Taking the climate change challenge – 3Cs Erasmus Project

Project Title

Taking the climate change challenge – 3Cs

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

The EU has some of the world’s highest environmental standards, developed over decades. Environment policy helps the EU economy become more environmentally friendly, protects Europe’s natural resources, and safeguards the health and well-being of people living in the EU. Environmental quality is central to our health, our economy and our well-being. However, it faces several serious challenges, not least those of climate change, unsustainable consumption and production, as well as various forms of pollution. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2014, climate change education is about learning in the face of risk, uncertainty and rapid change. Humans have never before been in the situation now confronting the planet. Education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. Appropriately designed educational interventions can help young people understand and address the impact of global warming; can encourage changes in their attitudes and behaviour; and can help them adapt to climate change-related trends. Tackling climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing Member States and it is the belief of partners that using a challenge based learning approach is both appropriate and essential if the young people today are to think critically about the climate change issue. While the global demonstrations that took place in September 2019 were led and inspired by young people, protesting alone will not necessarily bring about change and consortium partners believe that young people themselves must also be encouraged and directed towards finding solutions.

There is no `silver bullet` to stop climate change and reducing carbon emissions, and the carbon footprint of individuals will only be achieved by a vast number of actions, big and small, by all people throughout our society. For yuoth who have grown up holding the digital world in the palm of their hands, the internet is the most natural place to take action. It’s where they already are, socializing with their peers and exploring their identities. Young people, with their social media presence and their potential to animate and positively impact the behaviour of their peers can play a considerable role in mitigating the impact of climate change.

Partners have chosen a challenge-based learning approach that uses WebQuests to build knowledge and understanding of climate change .A WebQuest is an Internet research methodology focused on the educational process that stimulates research and critical thinking. It is an extremely simple and rich model for dimensioning educational uses of the Web, based on cooperative and investigative learning processes in the construction of knowledge. WebQuests involve young people and their youth leaders in an Internet use focused on the educational process in a team-based environment; stimulating research and building research skills; enabling material production and critical thinking.

For our specific target groups, the key innovations are (1) the provision of bespoke in-service training for youth professionals that builds their digital competences and their pedagogic approaches to enable them design WebQuests and implement challenge based education; (2) the development of a suite of bespoke non-formal learning resources built around online WebQuests that specifically challenge young people to find solutions, both small and large, to climate change issues. While non-formal learning in youth work environments tends to take place in fairly relaxed settings; high-value non-formal learning environments always involve an element of structure and planning by youth professionals. In properly conceived non-formal learning programmes that address specific topics like climate change, learning is intentional and usually aims to help participants to:
• Modify or develop some behaviours that relate to the world that we live in
• Develop useful skills for further learning about climate change and other pressing societal issues
• Change their attitudes towards climate change with a renewed focus on finding solutions
• Emerge as peer leaders in the wider climate change debate

Climate change is a Europe wide issue that can be best addressed by educators, youth professionals and young people working together to devise innovative and feasible actions.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 158831,8 Eur

Project Coordinator

Jugendförderverein Parchim/Lübz e.V. & Country: DE

Project Partners

• SIHTASUTUS NOORED TEADUSES JA ETTEVOTLUSES
• CENTRE FOR ADVANCEMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LTD-CARDET
• ASOCIACION CULTURAL Y MEDIOAMBIENTAL PERMACULTURA CANTABRIA
• FUTURE IN PERSPECTIVE LIMITED