YEUTH – Your Earth needs yoUTH
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
YEUTH is an initiative that aims to raise climate literacy and promote climate mitigation/adaptation through youth engagement in the local communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Through an international seminar that mixes non-formal education workshops with field visits to areas affected by climate change, YEUTH aims to enable young people from all over Europe to reconnect with nature, their communities and to start taking action to revert human damages.
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
YEUTH is designed to support cities and towns in defining and achieving their sustainability goals. Through JEF Europe organised training and workshops, participants will learn about how climate change is directly affecting their region and communities, and collectively identify the most effective measures for engaging others with their sustainability activities. YEUTH is a five-year project (with Year 1 in Barcelona) which - through the annual nomination of small-scale cities which are vulnerable to the negative implications of climate change across Europe - aims to organise a five-day seminar. Each year, participants will be educated on the reality and severity of climate change and the concept of the SDGs. YEUTH will also enable participants to identify the most effective measures for engaging others in their communities in order to adopt more sustainable practices.
By mixing non-formal education sessions with practical activities, YEUTH’s approach is focused on educating and raising awareness in young people, and is based on promoting social mobility, sustainable consumption and the circular economy. Practical sessions will include visits to places affected by climate change (e.g. the Ebro Delta in Barcelona), activities such as beach cleaning, and discussions with climate experts; all with the aim of enabling participants to reconnect with nature by promoting a shift in behaviour.To deliver these ideas, YEUTH has partnered up with organisations to provide capacity-building in the context of sustainability, with practical sessions aimed at raising young people’s understanding of the climate emergency through discussions with climate experts.
The participants will come from very diverse backgrounds, ensuring inclusivity at all times, and special priority will be given to those coming from low-income backgrounds. As such, this project will enable them to broaden their knowledge about the topic and influence others in ther local communities to kickstart action.
Key objectives for sustainability
YEUTH will aim to support cities with their sustainability measures and to engage youth with these sustainable activities – increasing the concept of circularity in daily life through new techniques of recycling or the alternative approaches to generating energy, travelling and consuming. The primary objective of YEUTH is to raise climate literacy in young people by enabling them to reconnect with communities most vulnerable to climate adversities; encouraging them to implement sustainable practices in their daily habits at individual and societal levels.
The various events and their themes will be adjusted for each nominated city as the effects of climate change differ in each region. And so, how will YEUTH be delivered? The organising body (JEF Spain/YEM UK) to go into public spaces – schools, workplaces, community centres – and deliver capacity-building workshops and educational activities on climate change and how to address this at the local level.
This scalable project is rooted in the SDGs; a UN strategy to make the world 'a better place by leaving no one behind' by 2030. The goals aim to increase the quality of education, which will be promoted in the project through providing free training to schools about local sustainability – that includes engaging the local community in discussions on the sustainable development goals on clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, and life on land. As such, YEUTH fits perfectly into the scope of the UN’s current focus.
Besides, JEF Europe, the umbrella organisation of JEF Spain and YEM UK, has developed a Sustainability Checklist that enumerates the points of action to be taken when organising an event in the most sustainable manner. YEUTH will apply the criteria of the checklist at all times.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The realisation of the project addresses the challenges of sustainability, as well as substantive sustainable development goals and a deeper, enduring understanding of climate change on a local level. The project combines scholarly inquiry, by providing free workshops (i.e. a seminar, group discussion, exchange of ideas), as well as educational activities/training (i.e. a tutorial, simulation), with practical experience; organising day-trips to local areas impacted or vulnerable to climate change. The aesthetics of the project illustrate a youth initiative on the conservation and restoration of the Earth’s ecology through accessible events and workshops.
The provision of these free educational activities will be made available through the extensive network of trainers of JEF Europe and its national and local branches – all organised by youth. Within this wide range of partners, youth sections and environmental branches will be invited to collaborate on the project to ensure a multiplier effect.
And so, in order to realise the project, there is a wide range of organisations and branches available that are in reach for collaboration. This extensive network increases the outreach of the project, with the estimation of reaching for the first year nomination being Ebro Delta in Barcelona, an amount of approximately 1,000 citizens. Through a variety of partnerships such as the Permanent Representation of the European Commission in Spain, Barcelona Actúa, Barcelona por el Clima, the Ajuntament de Deltebre in Barcelona, visiting the Ebro Delta and learning about the marine ecosystem through scuba-diving sessions provided by the local NGO Mar de Fondo, YEUTH will ensure inclusivity and affordability through bicycles/public transportation at all times; bringing young people and climate experts together into the European Commission initiative Peer Parliaments.
Key objectives for inclusion
The main focus of the project will be on the cities/towns that are known for the dire impact of climate change in their communities. Every year, a different town will be nominated as a result of the devastating effects of climate change affecting these communities. The first nominee is Ebro Delta as it is a concrete example of the negative effects of climate change, in that it shows how the delta has expanded rapidly on soils and washed downriver.
During the capacity building workshops, we want to include youth from all backgrounds, nationalities, genders, ethnicities and occupations, giving special priority to socioeconomic vulnerable groups. This value of inclusivity will be met through the SDGs which aim to improve gender and wealth equality. Such goals seek to proceed as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
As the sustainable development goals state themselves in their last goal (Partnership For The Goals), to realise annual nominations the organisation of events, workshops and training present an opportunity for a great network of partnerships to be developed.
Through the network of JEF Europe, its national and local branches, and its external partnerships, resources to implement the concept will be made available. Whilst with the inclusion of the aforementioned SDGs, the project illustrates the inclusion of the whole society through free and accessible events and workshops that aim to increase daily sustainable activities
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
The approach to include all three objectives - of environmental and sustainability, aesthetics and quality of experience and the inclusion of the whole society - will be implemented through a bottom-up, youth-led strategy plan. This strategic plan will be scalable and reproducible for every annual nomination, as it will provide a set guideline. This guideline is that, on an annual basis, European cities and towns will be nominated to take part in the project, with the purpose of achieving greater environmental sustainability through the local community on an everyday basis.
The project is led by a group of young people motivated to enhance and preserve green aspects of the world. JEF’s local and national community of the elected nominee location will be invited to get involved and, although the initiative centres around young people, the whole of society are invited to participate in the project’s activities; all in the name of reconnecting communities.
Through the partnerships of JEF Europe, these inclusive events will be coordinated through its national and local branches, as well as the new partnerships which will be formed at the local level. Delivery will also be facilitated by other grants and sponsors which will be considered in order to be able to fund all project costs, taking into consideration the New Bauhaus Award eligibility criteria.
After successfully organising events (workshops, training and excursions), a final report will be written which will include key findings and recommendations to be presented to the local government. The team will then engage with the local government to develop a strategy for continuing these objectives. At the end of each year of the project, the new regional nominations will take place and the project will be reproducible.
