The problem
For years, leaders have talked about tackling climate change, but real action is often missing. Many young people feel frustrated and left out of these conversations, even though climate change impacts their future the most.
Goals
Südwind’s initiative aims to give young people a real chance to be heard by decision- makers. The goal is to connect youth with political leaders, ensuring their ideas are included in discussions about climate justice. By creating opportunities for young people to share their innovative solutions, the initiative helps them play a key role in shaping a fairer and greener future within the European Union.
Approach
The project uses hackathons, which are creative events where people come together to solve specific problems. Youth organizations and individuals from all over Europe joined forces to brainstorm, share ideas, and develop solutions for climate justice. These ideas were presented to an international jury of seven politicians from different levels and groups.
The hackathon gathered 70 participants from diverse backgrounds. They worked in teams, refined their ideas, and presented them in short, impactful pitches—similar to the ones seen on popular TV shows like 2 Minutes 2 Million. This format made it easy to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
Features
The hackathon featured:
- Collaborative idea generation with youth participants from across Europe.
- A structured format for presenting climate solutions, inspired by entrepreneurial pitch formats.
- An international jury that evaluated proposals across various categories, awarding prizes to outstanding ideas.
- A platform to present winning proposals to EU Parliament decision-makers, ensuring direct communication of youth-driven solutions.
Lessons learned
This hackathon showed how powerful youth collaboration can be in tackling climate challenges. By creating a platform where young people’s voices were truly valued, the initiative proved that their fresh ideas and energy are crucial for solving big problems like climate change.
Find out more: https://www.suedwind.at/klimagerechtigkeit/klima-und-jugend/mit-jugendbeteiligung-gegen-die-klimakrise/
What you can do
If you’re into intense and creative teamwork, consider joining a beginner-friendly climate Hackathon close to where you live.