Climate Heroes

Background

Many young people in Central and Eastern Europe are not clearly aware of the impact their lifestyles have on the climate. Therefore, they do not perceive climate action as an immediate necessity. Additionally, due to a lack of experience in civic action, a common view among young people is that they do not have the necessary power to contribute to positive societal change.

Project

The project addressed young people aged 15–24, raising awareness of the climate crisis and the implications of wasteful consumption on local and global level. Climate Heroes trained around 120 young people from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and the Czech Republic to become climate leaders: For this, they participated in a programme focused on youth empowerment and leadership skills. This included workshops for green solutions, climate-friendly lifestyles, media competence, and policy advocacy. After completion of the course, the young climate leaders started a total of 40 initiatives, which engaged another 3,300 peers, local communities and decision makers. The programme provided the young people with the necessary skills to make their voices heard and to suggest sustainable solutions and policies they and their peers applied. The project is based on a partnership of WWF offices and youth networks and is assisted by mentors from the public and private sector.

Results

• The project trained around 120 young people from Central and Eastern Europe to become climate leaders of their societies. With the knowledge and experience from these training sessions, the climate heroes have started 47 climate action initiatives that actively involved 3.300 young people. The six most impactful initiatives were awarded with a prize and recognition. The young people whose initiatives won were later awarded with prizes – video equipment with which they can continue to inspire and motivate others.

• An educational programme was finalised as a project deliverable and was enriched with examples from the young people’s videos. It includes information and tasks and can be used as an online or offline learning tool in schools and trainings led by young people or by trained educators. It is currently available as a pdf file on the new page of the project. The document is called “How to become a climate hero?” and represents a guide on the different aspects of becoming a climate activist. It also includes 4 educational videos, especially produced for the purpose: wwfcee.org

Last update: April 2024