CINOP designs a Green Life Skills Curriculum to support Plan International in their worldwide efforts for sustainable youth economic empowerment

Plan International Netherlands aims to mainstream climate resilience and mitigation, environmental sustainability and awareness in all its thematic areas. In particular for Youth Economic Empowerment (YEE), Plan International aims to contribute to sustainable development by conducting Green SOYEE programming and influencing.

In order to support these aims, Plan International has asked CINOP to cooperate in the elaboration of a green life skills curriculum to prepare youth for their future and for them to be able to contribute to mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis.

Based on a needs assessment among various countries – China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia and The Philippines – stakeholders, beneficiaries and experts, CINOP has developed a curriculum package consisting of four practice-based modules that are addressing the following themes:

  • Climate- and environmental issues
  • Taking action
  • Green lifestyle choices
  • Innovations and sustainable jobs

The curriculum aims to help the youth in becoming more aware of climate- and environmental issues; how these impact their daily lives; making it possible for them to act on this knowledge; so they can shape a sustainable future for themselves, their communities and the planet.

For each module, the package contains of lesson plans, basic material, exercises and reference to background documents. The modules can be tailored to various age groups (from 10-18 or from 18-29 years old) and to different country contexts. A user’s guide is providing clear explanations and tips to the facilitators. Finally, the green life skills curriculum pays special attention to the impact of environmental changes on girls and women and how both men and women can take positive action and prepare for the green transformation.

At this moment, from 6-18 November, COP27 is taking place in Egypt. The 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is the largest annual gathering on climate action. The gathering builds on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on several issues critical to tackling the climate emergency. An important theme discussed during COP27 is the role of education in responding to and/or navigating the climate crisis. For youth to be prepared for their future and for them to be able to contribute to mitigating the impacts of the climate crisis, the importance of climate education cannot be ignored.