Youth for Climate Action

Empower young voices to drive climate policy changes through EU mechanisms and platforms.

🌍 Youth for Climate Action - What can you do before you’re allowed to vote? A lot.

A European week of learning and action on sustainability, climate policy, and civic engagement

📍Leuven / Ghent / Antwerp

⏱️ days

👥EUnited.Brussels, in partnership with high schools and universities across Europe

🎯 What is the programme about?

Youth for Climate Action is not a class, a conference, or just another group project — it’s a space where students like you come together to ask real questions about the world we live in. Why are climate policies slow to change, even when the science is clear? Who gets to decide how we respond? And what can young people actually do when decisions are made in Brussels, Berlin or Bucharest?

Over five days, you’ll dive deep into the way climate change affects lives, systems, and politics — from your street to the European Parliament. You’ll learn how the EU designs environmental laws, how misinformation spreads, and how real people turn frustration into civic action. Through visits, teamwork, simulations and direct exchange with professionals, you’ll experience what it means to be a citizen in a time of global challenge.

This programme is for students who want more than awareness — it’s for those who want to connect knowledge to action. You’ll leave with more than a certificate: you’ll leave with a clearer voice, a wider network, and the confidence to start something — no matter how small — that makes sense, that matters, and that begins with you.

The programme takes place in some of Belgium’s most vibrant and student-friendly cities — Leuven, Ghent, or Antwerp. These are not just beautiful places full of history, culture and energy — they’re also hubs of innovation, sustainability, and European thinking. Whether you’re walking through the medieval streets of Ghent, exploring a green campus in Leuven, or discovering creative districts in Antwerp, you’ll feel part of something bigger: a European experience that mixes learning with exploration, curiosity with connection. It’s not just about what you learn inside the room — it’s also about where you are, who you meet, and how much it inspires you to look at the world differently.

👥 Who is it for?

High school students aged 15–18
University students (Bachelor’s or early Master’s level) from any EU country
Passionate about the environment, climate justice, EU affairs, innovation or civic leadership

📘 What will your week look like?

From the very first day, you’ll be part of a European experience designed to challenge how you think, feel, and act about the climate crisis — not just as a scientific issue, but as one of democracy, justice, and the future of our societies.

Programme overview – key daily themes

Day 1 – What is climate change and why does it matter?

The first day is about grounding ourselves — not just in facts, but in perspective. You arrive in a welcoming space, alongside other. Some of you are still a bit shy, others already curious and eager to speak up. What brings you together is not just your age or your school background — it’s the shared intuition that climate change is no longer a distant problem, but a defining part of your present and future.

We begin by unpacking what “climate change” really means. Through short, focused sessions and creative group work, you explore how rising emissions, global inequalities, and unsustainable consumption patterns interconnect. You measure your own carbon footprint — not to feel guilty, but to understand where change can begin.

There’s no lecturing, no memorizing — just real questions, real conversations, and space to think. You work in small, international teams to map out how climate impacts are already affecting different regions of the world. The message is simple: this is not just about science, it’s about people, politics, and choices.

In the afternoon, we take a guided visit to a cultural or educational space that tells the story of Europe’s environmental journey — how our societies have evolved, how laws were born from crises, and how public action can lead to change.

By the end of the day, you’re not just a participant. You’re part of a group that sees the climate crisis as a civic and democratic challenge. And that’s where everything starts.

Day 2 – What is the EU doing for the climate?

The second day takes you deeper into the political world. You learn how the European Union has become one of the strongest global actors on climate policy — and why that is not always easy or popular.

You explore the European Green Deal, the Fit for 55 package, and how policies like carbon border adjustment or sustainable agriculture are negotiated and implemented. In the afternoon, you meet a guest speaker — a policy advisor, researcher or EU official — who shares what it’s like to work on climate regulation from the inside. Their stories help you see that policy is not abstract — it’s human, strategic, and deeply political.

Day 3 – Civic action and climate responsibility

By now, your questions are sharper. You’ve seen what governments can do — but what can citizens do? How do we influence policy when we’re not voting yet?

On this day, you participate in a simulation of a public consultation — you read real legislative texts and prepare a contribution to the Commission’s platform, “Have Your Say”. You learn how protests, petitions, citizen assemblies and youth-led campaigns have shifted the agenda in recent years. You visit or meet (online or in person) an environmental NGO, and hear firsthand what it takes to keep climate justice on the table when political interest fades.

Day 4 – Green innovation and local action

By now, you’ve seen how policies are made, how activism shapes agendas, and how misinformation can blur the truth. But today is different — it’s about you. About what you would do, if you had the chance. And now, you do.

The day starts with a challenge: in teams, you’re asked to imagine and design a small-scale solution to a real climate issue. It can be something for your school, your neighborhood, your university, or even your online community. A local awareness campaign, a zero-waste cafeteria project, a podcast, an urban mobility idea — the form doesn’t matter as much as the purpose: make it concrete, make it meaningful.

But before you dive in, we take you to see how others are already doing it. You will meet with people already involved in fighting climate change for a dose of real-world inspiration. You ask questions, take notes, challenge ideas. You start to see how sustainability isn’t just a buzzword — it’s being built, right now, by people not so different from you.

Back at the workshop space, the energy shifts. You brainstorm, sketch, debate. Roles emerge naturally: one leads, one researches, one designs, one keeps the timing. Mentors check in, offer tips, help you clarify your message. You’re no longer thinking about the climate crisis — you’re working through it.

As the day ends, each team has a project outline, a name, a purpose — and a story to tell. Tomorrow, you’ll tell it.

Day 5 – From ideas to action

On the final day, the atmosphere is electric. Each team presents their idea — and it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown. Peers give feedback, mentors comment, and everyone feels just a bit bolder than when the week began.

In the last session, you reflect: what do I take home from this? What can I actually change in my environment? You leave with a certificate, yes — but also with a voice that’s stronger, a network that’s wider, and a purpose that’s clearer.

You become part of the network, with future opportunities for collaboration, alumni meetings, and real contributions to EU consultation platforms.