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CarbNon Cross-Generation Movement

EUTeens4Green Team

05/05/2023 19:24

Cancelled

💡 Description: The main premise of the CarbNon Cross-Generation Movement project is to change the entrenched thinking patterns of a local community steeped in coal culture in the Walbrzych region. "The official Plan for the Wałbrzych Territory, prepared with a view of Just Tansition Fund, emphasizes air pollution and low standard buildings as most painful and challenging social and environmental heritage of the coal mining era in the region. And the Plan has some good data to prove both the roots and effects of the problem. In Wałbrzych alone, over 80% of existing buildings date from before 1945. The national percentage of pre-war buildings for the whole of Poland is 20% while for the home region of Dolny Śląsk slightly over 40%. The above average representation of the old buildings in Wałbrzych area goes along with an excessively high rate of households using coal as a fuel for heating their properties. Which is a natural consequence of a long coal tradition as well as a result of readily accessible and historically cheap fuel at hand. Dilapidated buildings, built decades ago and left as they are for many years, affect common people’s lives in many ways. Environmental damage, social pauperisation following coal price skyrocketing, energy poverty, health hazards, young people fleeing, to name but a few. All just adding to other impacts of mine liquidation. And all of them alongside the problem of mental paralysis of the ageing community, still stuck deeply in the coal golden days. The focal point of the project is thus to contribute to changing established mindsets of a local community of Wałbrzych city with its central feature which can be described as a state of being soaked in the carbon oriented culture and inertia built over decades of coal exploitation in the area. To this end a social multi media awareness campaign will be designed, developed, tested, implemented and evaluated with an active role of a group of young leaders representing three classes of two local secondary schools. The essential part of the scheme will include cross generation activities aiming to involve senior citizens who have been hardest hit by the coal phase out processes and following impacts in the area. There will be two main challenges addressed through all the project actions. One relating to local air pollution coming mainly from households burning coal for heating. And another one characterised by highly energy inefficient buildings adding to the problem of excessive local air pollution (more wasted coal energy for heating means yet more polluted air) resulting in the poverty of their inhabitants (due to rapid increase in prices of the coal fuel). The following measures are planned: 1) Activity 1 (A1): Mobilisation of the Team of Change Leaders – working out organizational details (like personal split of the tasks among the group of the Leaders) and necessary arrangements with the key stakeholders (schools, teachers, headmasters, local authorities for using public spaces needed for the project activities). 2) A2: Capacity building – study tours – educational visits of mixed, cross generational groups of the project’s Leaders of Change and seniors to an energy transformation centre in the Wałbrzych region with a goal to update knowledge on important aspects of energy efficiency and state-of-the art solutions using renewable sources to solve the problem of highly polluting heating systems in buildings (more about A2 in activity table below) 1) A3: Two films, developed and produced to reflect an idea of advantages resulting from energy conservation and the other focusing on threats and risks implicated by air pollution produced locally in Wałbrzych - more about A3 in activity table below 2) A4: exemplary peer-to-peer classes to be prepared and run by the Leaders for its school colleagues and invited guests (like parents, grandparents). Topics will follow two paths: „FactsMyths About Air Pollution from Households” and „FactsMyths About Saving Energy” - more about A4 in the table below 3) A5: „Dress Your Home, Don’t Waste Your Money” – a performance type activity promoting an idea of energy efficiency in households by using selected municipal architectural objects or advertising columns (like Morris columns) in well attended places. The objects will be equipped with specially designed and made bright caps to draw public attention and symbolize the concept of a well-protected home as well as general care about energy conservation. 4) A6: Research Assessment – proposed methods of active involvement and changing attitudes of the target audience of the project, specifically related to the impacts achieved by the films, peer-to-peer classes and the performance type event, will be assessed based on the tailor made procedure to be designed under the scheme - more about A6 below 5) A7: Dissemination – A3 (videos produced to be presented not only under A4 but also separately through social media, local mass media and TAU supporting partners to seniors), A4 (peer-to peer classes) and A5 (event) are all meant to be dissemination tools of the project key messages"
🎯 Target Group
🌱 Expected Results: "- increase in knowledge and common perception in local community of the problem of air pollution generated by households, especially among the young and elderly residents - gaining a tested model of raising awareness of a senior audience through cross-generation activities as an example of a concept to approach social groups affected by the green transition in a JTF area - the projects actions are supposed to reach a considerable group of young people (mainly pupils of the schools involved), and a number of seniors (mainly due to cooperation with TAU); the figures will be supplemented by those who will learn about the project message through social media and local mass media. - the project experience will be transformed into a set of conclusions and recommendation to pave the way for other local environmental activist groups, NGOs, local authorities supervising schools as well as other entities interested is designing schemes under JTF in the Wałbrzyski subregion as part of a project pipeline"
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