
YCP 2.0: Activity I
Developing the sustainability competencies of young climate enthusiasts and putting young voices at the forefront of green literacy and climate and environmental advocacy discourses continues to remain a priority for THE CIVICS under the #OurFutureEurope programme.
Under the theme RESILIENCE & ADAPTATION, we kicked off and onboarded our second cohort of the Young Climate Professionals programme (YCP 2.0) last week, welcoming 30 passionate young people from 15 European countries. After a brief introduction to THE CIVICS and our efforts to promote civic education across Europe, the future YCPs explored how civic education connects with green literacy. They also learned what it means to be a YCP, focusing on turning European climate goals like the Green Deal into practical actions in their local communities.
Nadja Hirsch from the Institute of Climate Psychology led the group in exploring how climate change challenges affect mental well-being. She emphasized the need for resilience as climate activists to continue advocating in the face of overwhelming news about climate disasters and the rise of climate anxiety. She guided the cohort through understanding and managing emotions, making thoughtful decisions, and recognising when to take action or accept situations beyond your control. She also highlighted the need to focus on personal values such as fairness, love, independence, and sustainability, to enable room for reflection on how these serve as vital resources for resilience – building a mindset of gratitude and solution-oriented thinking.
In the afternoon session, Emil Kragh of Cirka cph introduced the cohort to practical and innovative ways to teach, inspire, and spark green literacy discourses in their home communities. This session encouraged creative and meaningful collaboration to tackle climate change challenges. We explored innovative concepts and actions like the Circular Economy, Natural Step Framework, awareness campaigns, neighbourhood climate hackathons – emphasising the need for immediate action in our communities. Through exercises such as the “Postcard from the Future,” the YCPs were encouraged to envision their neighborhoods thriving in a sustainable future while also learning You also learning about tools and examples that offer practical frameworks for addressing climate issues.
The day’s activities closed with a project ideation exercise. Since the development of real actionable green projects is an integral part of the YCP programme, YCPs were guided to think and generate ideas of what they can do to foster green literacy at home. It was interesting to see the creativity, passion and diversified thinking in the ideas that came up, ranging from communal green libraries to children’s community football tournaments, among others.
We are already looking forward to our upcoming activities where these ideas, meant to fight climate change in their respective communities and raise awareness on topics of green literacy, will be further developed. The most outstanding ideas stand the chance of winning a mini-grant, enabling the winners to implement the project in their home communities.
For more information about our YCP programme, please visit our website here: https://thecivics.eu/projects/ycp/