<< Background >>Climate change, ecology and pollution are global issues. The EU is reacting with the “European Green Deal'' which aims to achieve climate-neutrality until 2050. In the first place political and economical measures are the key to achieve the mentioned benefits of this deal (fresh air, clean water, healthy soil and biodiversity; building renovated, energy efficient buildings; more public transport; cleaner energy; longer lasting products that can be repaired, recycled and re-used;etc.). However, the Green Deal also stresses the crucial role that education plays in reaching the goal of becoming climate neutral. Hence, it is not surprising that Environment and Climate Change is one of the priorities of the Erasmus+ Programme: “The Programme will therefore be a key instrument for the building of knowledge, skills and attitudes on climate change and sustainable development both within the European Union and beyond.” (E+ Programme Guide 2021, p. 9). The consortium is convinced that we as actors of non-formal youth work have the responsibility and ability to contribute to raising awareness and making a change on local as well as international level. Putting energy transition into practice, developing climate-neutral transport or shutting down coal-fired power plants don’t belong to our activities as civil society organisations. However, we can make another contribution. We identified the lack of awareness among the population as the main problem on a local level for environmentally-friendly behaviour, right in front of our doorstep.We can see waste-dumping, pollution, littering in urban and rural spaces, harmful building and mining projects, usage of plastic bags and single-use products, etc. The way the environment is treated shows too little sustainability and awareness about the importance of its protection. This has many negative effects. The cutting of trees for building real estate increases erosion and flooding; cars cause traffic jams, pollute the air and support health problems; the pollution of natural sites has a negative effect on tourism; the massive use of single-use products creates too much trash, especially plastic bags end up in rivers, lakes and the sea. Our consumption habits are speeding-up climate change, but at the same time we can make a change on individual level and support environmentally-friendly policies. We identified the lack of awareness as one big problem. The attitude towards the environment is important for all generations and concerns the whole society. We as civil society actors can play a crucial role in tackling this issue with our target group in order to achieve social change by conducting Green Youth Work. Under Green Youth Work we understand activities with a local target group that aims to a) raise awareness about environment and climate change, b) make a change with concrete actions in the local context, c) connect and involve relevant external actors, d) disseminate the activity results to reach a wider audience beyond the directly involved actors and e) to empower young people to be active members of civil society by acquiring necessary key competences.<< Objectives >>We want to implement this project with the following objectives:1.) Creating a Network of European Organisations who address climate change and establish Green Education in their youth work on local and international level2.) Capacity Building of the Partners and Exchange of best-practice in regards to methods of Green Education and environmentally-friendly practices in youth work3.) Forming 4 “Green Youth Work Hubs” in each participating country4.) Forming and training 4 national teams of youngsters “Climate Ambassadors” who will implement workshops, clean-up events, panel discussions, etc. on local level and publish the E-Magazine5.) Raising awareness on local and international level about climate change and environment6.) Publishing a monthly E-Magazine on topics related to “Environment” published online7.) Publishing a Strategy Paper on Green Youth Work8.) Involving relevant external stakeholders and creating synergies<< Implementation >>The project will start with a Kick-Off Meeting and will be attended by two representatives of each partner. It will consist of an advanced getting-to-know of the team members; introduction to the topic, discussion of the objectives; formulation and clarification of expectations and contributions; setting up the final working plan for the upcoming months, presenting each national PR and Visibility Plan; Involvement Strategy for the associated partners; confirming the selection criteria of the Climate Ambassadors and planning the selection process; setting milestones and interim targets as well as deadlines for specific project tasks; creating the Visual Identity and the Project Logo and planning the task division accordingly. At the end of the Kick-Off-Meeting all consortium members will have the same picture and vision and will know what to do in the next months. During Interphase I the national Climate Ambassador Teams will be assembled and the contacts to the associated partners and other stakeholders will be strengthened.The LTTA will serve to a) train the selected CAs during a common physical activity, b) Planning the E-Magazine that will be mainly filled and edited by the “Climate Ambassadors” (Title, Design, Working Process), c) Exchange of Best Practice: with which methods to address Environment and Ecology in Youth Work, d) starting the working process on the Strategy Paper and e) planning the local activities by the CAs in detail.During Interphase II the CAs will implement local activities according to the developed Action Plan and start to work on publishing the E-Magazine. The national coordinators will provide full support to the CAs. Besides, they will work on the Strategy Paper. The associated partners will