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On the train to sustainability

2020-1-BE05-KA105-0028522020Youth mobilityfinalized
Countries: BE|DE|CZ · Grant: €11,148.41
Environment and climate changeIntercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learningCivic engagement / responsible citizenship

Objectives

One of the main objectives of this international youth exchange was showing that everything can be done in a sustainable way. We wanted to inspire these youngsters with the workshops we provided, by travelling by train, by going to vegan and vegetarian restaurants and by staying at a sustainable hostel. We organized activities like harvesting vegetables from a permaculture garden, visiting organizations like Radbahn, Prinzessinnengarten, Haus der Materialisierung and Floating Berlin that embody a sustainable vision and lifestyle. With this program we wanted to show our participants that it is not always difficult to live sustainably and that small actions can have a big impact. Therefore the main goal of this project was to change the mindset and habits of young people when it comes to sustainability. We wanted to spread awareness and show them that they can make an impact with their lifestyle locally, nationally and globally. We want youngsters to see that they can make a positive impact by choosing for alternative ways of travelling, eating, living, etc. The goal is to make them think about sustainability, nature preservation and circular economy by linking these issues in a practical approach to workshops and outdoor education. With our workshops on climate conversations we wanted our participants to talk with each other about climate change and sustainability. This was not as easy as we thought, we felt it was very difficult to talk about your emotions and feelings about climate change in a language other than your mother tongue. Therefore we decided after two workshops to do these talks in two groups. The workshops proved to be more effective when everyone could express themselves in their own language. With these workshops we provided the participants the tools to become an ambassador of a sustainable lifestyle. We spent three days in Berlin and three days on the country side. The idea behind this was to get the atmosphere of a quick changing and creative city with a big potential in contrast with nature, peace, tranquility where we had the time to reflect on ourselves, our beliefs and the beliefs of others. Another goal was to strengthen the intercultural communication between our participants. There were a lot of discussions and interactions between the participants which helped them to become better in their intercultural communication. One goal was to make a documentary that we could share with all our partners and members. Our video reporter Benjamin made this documentary.

Project partners (3)