This paper addresses the significance of place by considering the potential of Bildung for dealing with sustainability and solidarity. I consider Bildung in the sense of developing joint action competence (Mogensen, F., & Schnack, K., 2010)). Inspired by the German educational thinker Wolfgang Klafki’s critical constructive theory of Bildung, the aim is to develop abilities of self-determination, co-determination, and solidarity (Klafki, 1983). I will define place as formed by a dialectical relationship between individuals, the outside world, action and meaning, where students dealing with real-world problems, like climate change, can develop action competence. I will argue that Bildung for sustainability requires joint action competence in a specific place, and I will illustrate my argument with the example of the Danish folk high school Tvind. Tvind became internationally known for constructing the world’s tallest and most technologically advanced wind turbine in the 1970s (Lund, 2020). Like other folk high schools in Denmark, Tvind was based on the ideas of the Danish theologian, poet, and educational thinker N.F. Grundtvig. Historically, the folk high school played a significant role in developing a national democracy. At Tvind, however, these ideas were combined with developments in critical pedagogy emphasising international solidarity and environmental sustainability. Building the windmill was a pedagogical act, rooted in a place and an environmental discourse. The construction of the windmill represented a manifest ideal of renewable energy, as part of a growing opposition to A-power, resulting in a new environmental movement that subsequently impacted environmental policies in Denmark. Inspired by Klafki, Tvind illustrates a valid perspective on Bildung for sustainability, by fostering students ability to co-determination and solidarity while dealing with the epochal key problem sustainable energy (Klafki, 1983). However, these ideas developed in intersection with, but also in tension with, place-bound Grundtvigian thinking. Furthermore, Tvind was known as “the travelling folk high school”. The idea was that the students should develop action competence and the feeling of international solidarity by travelling around the world. Therefore, young Danes were sent to third world countries, turning - as a result - the folk high school into a globalized forum addressing third-world problems and poverty. In this sense Tvind exemplifies tensions of the global and local in theories of Bildung, as well as the travelling metaphor of Bildung.

Lund, B. (2020). Bæredygtighed og handlekompetence – et velkommen tilbage til 70’erne? Forskning og Forandring, 3(2), pp. 47-68. Grundtvig, N.F.S(1848) Folkeligheden in NS:FS: ed Danskeren et ugeblad. Første årgang (p 381 -384) F.H. Eibe Klafki, W. (1983). Kategorial dannelse og kritisk-konstruktiv pædagogik. Kbh: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Mogensen, F., & Schnack, K. (2010). The Action Competence Approach and the “New” Discourses of Education for Sustainable Development, Competence and Quality Criteria. Environmental Education Research, 16, pp. 59-74.