From 4th to 11th of May, the scenic coastal city of Fethiye in the West of Türkiye hosted a powerful Erasmus+ youth exchange: “Teenagers in Action for Green Practices.” Bringing together young participants and youth leaders from Tunisia, Denmark, Türkiye, Romania, Jordan, and Azerbaijan, this 8-day program wasn’t just about sustainability. It was about changing mindsets, building resilience, and empowering the next generation of green leaders. Besides from this, it was also a week that brought together teenagers from different national and cultural background and gave them a unique opportunity for social bonding and new friendships.
During the 8-days program, our participants learned about the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a non-formal education method and hands-on driven activities that allowed participants to take real action while exploring the different topics of SDGs. The SDGs that the program was especially oriented around were:
- SDG 3: Good Health & Well-being
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 5: Gender Equality
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 14: Life Below Water
- SDG 15: Life on Land
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
The seminar did, at the same time, align with several of the European Youth Goals, meaning that the acts of the participants also indirectly explored, worked with and contributed to goals of; Mental Health and Wellbeing, Moving Rural Youth Forward, Space and Participation for all, Sustainabale Green Europe, Youth Organisation and European programs.
During the week, the teenagers in action participated in workshops and activities of carbon footprint calculation, gardening, eco-friendly gift making, and beach/river clean-up missions that, all in all, offered experiential learning in both practical and reflective ways. It was indeed a fruitful seminar with many talented teenagers and youth-leaders, highly motivated and knowledable when it comes to developing and applying green practices in their everyday life.
