About

Overall Objectives

To strengthen the capacity of youth organisations in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, to foster climate change awareness and support youth-led initiatives in local communities through non-formal education, mobility opportunities, and cross border cooperation.

Specific Objectives

1. Capacity & Empowerment

Upskilling youth workers and equipping young people with the advocacy, leadership, and fundraising skills needed to drive climate action.

2. International Cooperation

Fostering intercultural youth mobility and building long-term, solid networks between African and European organisations.

3. Action & Governance

Mobilising local communities through grassroots campaigns and facilitating direct dialogue between youth and public authorities.

Expected Results

• Comprehensive Climate Action Toolkit

A free, adaptable online hub of practical training materials, non-formal methodologies, and facilitation tools to drive youth climate awareness and advocacy.

• Youth Climate Voices Report

A strategic compilation of young people’s perspectives, frontline experiences, and policy recommendations addressed to youth organisations and decision-makers.

• Pre-Mobility Preparation Handbook

A practical guide packed with intercultural tools and best practices to help organisations successfully plan and manage international youth exchanges.

• Mentorship & Implementation Framework 

A transferable, ready-to-use model designed to guide youth mentoring and scale up grassroots climate initiatives beyond the project partnership.

• Youth-Led Action Plans & Pitches

A showcase of community-based climate solutions designed by young leaders, serving as adaptable blueprints to inspire similar local initiatives.

• YCAN Community Platform

A permanent digital space connecting African and European youth organisations for long-term networking, collaboration, and peer-to-peer learning.
All project results are open-access, fully transferable, and built to be scaled up well beyond the project’s lifecycle.

Project Activities

PHASE 1 — Training Development & Co-Creation

Mapping local needs to build the educational foundation.
  • Co-designing the curriculum: Partners collaborate to identify local opportunities and create non-formal learning methodologies and core training resources on climate action.
  • Launching the Digital Hub: Development and rollout of the YCAN Community Platform to kickstart international networking and knowledge exchange.

PHASE 2 — Capacity Building & Mentor Training

Empowering youth workers to become certified “Climate Mentors”.
  • Blended Learning Programme: A mix of online and in-person training covering climate advocacy, youth participation, green jobs, circular economy, fundraising, and digital communications.
  • The Mentoring Framework: Equipping youth workers with the leadership and facilitation skills required to guide young people in developing their own green initiatives.

PHASE 3 — Youth Mobility & Intercultural Exchange

Connecting Africa and Europe through hands-on collaboration.
  • Cross-border Mobilities: One Youth Participatory Activity and three Youth Exchanges bringing together young people and youth workers from both continents.
  • The Idea Incubator: Newly trained Climate Mentors facilitate non-formal workshops, guiding young participants to sketch out concrete ideas for local climate action.

PHASE 4 — Youth-Led Local Initiatives

Bringing community-based climate solutions to life.
  • Ground-Level Execution: Supported by their mentors, young participants deploy their customized climate initiatives tailored to their local communities’ specific needs.
  • Long-Term Impact: Follow-up mentoring and active stakeholder engagement to ensure the projects remain sustainable well beyond their initial launch.

Running throughout the entire project:

Continuous cross-border awareness campaigns and community-building activities will amplify YCAN’s reach and keep the public engaged.