Adult Climate Education

Climate change and social exclusion are inextricably linked, and as the effects of the climate change increase,it will become increasingly difficult for the societies to eradicate exclusion of the fewer opportunities groups as they will also be those most affected by the climate consequences.

Moreover, EPALE kicked-off the year 2020 with an official message regarding the role of education in increasing the environmental awareness of adults, highlighting that they shall urgently become factors of change and role models in the universal fight against Climate Change. Addressing it should also take more than just technology and science and rather a holistic approach encompassing education and social issues as a crucial element for the achievement of successful results. UNESCO also highlighted that the role of social and human sciences is not equally treated as other aspects that contribute to shape climate change solutions. Therefore, we must stop considering it as something separate from society or
even individuals ́ ACTIONs and emotions because they are truly intertwined as complex social-ecological systems and development will never be sustainable without further increase of understanding of environment’s role for our survival and well-being, and vice-versa.

How thus to engage adult learners in Climate change related initiatives with innovative social aspects? Adult education organisations are called to design new pedagogical approaches to increase the participation and awareness of adult learners and, therefore, as social actors and citizens we all need to build adaptive capacity, resilience and effective and practical everyday solutions.

Our Strategic Partnership took the above into consideration and was designed to bring significant improvement of professional competences for members of our 3 partner organisations (British Creativity Works Preston, Spanish NGO and training centre PASOS ( Platform of Sustainable and Solidarity Solutions) and Polish NGO Oczy Szeroko Otwarte) and other adult trainers and entities wishing to establish Climate Change related contents as it is a high time for this topic to be introduced as a transversal axe in any NGO regardless of its scope of work.

The objectives of the our project called ACTION (Adult Climate EducaTION), are therefore the following:

-We wish to exchange and generate transversal knowledge for adult trainers from non-formal and in-formal education field.
-We plan to create materials in the field of adaptation to climate change for the above group, including practical work methods and its social aspects such as climate change and emotions, climate change and gender, climate change and the intrculturality or climate change and ethics.
-We want to reinforce the notion of individual responsibility among adults in order to promote responsible behaviour.
-We will support awareness and action on climate change through the creation and dissemination of related materials and events.
-We strive for building NGOs ́ capacity and cooperation among entities.
The following main activities were designed in order to achieve the objectives: there will be 3 organizational project meetings and the best practices exchange through 3 LTTAs, each in one partner country. The intellectual work and testing stage undergone will have as a result the joint creation of an interactive guide on transoforming eco-anxiety into eco-ACTION, its edition and translation to languages of our partner entities, Polish and Spanish. Its further distribution and dissemination will involve 3 multiplier events and the opportunity for stakeholders and attendees to receive guidance on implementation of our IO. Moreover, internal workshops will be carried out for our NGOs ́ staff and ACTION Groups for disadvantaged adults will be organised by the trained adult trainers.

As for some of the project ́s impact we believe that the project will help with reaching higher social participation through leading adult trainers to improve their way of interaction with adult learners who often show much scepticism towards the climate change action. We especially hope to reach the most disadvantaged groups, including the elderly. The elaboration of the IO in a transnational Partnerships will show that climate change topic, research, action and collaboration has no boundaries and, even more, that it is required as a mind shift in a global scale, no matter the country. This may produce a positive impact when it comes to other individuals or nations perception as an identification of a common goal, a priority and characteristic that unites us all, rather than separates. Moreover, the international community has already recognised the importance of climate change education as in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change the 197 parties commit to “the development and implementation of educational and public awareness programmes on climate change and its effects”, on national and international levels.

According to the EC article from the January 2020, over the last three decades, more than 10 million people have participated in Erasmus+ and its predecessors and for many of them, it turned out to be a life-changing experience, especially for those less privileged. This is why we are strongly committed to involve this project disadvantaged participants from each organisation in order to mitigate their economic, social, cultural, geographical and educational barriers as much as possible. We also want them be equally engaged in the running of the project yet being able to count on the more experiences staff support, guidance and preparation (described in the following 2 questions).

As project leaders, they will be responsible for the proper performance of the tasks, monitoring it and making sure the compromises and deadlines are met. They will also respond for the implementation of activities described in the preparation stage (section ‘Preparation’). If they face any problems or difficulties due to their obstacles while performing their tasks, they will be fully supported by their teams and other partners ́ leaders as we perceive the project as teamwork and joint opportunity to learn from each other not only about climate change best practices but also management, leadership, conflict resolutions and other important transversal skills.
Similarly, dissemination managers will be responsible for managing dissemination tasks, its quality, creativity and necessary audience. They will also interact with the public through social media and be involved in preparation of Multipliers events.

