EDUCATE – CONNECT – INSPIRE
Youth Forums on Climate Change Influencing the leaders of tomorrow
2011 / 2012 Central, Eastern, South East Europe Russia and Central Asia South Mediterranean
ECI Youth Forums _____________________________________________________________________________________
Table of contents
1/ Introduction / Youth and Climate Change ……………………………………………………………………… 3 2/ Project Background………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 3/ Project Objectives………………….…………………………………………………………………………………….… 5 8/ List of Countries in which Forums will be held in 2011 and 2012……………………………..……. 6 4/ Project Description and Benefits …………………………………………………………………………………… 8 5/ Project Deliverables……………………………………………………………………………………………………….12 6/About Nektarina Non Profit…………………………………………………………………………………………….13
CONTACT AND INFO POINTS Project Title:
ECI Youth Forums on Climate Change
Project Manager:
Sandra Antonovic sandra@nektarinanonprofit.com gsm: +385 99 560 8309
Info Point:
www.eci-youthforums.info
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ECI Youth Forums _____________________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
Climate Change What is Climate Change? Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing the world today. 'Climate change refers to a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.' United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Youth and Climate Change The world's population is young, with nearly 2.2 billion people under the age of 18 of which 85 percent are living in developing countries. Children and young people are concerned, thoughtful citizens, capable of participating in, and changing the society of which they are a part; and they have an important role to play in addressing and affecting the issues of our world. In addition, children and young people have enthusiasm, imagination and abundant energy to undertake local actions, act as effective communicators in their communities and be involved in international arenas.
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PROJECT BACKGROUND When it comes to climate change and other environmental issues, we often hear: “For any significant change people in the power need to make a decision.” Who are these “decision makers” ? And how do we influence them to make a positive change? Young people of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. Many of today’s students will soon enough become media executives, politicians, corporate managers and entrepreneurs. They will be in a position to make decisions which will, one way or another, impact the environment. Will the family business recycle paper used in the office? Will big corporation decide they approve only train travel for business purposes? Will a media company make a decision to help raise awareness on environmental issues? Will a famous designer decide to use environmentally friendly fabrics and materials when producing a new clothing line? Will local municipality decide to help people install solar panels on their houses and help them insulate their homes? Will some government make decisions that can significantly reduce GHG emissions in both short and long term? Will artists, designers and photographs use their form of expression to enhance the issues and share ideas about how to tackle climate change, how to reduce carbon footprint, how to use renewable energies? These are just some of decisions that could be made by today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders or people of influence. “It is time to raise the bar. We need to do more than just change a light bulb if we’re going to be successful in tackling environmental issues. Each of us needs to listen to our green conscience, and then choose to do something ambitious. Something that will have a real impact in our lives. I call it ‘doing the hardest thing first.’ Because it’s far more satisfying (and FUN) to do something that is making a difference.” (Franke James, Canadian Artist)
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ECI Youth Forums _____________________________________________________________________________________
PROJECT OBJECTIVES Every decision making requires a certain amount of fact – gathering: the more facts you’ve got, the more chances you have to make the right decision. ECI Youth Forums’ idea is to provide the information and then let participants debate and discuss the topic before reaching a decision. Forums focus on: 1/ educating youth through visual, audiovisual and practical workshops and presentations 2/ connecting peers with different lifestyles, interests, objectives and backgrounds with the purpose of them debating and discussing forum topics, exchange knowledge, experiences, practices and ideas 3/ inspiring youth to take positive long term action, and to, regardless of their future occupation, become and stay committed to live and work in an environmentally responsible way
Topics which ECI Youth Forums will be addressing throughout 2011 and 2012 are:
climate change
carbon footprint
renewable energies
sustainable living
corporate and governmental responsibility
community involvement
co-operative action
ECI Youth Forums have been tag-lined "Influencing the Leaders of Tomorrow"
Official language of the forums is English.
