Launch of new European project – Youth in Transition!

Youth-in-Transition-1200-x-675-px

This May saw the launch of an exciting new European Union Erasmus+ funded project – Youth in Transition. Gaia Education is delivering this project in partnership with NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark and the Danish Association of EcovillagesPlattform Footprint, the University College for Agrarian & Environmental Pedagogy in Austria, and the Don Bosco Association in Sicily.

The aim of Youth in Transition is to make a valuable contribution towards creating a resilient, low-carbon society in Europe, by raising awareness of climate-friendly lifestyle choices among young people. It seeks to mobilise a community of young people from socially diverse backgrounds to be empowered to act. In particular, the project aims to reach young migrants and refugees, using the invaluable experience of Don Bosco to lead the way in engaging marginalised groups.

Building upon our collective expertise in methodologies for Education for Sustainable Development, the project focuses on developing innovative blended and online learning opportunities for youth. Approaches will be based around creativity and the arts, allowing for new and engaging ways to mobilise.

In order to reach a broader range of young people and on a larger scale, all educational materials will be made to be digitally accessible and optimised for mobile phone use.

Over the course of the project, with input from youth participants, youth leaders and other target groups, the partners will:

  • Produce a Youth in Transition facilitator & teacher’s coursebook to engage young participants in social inclusion and ecologically sustainable actions both online and offline
  • Create active and vibrant Communities of Practice in the partner countries, with youth contributing towards equity, social inclusion, and sustainable development within their local communities
  • Co-develop an easily accessible online learning environment where ethnically and socially diverse youth can engage in interactive creative initiatives that support social integration and youth-led content creation

Ultimately, Youth in Transition aims to have a meaningful impact in mobilising a movement of young people from diverse backgrounds across Europe, sharing experiences digitally on civic engagement and eco-friendly society.

Our first project meetings took place at the end of May, where all partners came together for the first time online to get to know each other and to plan the road ahead.

Gaia Education is very much looking forward to working on this project which we hope will bring together young people across Europe as a community of sustainability advocates. We believe that mobilising a regeneration generation has never been more pertinent than it is today.