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Description
The lack of awareness of the Romanian citizens regarding climate change is obvious in the last Eurobarometer of European Commission. This is a consequence of the fact that the authorities deal with this subject very superficially and they do not fulfil their assumed obligations on Climate Change Convention, respectively, the Strategy Action on Climate Empowerment was not developed, according to the Doha Program 2012. The consequence is that Romania does not have an educational policy on climate change, even that the Strategy and Action Plan for 2016 – 2020 stipulates these priorities.
We intend to increase the awareness level of about 20 000 citizens, of which about 5000 young people, on the causes and effects of climate change and to increase the education level of 2000 gymnasium and high school students and 200 pre-university teachers to think and act to promote efforts to reduce the causes and effects of climate change. In the same time we will advocate for the improvement of public policies on climate change education in Romania and we will monitor the implementation of climate change policies with the support of young students from partner university.
The beneficiaries of the project are approximately 2200 young people and 200 teachers trained on the topic of climate change. 95 volunteers will be directly involved in the project and 20,000 citizens will be informed.
We as lead partner will mainly deal with awareness raising, education and advocacy and our partners, Reper21 Association will be involved in the advocacy and education activities and our University partner will help in the development of public policies and awareness raising.
Summary of project results
The latest Eurobarometer from the European Commission highlights the lack of awareness among Romanian citizens regarding climate change. This issue stems from the authorities'' superficial approach and failure to meet their commitments under the Climate Change Convention. Specifically, the Strategy Action on Climate Empowerment, in line with the Doha Program 2012, has not been developed. As a result, Romania lacks an educational policy on climate change, despite the 2016–2020 Strategy and Action Plan prioritizing these initiatives.
The project included an analysis of the current situation, followed by organizing several awareness-raising activities, including climate evenings, teacher training, educational activities for children and young people, and the Young Ambassadors Competition. An advocacy campaign was also conducted, featuring the development of a public policy proposal, the Carbon Dinosaur awards for politicians who misrepresented climate change issues, and the creation of an educational curriculum on climate change. The project was implemented in partnership with the REPER21 Association and the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration. The partners added significant value through their contributions to education, advocacy activities, and the development of public policies in the education sector.
The project''s messages reached over 150,000 people. Key components included a sociological study on climate education in Romania involving 507 young people and the production of a mini-documentary titled "Climate Education Manifesto." Additionally, 553 people participated in 24 meetings, and 285 teachers were trained and certified through offline and online courses. An optional educational curriculum on climate change was developed for both middle and high school levels, with national accreditation for the middle school curriculum. Fifty-five teachers engaged 2,474 students, resulting in 383 entries in the Young Ambassadors competition, where 16 prizes and 16 honourable mentions were awarded. Ten students contributed to developing the Strategy and Action Plan for climate action involvement. Twenty public information requests were sent to the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment, National Agency for Environmental Protection, Environmental Fund Administration, and the General Secretariat of the Government, all of which were answered. Eight legislation monitoring reports were compiled, consultations were held with County Inspectorates, and political statements were monitored. The project benefited 2,975 young people, 285 teachers, and 110 volunteers.