be involved in all activities.The Multiplier Events will consist of 4 Sustainable Days in each participating country. They will have the character of a Fair and parallely at all participating organisations. It will serve as an opportunity to make the overall project visible, to present the project outcomes, to transfer the developed knowledge and skills to relevant stakeholders and to gather the associated partners. It will have the character of a Fair. It will start with a Keynote Speech of a public figure (for ex. politician, representative of the Ministry for Environment, Mayor, etc. suitable to each local context) and further contain the Presentation the Overall Project, the Partner Consortium and Erasmus+ Programme; Workshops for Kids how to upcycle, how to save water, how to create a cultivation box etc.; Presentation of the Strategy Paper; a designated Workshop for Youth Workers and Trainers/Teachers in which the topic “Green Youth Work” will be introduced alongside with concrete activities and methods that can be used by the audience with their target group; a Clothes Swapping Party and a Panel Discussion about relevant topic in the community with relevant actors (environmental activists, political decision makers, media representatives, teachers and trainers from the formal and non-formal sector, etc.). During the Evaluation Seminar the attendees will be evaluating the Interphase II (local activities by the CAs, networking and cooperating with the associated partners, creating the Strategy Paper), evaluating the national Multiplier Events (impact on local level, involvement of the associated partners and other external actors, opportunities to enlarge the network and connect the associated partners from each country to enhance synergies), planning how to maintain the E-Magazine after the end of the project lifetime, planning Follow-Up activities on a local level as well as on an international level.<< Results >>The overall project aims to achieve different outcomes.4 GREEN YOUTH WORK HUBS- each partner will establish a “Green Youth Work Hub” which will serve: a) as a source of information for those (youth workers, NGOs, schools, etc.) who are interested in new methodologies and tools for green youth work; b) coordinating and supporting the activities of the Climate Ambassadors; c) maintaining contacts and networking with relevant stakeholders; d) contributing to the project website; e) working in cooperation with the other HUBs on the STRATEGY PAPER; f) coordination with the other HUBs; g) organising the Multiplier Events.4 CLIMATE AMBASSADOR TEAMS- at each organisation a group of young people will be established: the Climate Ambassadors (CAs). These teams will implement activities on the local level that aim to raise-awareness for environmental topics and contribute to an environmentally-friendly development in the local community. These activities can be: organising workshops at the organisation, schools, youth clubs, etc.; clean-up events; film screenings; panel discussions with relevant actors, creating a community garden; establishing a self-repair workshop; etc. E-MAGAZINE - this monthly online publication will be produced by the CAs and contain topic-related articles and interviews from the local community (reports about an ecological topic; interview with activists, politicians, NGOs; articles about environmental initiatives, etc.); videos or instructions on how to up-cycle; reports about the local activities; tools for Youth Workers).ACTIVITIES ON LOCAL LEVEL- these activities will be organised and implemented by the CAs in cooperation with relevant external actors and interested young people from the community. Examples for this sort of activity were described above.4 SUSTAINABLE DAYS - these days will serve as Multiplier Events during which a) the overall project and E+ will be presented, b) the local activities and CAs will be presented, c) a workshop for youth workers, trainers and teachers will be implemented on methods for Green Green Youth Work, d) workshops on up-cycling; clothes swap parties; panel discussionPROJECT WEBSITE: the website will contain general info about the project, funding and partner consortium; tools and methods for green youth work; the e-magazine, events and activities and the latest developments of the project courseSTRATEGY PAPER: The Strategy Paper on Green Youth Work will introduce the topic to interested parties, such as NGOs, Youth Workers, Teachers, Trainers, School, Youth Clubs, City Halls and Municipalities, etc. It will present the current academic discourse and the situation in the participating countries which give an insight into different realities and situations in Europe and beyond. Besides, concrete methods for Green Youth Work will be presented that can be used for local youth work.AWARENESS-RAISING: a non-tangible outcome will be the raised awareness about the topic among youth workers, the target group, stakeholders and in society. (how to measure?)CAPACITY-BUILDING OF THE CONSORTIUM: the partners will gain valuable skills and knowledge about the topic that will empower them to implement more activities and and design new ones. All partners will benefit from the close cooperation, the fruitful exchange and future cooperation. The integration of external partners and stakeholders into the project will consolidate their position especially in the local context. Synergies will develop and increase the impact on the local level.LEARNING OUTCOME OF YOUNG PEOPLE: the young people involved will develop their Sense for Entrepreneurship, Initiative and for Civil Activism. During the local activities and the dissemination they can carry these learning outcomes also to other young people in the local context. These are valuable experiences that will accompany and empower the young people also beyond the project lifetime.