Sustainaware

The Slovenian and Hungarian youth is aware of climate change issues and has a generally positive attitude toward climate action. However, they are rarely involved in actual projects. To change this, educational projects must not only focus on teaching the science behind climate change, but also on encouraging action. This can only be achieved when projects reach out to young people beyond traditional, formalized education contexts like schools. Instead, they need to adjust to their realities and means of communication.

The Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. If the world’s population would live like the population of Qatar, this day would be on Februray 11 already. (c) IMZTR

To promote “climate literacy” among Central European youth, the project provided educational resources about climate change mitigation. For example, it adjusted the Ecological Footprint Calculator and launched a version tailored to the Slovenian reality. This allowed young people to compare and tackle their resource demands and to transform unsustainable consumption patterns into sustainable ones. Furthermore, the implementing organisations conducted a series of educational events on climate change: Eight webinars, a summer school on climate change and sustainability, and the International Youth Climate Summit. Each format allowed participants and relevant stakeholders from Central Europe to present and discuss project results. Finally, the project addressed the youth worker community by developing a new competence model on climate mitigation and sustainability. Acknowledging the importance of non-formal education and communications systems, the project relied heavily on social media to disseminate the knowledge. 

Link to the project website: https://sustainaware.net/climate-mitigation/