YES

Carbon Capture Athens: A Participatory Photography Workshop for Young People on the Environment and Climate in Athens

With less than a decade left to prevent irreversible climate change and nature loss, now is the time to recognize each one of us has a crucial part to play. Young people are inheriting these crises and will be disproportionately impacted by them. But young people can also play a key role in restoring the natural environment and building climate-resilient communities.

How can we visualize the future – the future we want, and the future we’ll get if we don’t take action? How can young people express their views about the environment, and their aspirations to be agents of change? How can those perspectives be turned into recommendations for meaningful collective action?

To pursue these questions, the Berggruen Institute from the USA, in collaboration with the Athens Democracy Forum and the Mayor of Athens, is hosting ‘Carbon Capture Athens’ – a participatory photography workshop that brings diverse young voices to the table, engaging young activists in a deliberative process around long term environmental action at the personal, local, and national levels. We are inviting young people (ages 18-25) from across Greece to apply for this unique opportunity to influence decision-makers by documenting your concerns and ambitions for the environment and the future you want to create. Learn More

Civilian Climate Corps Petition
With less than a decade to prevent irreversible climate change and insufficient action on the part of governments, youth must be empowered to protect their communities and foster social justice. Youth-led Civilian Climate Corps would enable direct action to confront the climate crisis; pay youth a living wage for young people’s skills and perspective; ensure investment in protecting communities that are disproportionately affected by rising global temperatures; and foster common culture and purpose when democracy needs it most. By signing this petition, you’re asking your leaders and representatives to commit to creating a fully-funded, youth-led Civilian Climate Corps where you live. We’re inviting people everywhere to join our call for environmental justice, generational recovery, and economic renewal. Add your name. Sign the Petition

YES will activate youth for recovery and resilience.

The clock is ticking on the climate emergency. We have less than a decade to transform the way we live. As the Earth heats up, democratic governments are immobilized; a healthy planet and healthy democracies need rising generations to work together to meet the challenges of the 21st century. YES is a campaign to cultivate grassroots leadership on climate policy by young people, while building broad-based commitments from governments to invest in jobs, national service, and other opportunities for young people to work together, acquire skills and training, and build common purpose and solidarity in protecting our communities from climate change.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change reveal flaws in governance that threaten our future. By investing in youth-led efforts to take on climate change, we can:

• Restore deliberation and direct feedback to our democratic process
• Mitigate the impact of a warming planet
• Cultivate a new generation of purpose-driven leadership
• Create economic opportunity

Together with young people, community organizations, and governments, we host town hall meetings with elected officials to connect ideas to action as well as organize deliberative assemblies to develop policy recommendations for the design and implementation of youth environment service programs. Join our YES mailing list to get involved or contact us at yes@berggruen.org.