Building a Future for Sustainability

Have you ever tried using lego bricks to come up with innovative, sustainable solutions? This is precisely what the participants of Building a Future for Sustainability got to do during this training course. Through the innovative learning method of Lego Serious Play, an approach that enhances creative thinking, reflection, and teamwork, the training course aimed to encourage youth workers and other individuals involved in organizations to develop sustainable and impactful projects.

Objectives:

In times of environmental crisis and climate change, this training course was implemented to empower youth workers to create sustainable youth projects based on the GreenComp: embodying sustainability values, embracing complexity in sustainability, envisioning sustainable futures, and acting for sustainability. At the same time, the participants gained experience with Lego Serious Play, equipping them to apply this method to various stages of project management and youth work in their local contexts. 

Participants:

The training course had a total of 32 participants (aged 18+), 4 from each participating country: Greece, North Macedonia, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Germany. Read more about their experience here and here.

Partners:

The partners of this project were Hellenic Youth Participation (Greece), Chance (Germany), Celjski Mladinski Center (Slovenia), Recreativity (Hungary), Fundacja Mlodzi Dla Europy (Poland), VulcanicaMente APS (Italy), Terrum (Croatia), Asociación Mil Gatos (Spain), Go Green (North Macedonia) and Hate Fighters Network (Serbia).

Activities:

The training course lasted eight days (including travel days) and was held at a hotel in Nea Makri, which included a connected seminar room. During this week, the following activities were conducted:

Day 1: Arrival and dinner.

Day 2: Getting to know each other and the key topics through name games, building lego towers and cars. Discussion about the GreenComp.

Day 3: Sustainability: green digital poster, introducing each other’s organizationg, sharing good practices. Project management: group work of SMART projects. Introduction to LSP.

Day 4: Different LSP activities; warm-up, building sustainable project in groups, presentation of projects.

Day 5: LSP and group identity: build yourself in a team, build each other.

Day 6: Developing sustainable projects in groups of 3-5 people using the SMART framework and GreenComp.

Day 7: Presenting the group projects. Evaluation and closing.

Day 8: Breakfast and departure. 

Results: 

In the last two days of the training course, the participants formed groups to develop sustainable project frameworks, defining objectives, methods, stakeholders, and risks. This resulted in the following project ideas:

Sun Rest: A project to create solar-powered benches on hiking trails that offer charging stations and rest spots, supported by an app showing bench locations and allowing social interaction.

Second Chance Runway: a project promoting circular fashion by connecting sustainable designers and youth to create second-hand outfits, culminating in a fashion show highlighting eco-friendly, affordable styles.

Plantasia: A tree-planting project on a university campus to boost biodiversity and support pollinators, enhanced by digital content to raise awareness about environmental protection.

New Taste for Waste: A project containing litter-collecting hikes with intergenerational participants, combining clean-up actions with educational workshops on waste reduction and creative reuse.

Let’s Save the Environment: an idea to create supermarket sections for soon-to-expire food at reduced prices, as well as food banks in the municipality, aiming to cut food waste and support the local community.

Mental Evolution: A project promoting mental health through outdoor activities, encouraging participants to reconnect with nature via workshops and apps featuring local wildlife information.

Intercultural summer camp: A camp for U.S. and Spanish youth to inspire future sustainability leaders through workshops and activities focused on environmental advocacy.

Here you can find the presentations for further insight.

The participants shared their experience, knowledge and new ideas with their organizations, in 2 local advisory meetings and one workshop per country. The virtual presentation at artsteps and padlet will remain available for anyone who would like to find out more about the project.

Building a Future for Sustainability was co-funded by the European Union and the Greek National Agency "Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation"    Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.