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Description
The vulnerability to climate change is unevenly distributed within communities, but also between them. Many small cities, in demographic, economic and socio-cultural decline, are even more vulnerable to them as they do not have the economic capital (money, assets), political (influence) and educational (competences) necessary to implement effective measures of adaptation. Even if the climate emergency is global, we will not all be equal in the face of fires, floods, heat waves, storms, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and local ecosystems. The project addresses this situation of "climate injustice", which risks deepening (already existing) inequalities and massively affecting national cohesion.
Aware that national structures and communities need to recover from the expected climate disruptions and variability, the National Strategy on Climate Change, 2016-2020, systematically uses the concept of "climate change resilience".
The project proposes an intervention based on the complementary experience of 4 NGOs: REPER21’ technical and educational experience in climate change, Terra Millennium III’ experience in climate policies, CDCD’ experience in non-formal education and working with young people and Declic’ experience in advocacy. The project equips young people and community actors from 12 small, declining cities with the capacity to lead their own communities from vulnerability to resilience. First of all, the young people raise awareness and contribute to the awareness of the community actors; then, they benefit from the diversified expertise of the NGOs to build their vision - that is, a range of scenarios regarding the resilient development / regeneration of their own communities; in the last phase of the project, it involves the local politicians and the representatives of the national institutions in the elaboration of a set of priorities that materialize the desired scenarios in immediate directions of action.
Summary of project results
The vulnerability to climate change is unevenly distributed within communities, but also between them. Many small cities, in demographic, economic and socio-cultural decline, are even more vulnerable to them as they do not have the economic capital (money, assets), political (influence) and educational (competences) necessary to implement effective measures of adaptation. Even if the climate emergency is global, we will not all be equal in the face of fires, floods, heat waves, storms, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and local ecosystems. The project addressed this situation of "climate injustice", which risks deepening (already existing) inequalities and massively affecting national cohesion.
Aware that national structures and communities need to recover from the expected climate disruptions and variability, the National Strategy on Climate Change, 2016-2020, systematically uses the concept of "climate change resilience".
The project acted in 13 vulnerable small urban communities – Sacele, Moinesti, Oltenita, Uricani, Lupeni, Targu Carbunesti, Turnu Magurele, Moreni, Tandarei, Campina, Urlati, Slobozia, Calarasi. Over 60 physical and online workshops with over 900 young people (in particular) and adults who made young people aware of climate change based on non-formal methods and, on the other hand, stimulated activism through intergenerational activities in order to build local community resilience and promote buen vivir ("to live well") in the respective communities. Four workshops brought together 79 young people and adults from the 13 communities to build a common vision on how their communities can develop in 2030 a city of Buen Vivir, vision that was afterwards adapted in each community within local workshops.
The complex intervention of the project had a special impact in awakening the desire for action among young people from vulnerable communities where climate action is not considered a priority. The project also contributed to the strengthening of climate action in the country, through a retrospective analysis of this action of the last 30 years, through the creation of a free educational resource (with a focus on Buen Vivir and scientific climate aspects) and through a Buen Vivir Manifesto and youth climate activism undertaken by an informal partnership of 13 NGOs.