Urban actions and external collaborations

The staff training event training course took place in Bruxelles during the month of December 2021.

All partners were represented by different youth workers coming from Italy, Portugal, Poland and Belgium.

The goal of this training course was to provide the youth workers with the tools to work with young people on the matters of sustainability and active citizen initiatives.

Urban Foxes is a Belgian non-profit striving for healthy and inclusive co-created cities. Advocating for urban human rights that are often forgotten. Human rights such as clean air, access to play space, etc.

During this T.C. we wanted to show and explain the Brussels' context regarding aforementioned topics. With a focus on grassroots green initiative and good practices and the use and creation of non-formal tools. We are glad to say that this training course was a big success with great results, energy and concrete plans for the future.

Palermo Green and Inclusive volunteering

Staff training event in Palermo

From 28th to 30th August 2021 the short-term joint staff training took place in Palermo held by the Uniamoci Onlus Association for the Erasmus + "Green youth's promoters" partnership aimed at exchanging good practices between 4 European organizations, including Uniamoci Onlus as coordinator, the Portuguese organization Brigada do Mar, the Belgian organization Urban Foxes and the Polish organization Unesco Initiative Center; the project aims to satisfy young people's desire for active participation by providing youth organizations and their educators with the necessary knowledge, skills and competences that enable them to effectively promote and support the commitment of young people to environmental protection.

On the first day, the participants, after some icebreakers and teambuilding activities, were encouraged to discuss some green issues such as ecology, tactical urbanism and its methodologies, the making of an event and activities to protect the environment. Through the world-café technique it was possible to share ideas and every group made a poster that enclosed the different opinions that each participant had about the topic. On the second day, we made drawings using markers, pencils and colours to promote environmental sustainability. The participants’ contribution was really creative, representing different topic aspects, such as animalism, fighting against pollution in the seas and the use of plastic, solidarity. In discussion tables we talked about how to involving young people in child environmental activities, reflecting about advantages of this action and planning activities. On the third and last day, in collaboration with some volunteers with disabilities, we all contribute in gardening activities: now Brancaccio has a new small green area! The training’s participants and the volunteers planted new trees and flowers, cleaning streets from plastic and waste. In the afternoon, we made coasters and candle holders with glasses and jars, using recycled materials such as old fabrics and pieces of paper. Each participant was able to create a small object with zero cost, to take with them or to give to someone. After discussing in small groups the possibilities of environmental actions with people with disabilities, each national group created an activity to be implemented locally.

This training was a great opportunity to share ideas and suggestions on topics like ecology, youth and inclusive participation, to make green events and implement environmental activities with young people, children and people with disabilities. Working together has allowed the development of new activities to be carried out in the coming months.

Green youth for a green future

Local activity of implementation of the youth activity planned by the three Italian youth workers who participated in the online staff training event "Fostering youth active involvement".

On the 21rst May 2021 it has been implemented the activity Green youth for a green future with a group of 7 young people with disability (all of them had a learning disability and some of them a physical disability too) who where guided by a youth worker and two volunteers who played the role of facilitators in order to stimulate the active participation of the young people with disability.

The actvity started with the energiser tuk tak: they had to play some figures inspired by nature (butterfly, mushroom, tree, flower, sun or creek) following the instructions of the youth worker, who then passed the lead to each of the participants.

This fun warming up activity has been followed by a brainstorming about what people can concretely do to reduce the environmental impact: after the participants had no other ideas they were introduced to some flsh cards that could promote the sharing of other contributions for the brainstorming.

• To clean rivers, streets, beaches, green areas

• To use clean energy

• To walk and ride a bike instead of other non ecofriendly means of transport

• To avoid plastic packaging

• To close the windows when the heating/air conditioning is on and to turn it on only when really needed

• To encrease the checks on people's compliance with environmental protection regulations

• have more plants on the balcony

• To recycle clothes, oil and batteries

• To use the pubblic transport

• To buy biological food

• To not to buy more things than needed

• To respect the animals

• To prune trees properly

• To fix things

• To throw out the garbage in the appropriate bins

• To separate your waste

These are the things that came from the participants contributions.

After that the participants wher divided into 2 groups and it was asked them to create a case study about about their city and its “green” services: each group received a a grid with some aspects to discuss after 20 minutes of discussion each group shared its analysis:

About the use and type of public transport used in their city the two groups had an opposite view: the "cats" reported how the several means of public trasport (bus, tram, taxi, train, scooters, shared bikes, airplanes, boats, subway)are used several times by people while the "dogs" reported that the available means of public trasport are not enough.

They had different opinions also about the existence of cycle paths and pedestrian aread: "cats" reported that they are present in their city but not used properly or not in good shape while the "dogs" were not aware of their existence in their city.

About the presence and usage of shared transport services, both the groups noticed that they are used in Palermo and the "cats" highlited that they are mostly used in the way from the central station to Mondello and that who use them the most are young people, and people with middle-eastern and afrikan origin; the dogs highlited the large usage of scooters.

As regards the differentiated waste collection service, both the groups agreed on the fact that it is provided only in some areas of the city.

The case study showed that the city is particularly rich in green areas: both the groups listed more than 10 green areas.

Both the groups agreed that the city is particularly dirty with all kinds of waste in street even bulky waste as washing machines and mattresses. The "cats" reported as some streets are regularly cleaned but later people make them dirty again.

About the deployment of renewable energy, both the groups mentioned the presence of wind turbined in the lands surrounding the highway from Palermo to Catania or to Agrigento; the "cats" highlighted the presence of solar pannels on the roofs of the shopping molls.

The next step of the workshop, was a role game: the dogs where asked to suppose to be the city councellors of Palermo and the dogs the managers of a detergent factory and they had to discuss some ideas to reduce the environmental impact respectively of the city and of their factory. From these ideas they had then to choose the 3 better ones (ibterms of costs and benefits) to be applyied.

The town counsellors decided to install surveillance cameras to catch people who who throw the garbage outside from the bin; to improve the services of mainteinance of gardens, and to improve the differentiated waste collection service.

The managers decided to move in the direction of using biological products or products without alcol or parabens but using materials obtained recycling plant products and products made of green tea and Aloe; to use electrical means and eco-bus for the transport of people and goods; to install more windows to use the natural light and to use solare panels to produce electricity and use low energy led lights.

The participants were really partecipative and enjoyed all the steps of the project, most of all the last activity where they felt the power to take decisions and they experienced a team work meeting.

After the debriefing we had a traing evaluation for all the steps of the workshop.

Below some photos of the day :)