Century, Sulitest stands against this shocking and shameful trend in politics, media, and culture.
In this light, we at Sulitest affirm that there is a real and urgent Earth crisis that poses an existential threat to life and civilization as we know it, that global warming and the decline of biodiversity are real and are anthropogenic in origin. We stand up for science, defend evidence-based decision-making, and oppose censorship and political interference in scientific inquiry. We embrace research-based knowledge generated through the scientific method, both positivist and critical, such as feminist, indigenous, deep green, or critical race theory. We support the principles and underlying goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion—as applied to both human and non-human affairs. We recognize that structures of power built in the past—political, colonial, racial, financial, gender-based, and species-based—continue to channel and concentrate power, privilege, and affluence that is not merit-based. We are aware that the forces of prejudice and discrimination of the past contribute to the shaping of the present.
The Sulitest movement is predicated upon the belief that no one wants to destroy the planet on purpose, that the crises we face are mostly driven by past and present decisions made by ostensibly “educated” professionals, and that therefore, institutions of higher education must guarantee that future decision-makers are more properly equipped—cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally—to ask good questions and to respond with informed and equitable decisions that help build a just society and sustainable future. Making knowledge of sustainability a common language among humans is the first step in this journey.
By designing online tools to measure and improve sustainability knowledge; by providing HEIs with access to learning outcomes assessment data that informs strategy and demonstrates impact; and by providing individuals with benchmarks and goals related to their own personal learning journey through sustainability—Sulitest pursues its mission to mainstream sustainability literacy through the fostering of knowledge, skills, and mindsets needed to build a more sustainable future.
In this mission, we at Sulitest stand with all those who believe that a sustainable future can only be built upon the principles of reason, rights, democracy, non-violence, tolerance, and justice in human relations, and the principles of care, responsibility, and love in our relations with Nature and Earth.
At this decisive moment, Sulitest stands with all those around the world taking action to defend science, climate justice, and an equitable future. As climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe reminds us: “Action gives us hope—the antidote to despair is action.”
Let's act together, right now, for what truly matters.
Aurélien DECAMPS & Jean-Christophe CARTERON, Sulitest Co-Founders
