The
Project "Energy
Literacy for Youth" [ELY] is capacity
building for youth education that supports the skills and
abilities of young people to become active citizens in the
fields of climate change and renewable energy. Energy
literacy empowers individuals and communities to make informed
decisions regarding energy use, promoting sustainability,
and mitigating climate change. The
target groups are young people (18-25 years old), educators
and trainers, policy makers and general public. There will
be special focus on inclusivity, and diversity adressing
the knowledge gaps among youth in marginalised groups with
different socio-cultural backgrounds, disabilities, etc.
The ELY project is financially supported by the EU ERASMUS+
program.
Project partners
Open Plan Foundation (Poland,
project lead), MigLAB (Germany), YEE - Youth and
Environment Europe (Czech Republic), Dias Media Group
(Cyprus), and INFORSE-Europe.
Project
Area
The project is implemented in five countries - Poland, Czech Republic,
Cyprus, Denmark, and Germany - and will culminate in a final conference
in Brussels to share best practices, outcomes, and strategies for broader
adoption of the curriculum
Priority Topics:
Environment
and fight against climate change, active citizenship of young
people, youth entrepreneurship including social entrepreneurship,
inclusion and diversity in education and training.
Main
objectives:
- Research and understand the needs of the marginalised youth and the
existing barriers to become energy literate.
- Create and implement a comprehensive, accessible, joint curriculum
that enables active citizenship on the climate crisis and how it relates
to our energy needs.
- Increase access to inclusive and accessible online resources about
climate crisis and sustainable energy.
- Ensure the maximal and optimal outreach of the curriculum through training,
and dissemination activities.
Main
Activities are:
Mapping Needs for Youth' Energy
Literacy
Develop a research report that analyses the current state of knowledge
regarding climate crisis and sustainable energy production among young
people aged 18 to 25 in partner countries - thus assessing the needs
to be met by the ELY curriculum. This research will include participatory
community research methods to provide insights into the awareness
and understanding of young people on these critical issues.
Creating
a Curriculum for Energy Literacy
Design an innovative curriculum that integrates
scientific principles, technical knowledge, and democratic
pathways within the context of climate crisis and energy
production. While the exact content of the curriculum will
be defined during the collaborative work in this work package,
the following topics were pre-discussed by the partners during
consortium formation and will be included according to the
needs assessment:
- What is climate change? The
science introduction
- What are the effects of climate change on society: The climate
crisis: Climate Justice: Understanding the History and Presence;
Acknowledge, Act and Repair Historical Harms; Impact of Northern lifestyle
in the global north for the south; Ways into the future.
- What is the energy crisis? Energy
Resource Tensions; High Energy Consumption; Resource and material
consumption
- Technical answers to the energy crisis: Renewable
Energy; Energy efficiency and energy conservation;
Small-scale and local solutions for communities.
- Social Answers to the energy crisis:
Energy Democracies in Practice; Energy cooperatives
and communities vs. Transnational Energy Companies;
Just Transition.
- How to be active for the planet? Grassroots
and Critical Modes of Action; Democratic and
Participatory Principles.
Trainings
for Youth Energy Literacy:
- Train the Trainers targeting representatives
of organisations working with youth from diverse
backgrounds, including less privileged and
marginalised groups such as migrant communities
and social initiatives operating in economically
disadvantaged regions.
- Direct Trainings targeting youth from diverse backgrounds
(18-25), including less privileged and marginalised groups such as migrant
communities and social initiatives operating in economically disadvantaged
regions. These trainings aim to empower youth with fewer opportunities
to become active participants in climate change mitigation and sustainable
energy production initiatives.
Dissemination & Outreach
- Organise Decentral Energy Conferences. These
conferences will be organised in all partner countries
to bring together young people, youth educators, and
representatives from local stakeholders. The conferences
will serve as platforms for discussing the future of
energy production in each region, with a focus on energy
sources and sustainable practices. Participants will
have the opportunity to share knowledge, exchange ideas,
and explore potential solutions to energy challenges
facing their communities.
- Central ELY Conference in Brussels. This
conference will serve as a culmination of the
project, bringing together stakeholders from
across Europe to discuss key findings, share
best practices, and explore opportunities for
collaboration with at least 50 participants from
transnational. environmental and educational
NGOs, European Parliament Factions, European
Commission. The central conference will provide
a platform for presenting the results of the
project, including insights gained from the decentralised
conferences and other project activities It will
also offer networking opportunities and workshops
to further engage participants in discussions.
Target
groups:
-
Young People (18-25): This group includes adolescents
and young adults who are of school leaving or university
age. They are a key demographic for energy literacy education
as they represent the future workforce and decision-makers.
By educating young people about energy technologies, climate
change, and sustainability, we can empower them to become
informed and active citizens in the transition to energy.
- Educators and Trainers: This
group comprises teachers, instructors, trainers,
and education professionals responsible for delivering
energy literacy education and training programs.
- Young People, Educators and Trainers
from marginalised communities: These
communities include individuals facing socio-economic
disadvantages, ethnic minorities, migrants,
refugees, and people with disabilities. Marginalised
communities face barriers to accessing education
and training opportunities and are disproportionately
affected by energy related challenges such
as energy poverty and environmental degradation.
Our project aims to include these communities
in energy education and training initiatives.
We specifically target associations that
organise these communities with our train
the-trainers and direct training activities
to counteract the educational deprivation
effects.
- Policy Makers and Stakeholders: This
group includes policymakers at local, national,
and European levels, as well as other stakeholders
involved in energy policy development,
implementation, and advocacy. By engaging these groups, we aim to raise
awareness about the importance of energy education, influence policy
decisions, and promote the integration of energy initiatives into broader
policy frameworks.
- General Public: While not a specific demographic
group, the general public represents a broad audience that benefits
from increased awareness and understanding of energy issues.
Materials will be freely available online for the general public.
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Nuclear
Energy
Gender
Structural
Funds
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