We wished to develop a transnational network of diverse youth climate artivists, activists, and young sustainability professionals from Germany, Norway, and other European countries. Our goal was to strengthen the network by building the capacities of its members in (i) mobilizing storytelling and the arts for climate action, and (ii) fostering transformative climate action and a regenerative approach to climate resilience. We aimed at promoting active citizenship in relation to environmental degradation and the fight against climate change, young people’s sense of initiative and youth intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship to build climate adaptation in addition to climate mitigation in Europe. We expected a strong mobilization of storytelling and the arts in public spaces, as well as in universities and in the workplace, leading to more creativity and innovation in addressing climate change. We wished to lay the foundation for a pioneering transnational network of young people working on transformative climate-resilience, giving rise to new collaborations. We intended to strengthen the partnership between CC and ORE and grow their respective impacts as transformative change-makers.
We applied for this project to support European youth in building the knowledge base, the capacities, and the transnational community they need to contribute creatively to addressing climate change in transformative ways, either in the workplace or through activism. The project addressed several of the needs that we identified with the youth that Climate Creativity (CC) and One Resilient Earth (ORE) work with, and that concurred with the European Youth Goals of: promoting equality of all genders and inclusive societies; promoting mental health and wellbeing; promoting quality learning spaces and participation for all; contributing to a sustainable and green Europe through developing green skills in youth and enabling sustainability transformations; and last, supporting youth organizations by offering them capacity building and networking opportunities. CC and ORE have complementary experience in working with youth in Norway and other European countries, as well as complementary expertise (e.g. storytelling, climate change, mental health), and resources (e.g. social media accounts, and community platform) and were thrilled to build synergies and learn from each other.