Sustainable Living Through the Lens

"<< Background >>This project was born from our organisations’ shared need to strengthen their capacity by increasing the competences of youth workers in the fields of sustainability and creative education. Addressing this internal need, we aimed to meet the urgent external need of raising awareness about environmental issues and sustainable living among young people and local communities. International collaboration helped us extend NGOs visibility and network, allowing us to learn and exchange good practices. Engaging youth with artistic and innovative methods - such as pinhole and digital photography - was essential to attract their interest and promote environmental activism in an accessible and inclusive way. Our focus was especially relevant for disadvantaged groups, where knowledge about sustainability and green entrepreneurship remains limited. We believe that empowering youths to act on environmental challenges is key to building a more sustainable future. Therefore, we applied for this project to empower our youth workers, increase our impact to respond to these concrete societal needs by equipping youth workers, young people, and local communities with the tools, confidence, and creative inspiration to take meaningful action.<< Objectives >>The consortium aimed to achieve the following objectives: to increase awareness and understanding of environmental issues among 24 youth workers and 45 youths from the partner countries; to encourage the 69 participants to take an active role in promoting sustainability in their communities by sharing knowledge learned by successful completion of this project; to develop the skills of 69 participants in the area of sustainable green business and photography as a tool for environmental awareness and social change; to enhance the digital skills of 69 participants by providing them with training in digital photography, VR online exhibition development, and by using digital tools for research, environmental activism, as well as through the use of the website which we created for this project; to promote inclusion, providing participants from rural or disadvantaged areas with opportunities to participate in the project activities; to increase networking and capacity building for the consortium to engage in transnational projects. << Implementation >>The project implementation started with Project Management and Implementation activity (throughout the entire project duration) and the Kick-Off Meeting in France, where coordination, communication, and responsibilities among partners were reinforced. The project Website was then developed and continuously updated to reflect the project’s progress and results. The ""Eco You(th) Lens"" Training Course took place in Romania, providing youth workers with competences in sustainability, photography, and green entrepreneurship. The Booklet of Best Practices and Sustainable Business Ideas was created and distributed at local, national, and international levels. Each partner country hosted a local Workshop to engage young people and communities, followed by a local Exhibition in each partner country and one VR Online Exhibition, promoting environmental awareness through photography. The project concluded with dissemination activities and the Final Meeting in Türkiye, which was as a space for evaluation, reflection, and planning of future cooperation. Local Dissemination Conferences in each country strengthened the project’s impact on communities and the visibility of results.<< Results >>The project produced a number of tangible results, including the Booklet of Best Practices, which captured the knowledge gained by participants and encouraged sustainable entrepreneurship and creative youth work. The project website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts were created and continuously updated, serving as tools for communication, dissemination, and project sustainability. The digital and pinhole photographs taken by participants and then used to develop the Local Exhibition and VR exhibitions and other project materials. The VR Online Exhibition was developed to extend the project’s visibility and impact beyond the local level, while highlighting the creative output of participants.Intangible results included: enhanced awareness and understanding of environmental issues among youth workers, young participants, and communities; improved digital and creative skills; increased motivation to promote sustainability through non-formal education and to apply it in their communities; increased inclusion, involving participants from disadvantaged backgrounds; increased organisational capacity of partner NGOs to engage in international youth work and environmental education."