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ACT for a better Life!

2020-2-PT02-KA105-0068772020Youth mobilityfinalized
Countries: PT|LT|EL|RO|CZ|ES · Grant: €19,176
Health and wellbeingEnvironment and climate changeInclusion - equity

Objectives

At a time when society is moving at a faster pace than in the past, where daily needs and free time are related to the constant use of technological devices, and individual processes are forced to respond to the speed of new social mechanisms and increasing isolation, it becomes essential to address and work on issues such as healthy, community and eco-friendly lifestyles through non-formal learning and practices for young people. At this moment society was forced to stop, due to the pandemic that affected the entire population, and the fact that we stopped had an almost immediate impact on the environment and biodiversity of the planet. It is therefore urgent to make this reflection with young people and understand how to maintain these new habits in the future. Promoting in young people an active participation and awareness of issues related to environmental protection, prevention, and community integration is an important key not only to stimulate in young people this personal and collective change, but to encourage them to promote this vision through fun activities and community experiences. Today, it is noticeable how global warming is a factor that interferes with biodiversity, lifestyle, and wrong consumption habits. While governments need to implement major changes, individuals can also do their part. Scientists say that we all need to adopt "rapid, comprehensive, and unprecedented changes" in our lifestyle in order to avoid more severe damage to the climate and the environment. The consequences of the actions of the consumer society and the members of every community who do not take precautions for environmental protection are making Europe's territory increasingly distressed and sick. If nothing changes, the sea will have one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish by 2025, and by 2050 the oceans may have more plastic than fish, indicate estimates cited by environmental organizations. There is, however, a fundamental difference: ocean plastic is not as complicated as climate change. At least so far, no one denies the existence of trash in the ocean. And to do something about it, we don't need to completely restructure our energy system. The fight against this socio-environmental problem is being fostered in various ways at the institutional level, but we know that it is a slow and complex process, and that the change that comes from the communities themselves can make a difference if encouraged on a large scale. To work towards the practice of a healthier lifestyle in all its parameters, it is necessary to work towards a collective awareness, one that starts especially with young people and that can address the complexity of the issue without conflicting with other personal interests. In this context, and within the scope of existing prevention and awareness actions, we want to focus on the importance of having healthy personal, community, and environmental habits. A careful approach to this issue is important, capable of contributing to its understanding and to the design of action strategies, which is why we carried out this project, which, by encouraging the active participation of the entire community, allowed us to develop awareness activities and the adequate protection and prevention of the environment. At the same time, we recognize that the inclusion of members of social minorities, often left with few institutional responses to accompaniment and integration, should be through inclusive community activities, of all for the good of all. This project aimed to give young people the opportunity to get involved in a project common to all communities, giving them the tools to create their own activities and interventions and get involved in the active life of their territory and the European community. Participants had the opportunity to increase their knowledge on the proposed socio-environmental themes and at the same time develop their own skills in terms of sociability, team building, inclusion, non-formal education and environmental awareness, in a context of individual and collective challenges that led them not only to stimulating capacity building, but also to concrete action as agents of change in the communities concerned. The main goal of this project was to raise awareness and empower both participants and communities to protect the environment, to practice healthy lifestyles, and for social inclusion: thus, the community was a direct player in the project, able to contribute to the fight against climate change and to the preservation of the habitats covered, to foster environmental volunteering and cooperation among all.

Project partners (6)