Youth & Climate Education
Climate change impacts the lives and possibilities of today's youth in ways not experienced by previous generations. From adolescence through young adulthood youth are tackling their growth and education while living through climactic upheaval in a world in need of profound structural change. This creates a unwavering clarity of purpose and vision, making youth voices and choices central to building a climate-just world.
We believe the route to supporting youth in this era of climate change is through respecting their agency, developing their capacities, and promoting their collective efficacy. We prioritize youth-led initiatives that create purpose-driven, inclusive communities which build and share collective power to bring about change.
Through climate education 128 Collective supports youth in deepening their understanding of climate science and the systemic thinking needed for youth to accurately analyze a range of solutions and direct their efforts to effective action. We are excited by opportunities for youth to engage in local climate and environmental science as well as to develop their political education. Both elements are essential foundations for making the systemic and transformative change this moment requires.
We also recognize the fundamental need for young adults to have pathways to develop green career skills and leadership experiences, to create networks and cultivate individual strengths as a base for engaged citizenship and influential roles in the emerging green economy.
128 Collective' Youth Fellowships celebrate and support extraordinary young people who dedicate their creativity, skills, and energy towards creating transformative change. These insightful youth observe needs in their communities and develop solutions- not simply to the immediate problem but to the structural causes beneath. In doing so they cultivate inclusive new communities with collective power, shared in service to making just and meaningful change.
