The project's main objective was to strengthen the agency of youth and students by training and empowering teachers and youth workers to integrate climate change-related content into their classrooms and activities and promote citizen engagement (CE) initiatives. More specifically, this primary objective was split into five main sub-objectives: 1. Raise awareness among teachers, youth workers and their educational communities about climate-related challenges and the need to incorporate these into their learning environments 2. Generate change-making competencies of the youth by disseminating innovative pedagogical approaches to empower the participants to convert their theoretical knowledge into practical experience. 3. Encourage the transnational exchange of knowledge, skills, values, experiences, and good practices among the participants in Germany and the Netherlands 4. Promote the development of CE initiatives among participants to contribute locally to realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 5. Enhance the skills of the two consortium partners in including CE challenges in sustainability transitions into the curricula of secondary schools and activities of youth workers
First, the partners wished to stimulate education for sustainable development (ESD) in Germany and the Netherlands by addressing the cross-sectional, holistic, and context-specific elements of climate change identified in both countries' educational systems. Then, we wished to empower the participants to apply the knowledge and skills acquired by encouraging cooperation between various educational bodies, from public institutions to NGOs. The needs of 3 specific groups have been explicitly addressed, being: - Consortium partners: both organisations, 2811 Social Enterprise UG (2811) and Stichting Technotrend (STT), wished to bolster their position in the field of ESD and climate change education (CCE) by increasing their project management skills, as well as expanding their networks and developing their pedagogical resources. - Secondary education teachers and youth educators: A considerable gap persists between the aspiration to teach about climate change-related topics and the current ability (time, knowledge, resources) to do so. - Students and youth: Whereas a global concern about climate change has been expressed, students generally lack the skills to switch their eco-anxiety for concrete environmental awareness and agency.