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LIST OF COUNTRIES in which the ECI Youth Forums will take place during 2011 / 2012 FORUM(S) PLANNED FOR 1
Albania
2012
2
Armenia
2012
3
Azerbaijan
2012
4
Belarus
2012
5
Bosnia & Herzegovina
2011
6
Bulgaria
2011
7
Croatia
2011
8
Cyprus
2011
9
Czech Republic
2011
10
Egypt
2011
11
Estonia
2012
12
FYROM
2011
13
Georgia
2011
14
Greece
2011
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15
Hungary
2011
16
Israel
2011
17
Kazahkstan
2012
18
Kosovo
2012
19
Latvia
2011
20
Lithuania
2012
21
Malta
2011
22
Moldova
2012
23
Montenegro
2012
24
Poland
2011
25
Romania
2011
26
Russia
2011 and 2012
27
Serbia
2011
28
Slovakia
2011
29
Slovenia
2011
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ECI Youth Forums _____________________________________________________________________________________ 30
Turkey
2011
31
Ukraine
2012
Number of Forums per country will be between one and five.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION and BENEFITS ECI Youth Forums are highly interactive 2-day events that include: short film projections and/or visual presentations debates and ‘coffee table discussions’ workshops work in groups, work in pairs (peer to peer) and individual work Short film projections and/or visual presentations Visual aids help us reach our objectives by providing emphasis to the topic presented. Clear visuals multiply the audience's level of understanding of the material presented, and are used to reinforce our message, clarify points, and create excitement.
Visual aids add impact and interest to the Forum. They enable us to appeal to more than one sense at the same time, thereby increasing the audience's understanding and retention level. With pictures and visuals, the concepts or ideas we present are no longer simply words - but words plus images. The impacts visual aids bring to any forum are, indeed, significant. The studies, below, reveal
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interesting statistics that support these findings:
In many studies, experimental psychologists and educators have found that retention of information three days after a meeting or other event is six times greater when information is presented by visual and oral means than when the information is presented by the spoken word alone.
Studies by educational researchers suggest that approximately 83% of human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the other senses - 11% through hearing, 3.5% through smell, 1% through taste, and 1.5% through touch.
The studies suggest that three days after an event, people retain 10% of what they heard from an oral presentation, 35% from a visual presentation, and 65% from a visual and oral presentation.
Debates and ‘Coffee Table Discussions’ Decades of academic research has proven that debate produces many benefits for students, regardless of their year in school, their race, or their socio-economic standing. A few of the notable findings include: Improved Conduct Improved Oral Communication Skills Enhanced Critical Thinking Skills Improved Knowledge of the Social Sciences Discussions are equally beneficial, and they: May generate ideas Provide individual points, as well as whole online discussion threads Students expand their personal knowledge-base through the back-and-forth engagement and interaction with other participants sharing insights, perspectives,
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ECI Youth Forums _____________________________________________________________________________________
points-of-view, as well as their personally held information and knowledge Workshops Workshops are essential as they help participants learn how to plan, brainstorm and obtain constructive alternatives for action. Workshops also get maximum participation of attendees. Work in groups, work in pairs, individual work Group work can facilitate the development of skills, which include: teamwork skills (skills in working within team dynamics; leadership skills); analytical and cognitive skills (analysing task requirements; questioning; critically interpreting material; evaluating the work of others); collaborative skills (conflict management and resolution; accepting intellectual criticism; flexibility; negotiation and compromise); and organisational and time management skills Positive benefits explained above, combined with the topics the ECI Youth Forums will cover, will ensure the best possible impact on Forum participants. Forum activities cover topics from two perspectives: global and local (i.e. besides presenting global overview, the ECI Youth Forum held in Latvia will discuss and present ideas, case studies and will induce debate on environmental topics crucial for the country of Latvia).
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ECI Youth Forums _____________________________________________________________________________________
Target demographics ECI Youth Forums target young demographics: teenagers students young people who might be already working (work & study) Size of the Forums Forums size will depend on the country / town / venue, and may vary from 15 to close to a hundred participants (primary reach). Secondary reach (via word of mouth, social networks, media and similar expected reach is anywhere between estimated 1,000 and 10,000 people per country / venue – depending on the country / venue). Speakers ECI Youth Forums will include local and international speakers. Materials for the Forum Participants of each Forum will receive: Educational booklet on carbon footprint Educational poster on carbon reduction DVD with short films Forum ID Card Educational booklet on renewable energy and sustainable living Educational poster on renewable energy and sustainable living Cotton tote or conference bag Materials will differ from country to country (having in mind local approach). Materials will be bilingual (English and local language), and all materials will also be available online after each Forum (hence providing youth from other countries – or to those unable to attend the Forum – insight in country-specific practices and case studies). Overview and notes from each Forum will
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also be available online after each Forum, sharing more details and discussion notes.
