IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jgeogr/v5y2025i4p52-d1757863.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Empowering Youth for Climate Resilience: A Geographical Education Model from Italy and Turkey

Author

Listed:
  • Antonella Senese

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Davide Fugazza

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Veronica Manara

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Emilio Bianco

    (Legambiente Foundation, 20127 Milano, Italy)

  • Laura Brambilla

    (Legambiente Foundation, 20127 Milano, Italy)

  • Sara Settembrini

    (European Projects Department, Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo, 20092 Cinisello Balsamo, Italy)

  • Elisa Falcini

    (Directorate of Human Resources and Education, Foreign Relations Office/EuroDesk Info Point, Edremit Municipality, 10300 Edremit, Turkey)

  • Daniela Marzano

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Michela Panizza

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Carmela Torelli

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Maurizio Maugeri

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Guglielmina Adele Diolaiuti

    (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

Climate change poses significant risks to both natural and urban systems, and fostering climate literacy among younger generations is increasingly recognized as a key component of resilience strategies. This paper presents the outcomes of a transnational climate education project involving high school students from Cinisello Balsamo (Italy) and Edremit (Turkey), developed under the EU-funded Town Twinning program. The project combined scientific seminars, experiential learning, and digital tools (including carbon footprint calculators and immersive virtual glacier tours) to enhance climate knowledge and civic engagement. Youth Climate Councils were established to co-develop local sustainability proposals and engage with municipal authorities. Quantitative tests and qualitative evaluations confirmed significant learning gains and high satisfaction among participants. A comparative analysis with international initiatives highlights the project’s unique integration of scientific rigor, participatory methods, and cross-border cooperation. The proposed model offers a replicable framework for embedding place-based climate education into urban governance and youth policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonella Senese & Davide Fugazza & Veronica Manara & Emilio Bianco & Laura Brambilla & Sara Settembrini & Elisa Falcini & Daniela Marzano & Michela Panizza & Carmela Torelli & Maurizio Maugeri & Gugl, 2025. "Empowering Youth for Climate Resilience: A Geographical Education Model from Italy and Turkey," Geographies, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-16, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jgeogr:v:5:y:2025:i:4:p:52-:d:1757863
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/5/4/52/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/5/4/52/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jgeogr:v:5:y:2025:i:4:p:52-:d:1757863. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.