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.
Therefore, the 3Cs project was designed to provide internet-based tools (1) to strengthen and build the skills of youth workers in using digital tools to promote problem-based learning processes in building knowledge. (2) so that young people build knowledge through learning collaboratively and analytically to identify climate change issues as well as act to reduce its impacts. The tools to be developed should be adaptable to individual needs at EU, national and school level to achieve European added value.
Climate change is currently considered one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Due to its complexity and the necessity to develop solutions, there are high standards for up-to-date education. Climate education needs to be more integrated into educational programs in order to make learners sensitive regarding the major challenges of climate change and a more sustainable society. Educational offers and learning approaches are needed that qualify young people to identify causes, consequences and risks of climate change, to react sensitively to the challenges and to find suitable measures for a sustainable climate protection. These offers must start concretely in the living environment of the young people and show how everyday behaviors can change to a sustainable lifestyle, as well as suggest alternative behaviors. (Source: Analysis of the formal teaching requirements of schools and educational institutions in Germany with regard to the topic of climate education; carried out by Siegmund Space & Education gGmbH together with the Heidelberg University of Education on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety).