Elefsina student conference - students from 7 European countries develop solutions for a climate-neutral city

Student conference in Elefsina – 300 students from 7 European countries develop solutions for a climate-neutral city

Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia – these are the countries from which over 300 pupils arrived in the Greek city of Elefsina on May 9. The “Pupils’ Conference on Transition to a Climate-Neutral Future” held here was the first conference of its kind and aimed to involve young people in the transition to climate neutrality. Giving children a say in shaping their own future is an important task of our time. Children and young people in particular feel increasingly threatened by the climate crisis and fear for their own future. This makes it all the more important to show them possible courses of action and provide them with tools that enable self-efficacy and participation.

At the conference in the European Capital of Culture, the pupils from the 23 participating schools spent three days working on solutions for a climate-neutral city and applied these in the context of walks through the city. Beforehand, the students had already developed action plans for climate neutrality at their schools in their home countries and studied the subject matter in detail. The opportunity to present these action plans to people from other countries and cultures and to exchange ideas enabled them to practise changing perspectives and at the same time raise awareness of different approaches to solving the same problem. Numerous workshops were held for the children on the topics of industry, buildings, the sea, waste, mobility, nutrition and many other fields of action. The groups, which were mixed internationally, drew up numerous proposals, which were formulated and presented in a joint letter to the mayor of Elefsina. The international exchange and the inclusion of different perspectives is a great opportunity for future urban development. In the coming months, the knowledge gained from the project will be passed on to local authorities, educational institutions and other European Capitals of Culture and networks.