Pillar2: Civic Engagement Events (GOLD)
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There are two pathways to gaining the Gold Events badges. They open up after you have the Silver badge.
A) The Autonomy Pathway
B) The Impact Pathway
Option A – Autonomy Pathway
In this pathway, you take a leading role in the organisation and/or participation of a Climate Academy event. You are the one/in a small team that has the vision and initiative to conceive of the event, and you take responsibility for making sure it happens.
● Evening Event
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Pick a theme, reach out to an expert, mobilise the talents of your Climate Academy group – from public speaking, to organisation and maybe music or art. Thinking through how to pull it all together, build an audience, and create lasting and meaningful impact is a wonderful challenge with a lot of rewards for everyone involved. |
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● Climate Summit
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A full-day Climate Summit offers a chance for students to have an immersive experience of learning. There are many possible features to include in the event: inviting VIP/guest speakers to share the depth of knowledge and experience, setting up panels on engaging themes, running workshops, Q&As, music, and art. It also provides a stage for Climate Academy students to speak with clarity and insight from their own systemic understanding. Behind the scenes, there are all the skills of organisation and communication in the networking, publicity and follow-up. |
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● Protest
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The democratic right to protest is a powerful and important component of any open society. The Climate Academy was a leading voice in the protest movement started by Greta Thunberg back in 2018, which resulted in mobilising millions of people around the world. Notice all the different skills and energies in play in short film one of the very first school climate protests. These skills include the organisation with local authorities, the media and the different local schools, along with the skill of filming and editing the video itself. |
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● Street Art Festival
The Kalaghoda Art Festival in Mumbai provided a wonderful setting for the Climate Academy students and teachers from the VIGBYOR schools to design, create and exhibit their huge 3-D murals on climate tipping points and justice.
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The whole design process was a rich learning experience, and the impact of the exhibits was amazing, from the dialogues between the staff and students with the general public to the many handouts and QR codes that created engagement.
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● Deep Green Travel
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Take the bus or a train, and travel with your group to an exciting city, or go deep into nature. The travel could have either a very sharp purpose (an event, a film or writing project, street surveys, outreach to schools...) or none (just time as a group to be together). Whatever the agenda, taking time away from the usual rhythms makes ‘resonance’ possible (see the section on Hartmut Rosa in Chapter 12). Here is a window to show some of the things that are possible with Deep Green Travel. |
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Option B – Impact Pathway
You take part in a regional, national or international event about sustainability. At that event, you make interventions based on the key concepts in The Climate Academy and, where relevant, the CUTx figures. This would typically be through a presentation, speaking as a panellist, or playing a significant role in a workshop or webinar.
Your contributions will affirm when that event is thinking and acting within the framework of the planetary boundaries and issues of global justice. You will also be ready to challenge any details of the event that are not properly systemic and just.
Examples
EU Parliament Speech
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Following on from the Climate Academy protest outside the EU Commission in November 2018, the students were invited to speak to MEPs in the EU Parliament. Clara Sammaritano (Italian) underlines key points about the CUTx Index and its wider significance. |
EU Parliament Speech - Clara Sammaritano |
EU Overshoot Day – EU Parliament
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Earth Overshoot Day. In collaboration with Globe EU, The Climate Academy met with MEPs & asked key questions about current EU policies on Sustainability. In 2026, the MEPs being questioned were: Manuela Ripa, Bruno Tobback and Sara Matthieu. |
Earth Overshoot Day - EU Parliament |
