Building the community

Work on building the Education for Climate coalition started in December 2020.

The goal is to create a coalition, a working and evolving community.

Let us tell you what we did since then and what is coming up.

 

How we go about it – modelling the community

We want to understand all relevant education community members. We want to know your needs and requirements to co-create, shape and support the Education for Climate coalition. The goal is to come up with a working and evolving community model.

This includes the co-creation of an online community hub (linked to from this website later this year).
We do so in three stages of engaging with you:

1. Who is out there? Map, explore and identify relevant education stakeholders  
2. What do you think? Convene, discuss and align around coalition building blocks
3. How can we make a difference? Participatory design of the coalition

 

How the coalition takes shape

The coalition design is a participatory, co-created and iterative process. We asked teachers and students with their schools and networks as well as other education actors and existing initiatives to get involved.

With them, we seek to build the coalition by upscaling, supporting and promoting participatory and co-created education actions.

EU Survey and snowball mapping

On 10 December 2020, we opened an Education for Climate Coalition survey.

The survey invited the education community (teachers, students and other interested people) across the EU to tell us

• who they are
• what they do 
• how we can help them

Between 10 December 2020 and 31 January 2021, we received 576 contributions – that's commitment. Thank you!

Talking to ‘the makers’

In order to mobilise education experiences, knowledge and networks across the EU, we started by talking to ‘the makers’.

Based on the survey and our own mapping of education initiatives around the EU we were able to select and contact people to collaborate with. They were selected based on criteria guaranteeing a diversity of projects present in our co-design phase.

Those teachers, students and others involved in green education activities were the first to get invited to focus groups and workshops. There we began the work to co-design the coalition and to validate our prototype.

Focus groups and workshops

In a series of focus groups and workshops between March and June 2021 we co-defined

• why the community should exist and what it aspires to achieve
• what the community could add as value
• how the community could facilitate engagement in the future (through an online platform)

All these elements are part of a coalition design prototype launched at our first Education for Climate community gathering in June 2021.

Co-creation from the start

From the beginning, the education community informed, consulted and shaped the coalition.
These more than 80 core group ambassadors shared with us their

• stories, experiences and insights
• success factors
• main challenges
• education dreams

 

The community is calling!

We want to support the creation of a pan-European participatory community for education for climate.

A community that makes sense first and foremost for you - the education community actors and institutions (students, teachers, trainers and stakeholders across all levels and institution types).

With this community, we want to support you to inspire, develop and draw on innovative European education capabilities. Capabilities that can support the changes needed for a climate-neutral society.

Your active participation and engagement in the coalition is essential. Only with you, this emerging Education for Climate community can be a success – the community is you!

Still more to do 

There is still more to do to co-shape the community!

Your input is vital to create a participatory community that co-supports your innovative education activities.

We will continue our community work based on this prototype. From July until October, we invite you to a series of community-driven workshops.

This work will lead us to the first Education for Climate Day in November 2021 launching a collaborative online community space.

 

Register online for the workshops and events

 

The coalition design journey

1. December 2020
   The idea of the Education for Climate initiative is born

   We aspire to support the creation of a European participatory education community for climate led by teachers and students together with other educational actors.

2. January 2021
   Finding the first community seeds

   We launch an EU Survey and do a snowball mapping to identify participants and interests.

3. February 2021
   Starting the community planting

   The survey (576 contributions) and community ecosystem analysis informs our next steps and starts the community co-design phase.

4. March 2021
   The first sprouts of the community

   Focus Groups - to explore community stories and experiences we held discussions with 

   • students
   • teachers
   • education stakeholders
5. May 2021
   Fertilising our community seedling

   Prototype Workshops - for concrete actions to nourish the Education for Climate prototype we align on

   • shared long-term goals
   • community interactivity and content
   • participatory challenges
6. 22 June 2021
   The first community flower has grown

   The first community flower has grown: "The community is calling! First Education for Climate Gathering"

   The co-design conference brings together

   • all involved in the community’s co-design
   • all their invited peers
   • all having an interest in it

   Based on the co-design process, we want to

   • present community goals
   • highlight community stories
   • explore community challenges
7. November 2021
   The first community plant in full bloom

   We will invite the education community to join this first Education for Climate Day.

   On this day, we launch the social community platform and the first participatory challenges that have been co-created in the months before.