From Youth Awareness to Action: The Case of The EIT Climate-KIC Young Innovators Program in Cyprus. In United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Report

Abstract

Sowing the seeds of ESD in K-12 school systems has been pivotal in creating the student move- ment of ‘climate strikes’ that have dominated international news across the globe. Students across Europe and the globe are aware of the climate emergency and are taking to the streets to demand action. Moving from awareness to action, Young Innovators, a pioneering program launched by EIT Climate-KIC, aims to empower young people to use systems thinking and climate innovation approaches in order to contribute to local and regional challenges faced by their community. The implementation of the pilot in high schools (12-18 year olds) in the Republic of Cyprus in 2020 is presented here, highlighting the effect this intervention had on teachers and students alike, as well as lessons learned for scaling up the program across ESD-related curricula in Cyprus.