In addition, adult trainers from our entities will take part in producing our IO through sharing their own experience of working with adult learners, community building work and overcoming obstacles. They will analyse the methods and tools of informal learning and engaging in climate adaptation actions during the course in Spain and will also test the methods contained in the IO during pilot testing stage organised for adult learners and trainers from outside of Partnership. Through these actions, disadvantaged participants will gain greater comfort at international work, will be able to gradually overcome language, cultural, emotional or educational barriers and significantly improve the atmosphere in their workplace. Testing stage: it will take place after the creation of the first final version of the IO and will consist of testing the knowledge, skills and methods during short meetings with local learners.

Adult trainers will be constantly supported in this task by our more experienced staff in order to obtain the fullest possible assessment of the interactive book developed and making all the necessary corrections based on their feedback. Workshops for the staff: they will involve the practical transfer of skills and knowledge acquired during the study visits, course in Spain and the intellectual work for our entities ́ adult
trainers who did not directly participate in them.

ACTION groups: on the one hand, they will provide practical experience for project participants in implementing the acquired competences, and on the other, an opportunity to directly involve adult learners, and especially those at risk of exclusion and with fewer opportunities, in the climate change related actions run in an informal way. According to the European Commission, social inclusion is the process of self-realisation within a society and acceptance and recognition of one’s potential by social institutions and integration (through study, employment, volunteer work or other forms of participation) in the web of social relations in a community which is why besides the IO and international study visits, we would like to offer our adult learners another, local form of action and realisation.

Moreover, many people with fewer opportunities will benefit from the project even without direct involvement in it a adult trainers who will receive the interactive book will be able to use the acquired knowledge and contribute to sharing their experience, as well as to further transfer and dissemination of acquired skills. They will also be offered a practical guide on how to run their own Action Groups and implement Climate Change aspect into their work and their entities which will create a chain effect of education and action. Approximately 2.500 people will be informed about the results of the project through 200 entities or trainers and staff from non-formal education entities. (We estimated this number based on the social
profiles of our 3 partners and the characteristics of the target groups. We will also disseminate the project through the Erasmus Results platform or EPALE, reaching many other
European adults and adult trainers ́ entities).

3 international project meetings will be held:

1. International project meeting in Spain (Kick off)
2. International project meeting in Poland (intermediate assessment)
3. International project meeting in the UK (final assessment)
Each of them will last 2 days and will be attended by 2 people: project leaders and dissemination managers of our 3 organizations. We consider the participation of coordinating team to be important because they are responsible for the proper performance of the tasks assigned, the deadlines, quality, budget and the general correct implementation.

In addition, due to the need for a wide dissemination of the project, the participation of dissemination managers will also be important to achieve the intended impact.

The list of participants:

CWP: Steven Egan and Anita McGreevy
PASOS: Magdalena Amanowicz and Inmaculada Vidal
OSO:Kama Kepczynska-Kaleta and Mariola Kaniewska
– In November 2020 the kick off meeting will take place in Spain.
The goal of this meeting will be to:
-review and introduce possible adaptation of the work plan, division of tasks assigned to each partner and deadlines for their implementation.
-have an opportunity for the official inauguration of the project and a personal meeting with the representatives of the teams from other organizations
-evaluate the preparatory stage of the project,
-set tasks to be carried out at the next stage of the project (mainly to prepare best practices exchange),
-Steven Egan will also give a presentation on the proper management of the budget and the proper justification of the expenses incurred.,
-have a questions and answers session and overview the whole plan for the next 2 years of joint work.

– In the middle of the project (October 2021) there will be a second project meeting in Poland.

The goal of this meeting will be to:

-conduct an assessment of the first part of the project (the first part of dissemination, preparation and assistance for selected participants, organization and implementation of training
activities and exchange of good practices),
-do a summary of work on the IO realised so far,

-evaluate the communication and any problems that may have occurred so far,
-review the plan of the second part of the project, with particular regard to issues related to the work on the IO,
-use the SWOT technique to detail the current strengths and weaknesses of the project and its main opportunities and threats. The SWOT analysis will also be used to re-discuss dissemination strategies if needed.

– At the end of the project (August 2022) we will meet in UK.

The goal of this meeting will be to:

-run the evaluation process, including such aspects as work within each stage of the project, the level of achievement of objectives and results, and the observed level of satisfaction and assimilation of knowledge and skills among both project participants and and by other adult trainers and organisations that could not benefit directly from it but have a free access to the IO.
-discuss the possibilities of further cooperation in the field of linking climate change with social inclusion and adult work innovation,
-discuss the internal workshops inside of our organisations and work plan within Action Groups outside our organisations.
-summarise the multiplier events held and draw conclusions from them analysing the degree of interest and commitment,
-review responsibilities of each organisation regarding the participation and documents necessary to prepare the final assessment and final report of the project.

