What happens when 33 youth delegates from all over Europe come together?
We bring together diverse perspectives, from students to young professionals to aspiring changemakers, all united by a shared goal: shaping a sustainable future. Through dynamic discussions, strategic foresight methods, and scenario studies, we envisioned an ideal future for a climate-neutral EU by 2050. The result? Our vision for a sustainable Europe based on our ESDN Youth Core Values.
What was the ESDN Youth Workshop 2024 about?
From September 4-7, 2024, the ESDN Youth Workshop brought together 33 youth delegates and representatives from 19 European countries, converging in Berlin to envision a sustainable future for Europe. This gathering was an inspiring exchange of ideas, foresight, and innovative solutions, all centered around one crucial question: How can Europe achieve climate neutrality by 2050?
Throughout the workshop, we explored diverse ways of thinking about the future and the tools available to imagine it and shape it. We had the opportunity to learn from experts like Sylvia Veenhoff (German Environment Agency), who introduced us to the concept of strategic foresight, explaining how it helps us to anticipate future challenges and make informed, sustainable policy decisions today. Additionally, Dr. Miranda Böttcher guided us through the complexities of navigating multi-level climate policy challenges, setting the stage for us to engage with the concept of foresight in practice.
After these keynote presentations, we took a deep dive into four future scenarios based on the European Commission’s report, "Towards a Fair and Sustainable Europe 2050: Social and Economic Choices in Sustainability Transitions". For that, Yannick Dujardin from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission guided us through these scenarios, helping us reflect on how Europe might evolve by 2050. Each scenario presented us with a different future – some driven by market forces, others by government action or grassroots efforts – each scenario had complex interlinkages across fields of consequences and benefits one had to reflect upon and could learn from.
But based on that, we continued the discussion and thought about what would be an ideal climate neutral Europe in 2050 for us and what does our scenario entail? After some discussions, we agreed on four main pillars, each representing a crucial area of action:
- Mindset Shift & Cultural Behaviour:
A cultural transformation that prioritizes long-term well-being over short-term gains, embedding sustainability into every sector of society—from education to corporate strategies. - Power & Governance:
Tackling power imbalances by promoting youth involvement in decision-making processes, reducing corporate influence, and ensuring transparency and accountability in governance at all levels. - Trust & Strong Institutions:
Building trust through resilient institutions that are democratic, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of citizens, with sustainability at the core of their mandates. - Financing a Sustainable Future:
Reforming financial systems to align with sustainability goals, ensuring fair access to climate finance, and supporting youth-led projects that drive the transition to a green economy.
These pillars serve as the foundation for our ideal future for Europe, which we outlined in a joint manifesto. This vision emphasizes the need for systemic change across all areas of society and politics, recognizing that only through collective action can we achieve a sustainable, climate-neutral Europe by 2050.
These three days were intense but fulfilling, bringing together some of the most engaged young people and making us take some positive energy back home and to the UN General Assembly. We hope that by meeting we can speak with a united voice for youth fighting for a sustainable future!
For more information, our outcomes will be presented at the workshop in Bucharest and the report will be shared soon!