Youth Environmental Expedition – Into the Future

Children & youth

Oct 22

Who: Natur og Ungdom (Nature and youth)

What: Ungdommenes Miljøskute (Youth Environmental Expedition)

Where: Norway

Project period: 2022-2024

Between 26 June and 16 July, over 120 young people from all over the country will take part in the project Ungdommens Miljøskute (Youth Environmental Expedition). The participants will take part in an expedition with the school ship Sørlandet along the coast. They will sail from Kristiansand to Ålesund, from Ålesund to Fredrikstad and visit the coastal towns along the way. Through the project, the young people will experience mastery and community by participating in the exciting work on board the ship, while learning at the same time about nature, climate and environmental challenges and the solutions to them. Miljøskuta will have a major focus on sustainability, especially the UN's sustainability goals for oceans, and learn about how to use your commitment locally and nationally. The expedition will train these young participants to be climate and environmental ambassadors in times where that commitment is more needed that ever.

The purpose of the project is to create greater knowledge about the climate and environmental crisis, as well as teaching the participants how to use their climate commitment. A central part of the project is to give young people faith in the future in a debate that is largely characterized by determinism, climate anxiety and absence of political will. That is why we want through schooling and practice teach the participants to express themselves politically, organize events and participate in democracy. At the same time, the participants will experience mastery and a sense of community by working together at sea and sharing exrtraordinary exeriences . Furthermore, we believe that this can be a starting point for young environmentalists all over Norway to spread knowledge about environmental challenges and measures in their home counties.

Ungdommens Miljøskute will have both an academic program and a number of practical tasks the young people will learn on the ship. The academic program will focus on biological diversity, marine Resources and how this is affected by climate change, as well as democratic participation. The academics will largely have a practical approach, e.g. through diving, exploring the coast, litter picking, workshops and visits to educational intuitions and local businesses. The participants must also help organize debates and other youth-oriented events along the way in the various cities they visit, which can create an activity offer also for youth who do not participate on the ship. This will create a meeting point for young people, local community, decission makers, creaticity and action, just in the middle og the campaign before local election in the autumn. In addition, we want to emphasize nature experiences, outdoor life and that the participants should gain a strengthened understanding of the UN's sustainability goals for the ocean, and how valuable the ocean is. We have seen that there is a big connection between young people's knowledge of nature and their interest in taking care of it.

Ungdommens Miljøskute will give young people an opportunity to grow, experience mastery and unity, and understand their possibilities to influence their own future. We will also recruit young people who are struggling with mental health and loneliness after the pandemic, as well as create a summer vacation offer for young people whose family/guardian otherwise cannot afford or have the opportunity to go on holiday. By visiting the various towns along the way, young people can take part in parts of the trip. Our vision is that this expedition will have positive effects for both the participates and all people involved along the way.