CSO: Regionales Umweltbildungszentrum Hollen e.V.
Area: Climate Justice / Climate change
Location: Delmenhorst, Bremen, Landkreis Oldenburg (with nationwide outreach)

Type of project

The project aims to enable staff in social youth work in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods to integrate “climate change” and “climate protection” into their everyday work with young people

Many young people growing up in precarious financial circumstances in disadvantaged neighbourhoods often do not perceive climate issues as “their” topic, and that climate protection is sometimes framed as ideology rather than scientific necessity. At the same time, their everyday lives and futures are directly affected (e.g., energy prices, health, food, mobility). The project responds by connecting climate topics to young people’s lived realities, presenting them in an understandable, practical way based on scientific facts, and highlighting the global dimension.

Target

The primary target group is young people aged 15–25 from families in precarious financial circumstances living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The project also relies on ongoing contact with the city of Delmenhorst’s coordination office for community work (GWA), which centrally coordinates neighbourhood offices.

Science – Based

The project aims to strengthen trust in scientific evidence by linking climate knowledge directly to young people’s everyday contexts. It draws on current scientific data on climate change, energy, health, and global resource flows and impacts, and prepares these in workshops in an accessible, visual, and everyday-relevant way. The project emphasises the use of verifiable facts, simple models (e.g., greenhouse effect, CO₂ budget, energy flows, global impact chains), and small experiments to make scientific relationships tangible.

Gender

Gender justice is described as an integral part of “KlimaChance.” The project is explicitly aimed at all young people regardless of gender/identity and seeks to create learning spaces in which FLINTA* are visible, involved, and strengthened. In developing materials, attention is given to non-discriminatory language as well as diverse examples and representation.

Planned activities

• An innovative workshop concept (“KlimaChance – understanding climate in one’s own everyday life”) is developed and tested for social youth work centres; the workshop is piloted/implemented at least 10 times in youth and neighbourhood centres. 
• A practice-oriented training concept (“Climate education in social youth work”) is developed, focusing on the “KlimaChance” workshop concept. 
• Online trainings are carried out with neighbourhood centres.

Action model

The project logic is that youth work staff in disadvantaged neighbourhoods are equipped with a tested workshop format and a training concept so that climate change and climate protection can be embedded into regular youth work practice. Scientific evidence is made persuasive by translating current data into accessible, visual, everyday-relevant learning, using verifiable facts, simple models, and experiments, and by linking local realities (e.g., health, energy, mobility) with global interlinkages. Replication potential is created through the development and repeated piloting of the workshop (at least 10 times) and through online trainings with neighbourhood centres