"""Water Management Academy: Social entrepreneurship and changemaking skills training program for environmental education organizations working with youth populations"""

<< Background >>EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS HAVE BEEN LONG FORECASTED BUT ARE NOW HAPPENING AT OUR DOOR STEPS. LOCAL NGOS EVER CONCERNED WITH CONVEYING AN IMPACTFUL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION THAT BENEFITS HUMANS AND NATURE ALIKE ARE NOW INCREASINGLY ALERT TO THESE CLIMATE EFFECTS AND ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS HOW TO COPE WITH THE NEW WATER SITUATION THROUGH ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT OF THE COMMUNITY.YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SURROUNDED BY MANY DIFFERENT CHALLENGES, RANGING FROM COMMUNITY-BASED ISSUES TO GLOBAL ISSUES. CLIMATE CHANGE SEEMS SOMETIMES TOO FAR TO GRASP FOR A SIGNIFICANT GROUP OF PEOPLE. HOWEVER, WHEN THE MAIN CLIMATE CHANGE CONSEQUENCES ARE LINKED TO THE DAILY LIFE OF YOUNG PEOPLE, IT APPEARS CLOSER AND IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO THEM TO ACT AND CHANGE THEIR OWN HABITS TO FACE THIS THREAT.THAT IS WHY WE DEVELOPED THE IDEA TO TAKE THE LOCAL CHALLENGE OF WATER SECURITY AND MANAGEMENT TO TRAIN PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS TO YOUNG PEOPLE. IF WE MANAGE TO ENGAGE YOUTH IN TURNING THESE STUMBLING BLOCKS INTO INNOVATIONS TOWARDS A SOLUTION, WE WILL BE ON OUR WAY TO MAKE OUR WORLD HEALTHIER, MORE JUST AND SUSTAINABLE FOR ALL.<< Objectives >>THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT WAS TO STRENGTHEN CHANGEMAKING SKILLS ON YOUNG PEOPLE FOR BETTER WATER MANAGEMENT IN LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS WORKING IN THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION WITH YOUTHS, THROUGH THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WATER MANAGEMENT ACADEMY.we have achieved the following goals: ● SENSITIZE LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH YOUTH IN GERMANY AND SLOVENIA ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER MANAGEMENT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTING MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES.● GENERATE CHANGEMAKING COMPETENCIES IN LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH YOUTH THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGICAL METHODOLOGIES FOR THE CREATION OF SOLUTIONS, BASED ON SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP TOOLS, TO THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER MANAGEMENT.● EXCHANGE OF GOOD PRACTICES AMONG THE PARTICIPANT ORGANIZATIONS FROM GERMANY AND SLOVENIA.● COMMUNICATE THE CHALLENGES, INJUSTICES, THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF WATER MANAGEMENT AND WATER MANAGEMENT IN GERMANY AND SLOVENIA.<< Implementation >>BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND APRIL 2022, THE CLIMATE ACTION ACADEMY WATER WAS ADAPTED TO THE CONTEXT OF GERMANY AND SLOVENIA, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE CHALLENGES RELATED TO WATER AND CLIMATE CHANGE. THE PROGRAM’S EXISTENCE WAS DISSEMINATED MOSTLY THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS. MOREOVER, TO PROVIDE AN INCENTIVE FOR TEACHERS TO PARTICIPATE, THE PROJECT WAS accredited BY THE HESSIAN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION and THE BRANDENBURG MINISTRY FOR EDUCATION, YOUTH AND SPORT. AFTERWARDS, THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS OF PARTICIPANTS WAS CONDUCTED. IN MARCH THE FIRST JOINT KICK-OFF WORKSHOP took PLACE.BETWEEN MAY AND JUNE, THE ONLINE CAA Water WAS IMPLEMENTED ON CLIMATE CHANGE, WATER MANAGEMENT, AND ECOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS, SEEKING TO SUPPORT TEACHERS AND MEMBERS OF YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS TO INTEGRATE THE LATTER TOPICS MORE STRONGLY IN THEIR ACTIVITIES AND CURRICULA. THE SCHEDULE OF THE CAA Water IN GERMANY AND SLOVENIA CONSISTED OF A 5-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM, WITH A FINAL JOINT SESSION. IN TOTAL 38 PARTICIPANTS JOINED FROM GERMANY AND SLOVENIA, INCLUDING 8 TEACHERS.AFTER THE END OF THE PROJECT, THE QUALITATIVE (INTERVIEWS) AND QUANTITATIVE (SURVEYS) DATA THAT WERE PERFORMED AND COLLECTED WAS ANALYZED TO UNDERSTAND THE PROJECT’S IMPACTS MORE IN DEPTH.<< Results >>CONCRETE OUTPUTS AND RESULTS OF OUR PROJECT WERE THE FOLLOWING:WE CREATED A COMPILATION OF GOOD PRACTICES OF ENVIRONMENTAL YOUTH-ORIENTED LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS A METHODOLOGICAL TOOLKIT, consisting of 42 pages, FOR ENVIRONMENTAL Youth ORGANIZATIONS IN SLOVENIA AND GERMANY, which has been shared with participants and non-participants of the academy. BY THAT WE COULD SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS TO INTEGRATE SHARED GOOD PRACTICES INTO THEIR OWN LOCAL ACTIVITIES. WE DEVELOPED COMMUNICATION PRODUCTS LIKE FLYERS AND VIDEOS FOR THE ORGANIZATIONS TO USE AND SHARE. In order to continue the exchange, the participants of the Climate Action Academy Water were invited to the Action Network Worldwide Platform. The platform was created by Weltweit e. V. to connect people and institutions that are committed to the implementation of the SDGs. Here they can discuss projects and topics, exchange knowledge, offer workshops and find project partners. In that way we ensure that the project has a sustainable effect.