According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), it was considered “virtually certain” that, on average, 2024 would be the first year to be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than in the preindustrial era. Until recently, predictions had suggested that this threshold would be reached only after 2030. Our governments had agreed several times, especially through the Paris Agreement, to work towards not exceeding the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold. However, this target appeared to be slipping away and was no longer receiving sufficient attention. The negative effects of such a temperature rise were being witnessed regularly, with deadly floods hitting Spain and Central Europe in 2024, deadly wildfires affecting Europe the previous year, severe droughts in other countries including Malta, the melting of permafrost and glaciers, and many other consequences resulting from rising temperatures. All of these situations were discussed at the latest COP29, which took place at the end of 2024, and promises on how to stop and even reverse these trends were made. However, we felt that politicians had made many promises over the years, many of which were either not met or fulfilled far beyond the agreed deadlines. To make matters worse, we were also hearing politicians, including newly elected Donald Trump, stating that production of certain fossil fuels, should be increased. We felt that we were facing an emergency that was not being tackled adequately, as news related to this environmental crisis was being diluted by other global events, particularly the rise in armed conflicts and discussions about a possible world war. These and other news stories were drawing attention away from the environmental threat we were facing. This situation differed significantly from what had been observed during the COVID-19 period, when the world united to face a common threat and eventually managed to overcome it. In contrast, this environmental threat, which could have even more severe consequences, was not being treated with the same level of urgency. As young people, we felt that many individuals were not aware of the level of urgency surrounding this issue, and that many people lacked knowledge about what they could do to bring about change. Many people, including young people like ourselves, believed that sustainability was limited to actions such as reducing car use or switching off lights, when in reality there were many more ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint. We became aware of this reality through a local project we were involved in, during which we visited our communities to assess how aware people were of the planet’s situation and what actions they knew they could take. From our findings, we observed that many people unfortunately had limited information about the environmental crisis and even less knowledge about how they could contribute to positive change. Thus, the main aim of our project was to help us as young people increase our knowledge and practical competencies related to environmental protection and sustainability, so that we could then pass this knowledge on to our peers and other members of our communities. The objectives of this exchange were the following: • To raise awareness about the environmental crisis our planet was facing. • To raise awareness and help participants better understand sustainability and sustainable living by exploring environmental, social, and economic aspects through interactive, non-formal educational methods. • To become familiar with and better understand the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). • To help young people better understand the changes they could adopt in their daily lives to work towards a more sustainable way of living. • To help participants understand how to demonstrate sustainable practices to others and how to motivate them to lead more sustainable lives. This exchange gave us the tools, skills, and knowledge needed to take the matter into our own hands. As young people, we had discussed the feeling of powerlessness caused by politicians repeatedly breaking their promises in this area, which reinforced our need to learn more about sustainability, especially about leading a lifestyle with the least possible environmental impact. As a result, we were then in a position to train our peers, families, and other adults within our communities. This contributed to a multiplying effect, where more and more people began to learn how to lead a sustainable life and understand why such a way of living was necessary.