Young Makers as Climate Pact Ambassadors

We want to promote the cooperative and innovative Leuven city model of School 2030 that involves young citizens and their community in innovative training programs and local sustainable ventures by testing a methodology of cooperation between schools, city administration and organisations striving for social inclusion and a preparedness for the climate transition.

There is a great need to take youngsters along in a positive story, becoming the makers of their future, writers of a new narrative. As Europe is preparing to become the first climate-neutral continent, it is crucial to pave the way for approaches that work. Our project supports climate ambassadorship in society, instigates civic spirit and sustainable entrepreneurship, both in schools, youth services, parents and city administration.

Our project aims at making climate action real, hopeful and the obvious way to go, as a new undercurrent. We want to come up with a replicable model of cooperation and a toolbox for schools and organisations in order to implement strategic and systemic learning focussed on sustainability (framework of the SDGs) and activation of people, through volunteering or training. We believe that this way of cooperating might prove to be a game changer.

Three out of four cities are connected through Climate-KIC: Leuven in Belgium, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Sevilla in Spain. A solid basis. We added Paredes in Portugal in order to balance our testbed by not only looking at city environments, but also more rural areas. With nearby Porto included, we are four Mission Cities intending to share learnings more quickly in order to achieve our goals.

Our main activities will focus on testing and sharing methods on a governance level and testing, sharing and updating of the toolbox in training educators (both in formal and non-formal learning) in how to deal with design thinking and systemic change. We will offer young sustainable doers the chance to take up an active role in society. We plan 3 study visits and a culmination of the project during a Young Climathon event where both solutions for climate challenges as tried and tested policy advice will come together.

Project meeting in Paredes / Porto

November 22-24, 2023