PROJECT DELIVERABLES An evaluation will be done after each ECI Youth Forum. After the Forums attendees should be able to:
Recognize and define terms and concepts discussed at the Forum (climate change, carbon footprint, renewable energy, sustainable living and similar) Identify way of positive action with regards to the topics discussed a/ acting positively and environmentally responsible as an individual; b/ acting positively and environmentally responsible as a part of a community; c/ acting positively and environmentally responsible as a part of an organization
Recognize the impact of mainstream media, social networks and viral marketing in the process of raising awareness of people on a certain issue
Identify ways of involving community or an organization into positive action Recognize the benefits of exchanging information, appreciating local perspective and sharing of experiences and practices
Recognize the ways of positively impacting local communities while being part of a global process
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ECI Youth Forums _____________________________________________________________________________________
ABOUT NEKTARINA NON PROFIT Nektarina Non Profit was founded in 2009, and its primary focus is education about environmental issues and inspiring people to get actively involved in positive action regarding those issues. Our educational projects include areas of climate change, GHG emissions reduction, renewable energies and sustainable living. We are particularly focused on promoting low carbon travel options, recycling and low carbon lifestyle. In 2009 Nektarina partnered with Global Campaign for Climate Action (www.gc-ca.org) and their public campaign TCKTCKTCK (http://tcktcktck.org), raising awareness and building momentum in the Western Balkans before the Copenhagen Climate conference. At the same time we launched our Evergreen Campaign, providing extracurricular activities in elementary schools. Activities included creative expression of the pupils (visual essays) on topics of climate change and the impact it has on the environment, multimedia educational presentations on climate change , and other offline interaction (games with environmental themes, tree planting and similar). In 2010 Nektarina continued with its EverGreen project, collaborating with over 1,000 schools in 6 countries of the Balkan region. From January till May 2010 we carried out over 100 hours of educational workshops and interactive classes, where pupils could learn more about recycling, saving energy, composting, pollution. In May 2010 Nektarina Non Profit became an official hub for 24 countries (Albania, Greece(EU), Montenegro, Belarus, Israel, Poland (EU), Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Romania (EU), Bulgaria (EU), Latvia (EU), Russia, Cyprus (EU), Lithuania (EU), Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia (FYROM), Slovakia (EU), Egypt, Malta (EU), Slovenia (EU), Estonia (EU), Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine) for the 10:10 global campaign on carbon reduction. From June till December 2010 we have created of network of 10,000 schools across 3 continents, and our work included over 40 volunteers. We successfully carried out the campaign in different cultural and economic surroundings, adapting to local customs and way of life, while www.nektarinanonprofit.com
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staying on track with globally agreed goals. Our work gained support from municipalities and ministries across 24 countries, and all our activities were focused on educating, connecting and inspiring communities to take action on reducing carbon footprint, and share their measurable results with others, inspiring thus more positive change. In 2011 Nektarina Non Profit continues to work as a 10:10 hub for 24 countries, adding more schools and small local NGOs to our community in 24 countries. We are proud to say that the area we cover as a 10:10 hub spreads across three continents, has close to half a billion people, and includes Orthodox countries, Muslim countries and Catholic countries – yet we all work together towards the same goal – reducing GHG emissions. In March 2011 Nektarina Non Profit added another partnership to its CV – we partnered with Earth Day Network, and committed to help them with Billion Acts of Green campaign (that is building the momentum for the UN Rio Summit). To our network of 24 countries we have added 6 more countries: Armenia, Georgia, Kazahkstan, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic and Hungary, where we continue to build our network of schools and other educational organizations, while inspiring wider demographics to take positive (measurable) action, like recycling, tree planting, carbon reduction and similar. In the past 12 months Nektarina Non Profit organized planting of over 100,000 trees, schools in our network recycled over 29 tons of paper, PET and cans, and achieved 15,000 tons of direct reductions of carbon emissions. Nektarina Non Profit has also contributed by building the sense of the community, creating momentum and creating the positive approach towards climate change issues. We have contributed strongly to the objectives of the Sixth Environment Action Programme, in particular in the following areas: encouraging voluntary commitments, helping citizens to benchmark and to improve their environmental performance, improving the quality of the education on the environment and information provided.
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