One of our activities is the Krakow Climate Academy, which is a series of educational and cultural meetings for youth. The second edition has begun in September this year. The aim is to raise environmental awareness among young Krakow residents. The formula of the meetings has been prepared in a way that is interesting for the young audience, including attractive topics like new technologies as well as fashion. The concept of Krakow Climate Academy includes presentations of ecological films that won awards at Polish or international festivals. Afterwards, a discussion with creators, experts from the United Nations and also the Krakow municipality representatives responsible for sustainable development is held. During the meetings, we try to encourage young people to make environmentally friendly decisions. After the first edition, we were positively surprised by their commitment and willingness to learn, as they were asking interesting questions and showed inquisitiveness. In addition, the young people emphasized their concerns about the climate crisis, the future of the planet and also expressed their willingness to change their current habits.
The topics of the autumn edition of Krakow Climate Academy included:
- Green lies – Main questions: how to identify the actions of huge corporations by pro-ecological illusions? What kind of the cheating methods and greenwashing strategies are they using?
- Water ,,New Gold” – Main questions: how do artificial regulations of rivers affect the water crisis? how to prevent droughts and what kind of actions should we take to use less water?
- Addicted to consumption – Main questions: how to decrease the overconsumption in terms of food, clothing and electronics industries? What is the meaning of the conscious shopping and the zero-waste lifestyle?
- The future of nutrition – How big is the impact of meat and dairy products on the climate crisis and how to change that in the future?
Throughout the whole week in September, we were trying to convince residents to change their habits and choose alternative, ecological ways of traveling, such as walking, cycling, using public transport or carpooling. During this year’s edition, many activities like climate lessons took place, so that everyone could find something interesting. Additionally, the residents could learn how to safely move on the road by bike or scooter.
“I’m Eco in Krakow – use sustainable mobility. Take care of your health.” With this slogan, we encouraged residents to use active forms of travelling to stay in good physical and mental condition.
Educational activities for seniors carried out by Climate and Environmental Advisors are very popular. Advisers who implement the LIFE-IP EKOMAŁOPOLSKA project, partially financed from EU funds, regularly invite Krakow seniors to participate in free educational classes on mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
Participants have the opportunity to learn about the difference between climate and weather, the cause of global warming, how greenhouse gases are produced and also how we can protect ourselves from the negative effects of climate change.
The meetings are an opportunity to discuss individual choices and the impact they can have on the climate by making reasonable purchases, saving water and energy, recycling and finally engaging in environmental initiatives of local communities, such as setting up community gardens or planting trees.
Credits for image: Kamila Fordońska, Climate and Environmental Advisor, LIFE-IP EKOMALOPOLSKA project; www.naukaoklimacie.pl
Author: Franciszek Kusiak, City of Krakow
More about Krakow Climate Academy and other activities, not just in Kraków, you can find on the following website, especially dedicated to climate activities: