While most people spent last summer taking breaks, relaxing and catching up on the odd thing they neglected during the hectic winter season, members of Moviment Graffitti were busy visiting youth groups and delivering sessions about climate change. These sessions were part of the Energy Road Show, an educational project that attempts to raise awareness about climate change, its causes and its potential solutions.
“Energy consumption and climate change are two of the most pressing global issues facing the world. Seldom does one read a newspaper without finding at least passing references to global warming or climate change. Because of this we thought it necessary to take the important topics of energy use, climate change and its potential solutions, and devise an educational project that would bring to life such issues among young people. Young people and children, more than anybody else, should be in the forefront of this debate as they will be the ones bearing the brunt of our current lifestyles and consumption patterns,” explained Christian Mizzi, one of the project’s co-ordinators conducted by Moviment Graffitti.
Being a youth work based project, the Energy Road Show, used a mixture of formal, non-formal and informal educational methods. “Through this diversity of methods we tried to engage young people in the climate change debate, helping them perceive themselves as potential agents for change and creating a context that empowers them to act in favour of sustainable energy use,” added Mr Mizzi.
The project comprised three sessions, each with a different format, content and purpose. Mr Mizzi argued – “From the beginning we emphasised the need to have more than one session. Although this created some logistical headaches, it ensured that the topic was tackled in much more depth than one session would have allowed.”
The first session was aimed at introducing the project and the topic. It was built on the idea that people cannot work out potential solutions to problems that they do not understand. This introductory session was delivered by Mr Vince Caruana, an environmental educator working at the Centre for Environmental Education and Research of the University of Malta. Mr Caruana is also a member of Kopin and a well known activist in international development, fair trade and environmental circles. The second session utilised non-formal educational methods such as role plays, workshops and other exercises to explore the potential role young people could take in the fight against climate change.
Mr Mizzi continued, “Whereas during the first session we explained and discussed the problem, during the second session young people were encouraged to act. They were asked to collectively identify ways in which their own youth group could become more environmentally friendly. The roles and actions that the groups could take within their own community were also explored. Working in a non-formal setting was ideal for a project like this as one cannot force a change in consciousness in young people, one can only create a context that facilitates understanding and empowerment.”
The last session took a more informal approach. The participating youths were provided with a banner and were requested to creatively express their thoughts, feelings and ideas about the topic through painting. Mr Mizzi elaborated “The idea was that after two intensive sessions we meet the young people in a more relaxed and informal context and get to know them a little better”. The project also consisted of a travelling exhibition about climate change and renewable energy. This project was co funded by the European Union programme agency and Eco Group Ltd.