The IO (̈EARTH CALLING:TRANSFORMING CLIMATE CHANGE SCEPTICISM OR FEAR INTO INCLUSIVE ECO-ACTION) will be produced with the use of the collaborative research and writing methodology which is a method of creative work where diverse groups interact resulting in completing tasks and reaching a common goal.In our case, most of the work can be further described either as Parallel writing, where each team does one part of the whole book and then the people in charge comply it, or Stratified Division writing where each team plays a role in the final composition process of a project due to their characteristic and talents. This methodology is based on 3 necessary elements to make the distributed work process function:
1.Interaction between participants (whether debating, creating a draft or reviewing).
2. Shared power (everyone involved has the power to propose solutions and participate in brainstorming and decision making).
3. The collaborative production of one single text (which will be our interactive book in this case), which will be achieved by the following tasks and its distribution:
Tasks in preparation for the creation of IO
1.LTTAs will be a key element in the project as all the knowledge and tools exchanged will be the basis for the creation of our interactive book, according to their expertise.
2.Also, each one will be in charge of hosting 1 LTTA and preparing and sending their participants for the other ones, monitoring their achievements and learning process and progress
.
Tasks during the creation of the IO

1.Transferring best practices, working methods and useful guidelines that already proved to be effective in our organizations in terms of working on inclusion of adult learners and promoting environmental action. This stage is thought for all 3 entities and will be performed after the study visits and the course in Spain. CWP will be in charge of storing all generated materials and information in Google Drive.

2.Research.
The further researches will be conducted to identify sources of data, statistics or materials outside of our Partnership and be able to produce a high quality book ́s content.
The 3 partners ́ technicians and adult trainers will communicate between each other through a Whatsapp or Skype and Gmail group created in order to share information and progress. The project leaders will be also present and coordinating.

3.Creation of the IO.
Based on the further 2 stages, we will proceed to the formulation of the contents of the book, starting with the text. Although the work will be interlinked and the team members will be supporting each other, the division of the main responsibilities will be as follows (based on the partners ́ main experiences):
Chapter 1-2 CWP
Chapter 3-4-5: OSO
Chapter 6-7: PASOS
Chapter 8-9: CWP
Chapter 10 -11 PASOS
Chapter 12-13-14-15: Together with the supervision of CWP

4.Documenting of the process.
Partners will be writing and sharing all the information created and gathered in an understandable way, working in English in order to provide a coherence and continuity when it comes to the style, etc.

5. Scanning and correcting:
The chapters ́ proposals will be shared and corrections will be done by the leaders and other team members. After the final validation of the leaders of the 3 partners, and Steven Egan as the main leader, each chapter will be incorporated into a draft of an interactive book.

6.Interactive layout ́s design.
PASOS Graphic Team will be mostly in charge of giving the book a best form to make it attractive to our target groups by ensuring that the aesthetics, typography, hierarchy of the information or the composition is chosen in a coherent way and accordingly to the target group. They will also elaborate charts and iconography based on the information provided in order to enrich the design and make easy to use.

7.Testing

Pilot workshops will be done by the participants of the LTTAs and adult trainers involved in the IO ́s creation supported by our 3 teams. During this activity participants will be
familiarised with the book ́s proposal and will invite local adult learners to a practical workshop based on the content and guidelines from the IO. The feedback will be crucial for us.

8.Corrections
We will proceed to introduce any necessary changes to the IO ́s proposal based on the results of the pilot workshops. Each of the 3 leaders will be in charge of revising the final versions not only of their own team, but also checking the final version as a whole.

9.Translations and final edition and revision
The final English version will be translated into Polish and Spanish. Similarly, graphic designers will adapt each one to the layout.

10.Publication, dissemination and sustainability
Further tasks to be completed after the IO ́s publication are listed in the Dissemination section and community managers will be in charge of it.

C1 – 3 day study visit in the United Kingdom

The objectives of this activity are:
-To comprehend better the approach and difficulties suffered by adults when addressing climate change.
– To understand the best practices carried out by CWP to empower adults.
-To transfer best practices and techniques regarding climate change, circular economy, media innovation and adult work carried out by CWP.
-To visit relevant local entities who work on sustainability and climate change and engage with adults belonging to disadvantaged groups.

C2 – 3 day study visit in Poland

The objectives of this activity are:
-To comprehend better the method of social inclusion of people with disabilities through climate change actions and best practices in non-formal and informal education carried out by
OSO to empower adults, especially those belonging to vulnerable groups
-To comprehend the intergenerational aspect and what the elderly can contribute with when it comes to the climate change action
-To visit relevant local entities who work on sustainability and climate change and engage with people belonging to disadvantaged groups

C3 – 7 day course in Spain

The main objectives:
-To share the best practices and techniques regarding the environmental actions and local initiatives projects with ecological approach.
-To transfer the new methodologies and tools to adult trainers and learners
-To run and live in a practical way the 7 Days Challenge that will be a part of our IO (the reason this LTTA is longer than the previous ones)

Multiplier 1 day conferences in the United Kingdom, Poland and Spain.

The main goals of the conferences are:

– dissemination of the IO and the project,
– getting interest from other entities and adult trainers towards our methods of working with adults in the context of climate change,
– establishing contacts and collecting implementation commitments,
– improving the ability to organise events on a large scale by project participants.

It is estimated that at least 40 people will participate, consisting of:

-Adult trainers, social workers, therapists, educators, teachers linked with CWP
-Representatives of other non-governmental organisations working with adult learners and social activists
-Local authorities (invitations will be issued)
-Local press
-Associated partners

GO1. To exchange and generate transversal knowledge in the field of adaptation to climate change for adult trainers from non-formal and in-formal education sector.
SO1.1 To transfer best practices on the climate change awareness with social aspects ((such as circular economy, adults ́ activism, creation of new tools, especially for media and dissemination, climate change and gender and intercultural perspective) from CWP and other local entities.
A1.1 Organising a 3 days long study visit in the UK.
R1.2 Having formed and empowered adult trainers.
SO1.2 To transfer best practices in adult work and social inclusion (such engaging adults with disabilities, transgenerationality and climate change, non-formal methods, etc) from OSO and other local entities.
A1.2 Organising a 3 days long study visit in Poland.
R1.2 Having formed and empowered adult trainers.
SO1.3 To transfer best practices in environmental actions (zero waste approach, green entrepreneurship, eco-anxiety and emotional management and 7-days-challenge in practise, among others) from PASOS and other local NGOs.
A.1.3 Organising a 7 days long course in Spain on the best practices.
R.1.3 Capabilities improvement for adaptation to climate change and adult work including social inclusion.
GO2. To generate transversal materials in the field of adaptation to climate change for adult trainers from non-formal and in-formal education sector.
SO2: To create an interactive book (IO) regarding the adaptation to climate change for adult trainers from non-formal and in-formal education sector.
A2.1.Undertaking a working period for the further research regarding the book.
A2.2 Undertaking a working period for the joint creation of the book.
A2.3 Undertaking a testing period of the book through workshops involving adult trainers and learners before producing the final version of the book.
R2: Publishing interactive book ̈From eco-anxiety to eco-ACTION: how to transform scepticism or doubts into eco-empowerment and inclusion ̈.
GO3. To reinforce the individual responsibility among adults in order to promote responsible behaviour in relation to the consequences of climate change.
A3.1 Involving adults in the LTTAs and its dissemination .
A3.2 Involving adults in the testing period of the book (IO).
A3.3 Organising a series of workshops based on the methodology from the book for the adults in our local communities.
R.3 Adults informed and empowered in relation to the consequences of climate change and actions needed to adapt to it and improved their social inclusion.

GO4: To support awareness-raising and action on climate change through the development and distribution of dissemination materials and events.
SO4.1: To reach a broad public.
A4.1: Translation of the IO into Polish and Spanish.
R4.1: The IO not only in English, a working language of the project but also in 2 different European languages.
SO4.2 Sharing the project ́s advances and results.
A4.2: Designing and follow a dissemination strategy.
R4.2: Implementation of a dissemination strategy and organised 3 multiplier events and internal workshops.

GO5: To build intersectoral capacity and strengthen the cooperation among entities.
A5.1: Distributing the IO among other entities, both associated with the project and those from the outside of it.
R5.1.: Providing other entities with innovative materials.
A5.2.: Inviting other entities to Discussion Panels during the 3 Study Visits, to the IO ́s testing period, 3 multiplier events and Pilot workshops.
R5.2: Empowering other entities, create networks and give practical examples of the implementation of the proposed adult work strategies.

Besides, our project is also likely to produce other outcomes related to different areas from those presented above.
Adult trainers involved will improve their skills in the integration of adults with fewer opportunities through the best practices exchange, study visits and workshops. They will increase their capacity to produce educational materials and their skills as trainers and facilitators. They will get more experience in eco-related emotional management and implementing social initiatives, working at an international level, working in a foreign language and in a remote way managing different IT resources. The international character of the project will promote interculturality, diversity and tolerance and will reinforce the capacity to implement other Erasmus+ projects. Through the combination of the new knowledge and methods both adult trainers and learners will be able to become promoters of the social, emotional and environmental change in their communities, gaining motivation, , self-confidence and research, leadership and organisational skills.