the hoopoe summit

"We believe there is a disconnection from nature in our society that causes a huge loss of natural knowledge and fuels the ongoing climate crisis and environmental pollution. We can expect that these problems will not decline but increase with every new generation. However, in our discussion, we identified several factors to foster nature connection, such as environmental education from early childhood on, nature-connected digital solutions, green infrastructure, a rewriting of the legal framework, green job opportunities and greener urban areas. This gives us hope for a fairer and more empathetic world WITH nature".

Many people are searching for a meaning in life, yet in our modern world this can be difficult to achieve. The German participants sparked in-depth conversations about factors leading to meaninglessness and meaningfulness. Among the things that have great value to us and contribute to finding a meaning in life, nature connection and working together in communities for society’s well-being were often highlighted. Jonathan (16) recounts: “I enjoy being in peaceful natural surroundings. There, I can reflect upon my meaning of life.” Nature connection contributing to a meaningful life adds up to our stand that nature has to be protected at all costs.

During the Hoopoe Summit we realised that many of us encounter climate change apathy: we refuse to accept the harsh reality and consequences of climate change. In the workshop, we identified several psychological, socio-economic, and political factors that contribute to climate change apathy and discussed individual and collective solutions to it. Those solutions include making knowledge about climate change accessible to everyone (e.g. through education and media) as well as working together with others across generations, genders and borders. “I face climate change apathy in my own life. Climate change apathy has to be taken seriously and I want decision-makers to take immediate actions to tackle the climate crisis!”, says Angelica (23) from Spain.

Youth unemployment is a big issue in Lithuania and all over Europe. At the same time, we identified a need for teachers in outdoor and ecological education. That’s why we came up with the idea to train unemployed youth to become environmental and nature educators.
But how to attract young unemployed people to study in this field? This could be achieved by increasing the reputation of nature education, by having flexible and practical training programmes, by a variety of green job opportunities, and by establishing fair wages. Moreover, the individual and societal benefits of those programmes should be highlighted and promoted.

Social and environmental entrepreneurs have great visions, but when implementing their business ideas, they face many challenges. Consequently, the current economic system negatively affects the productivity for people working in nature education. In order to get a glimpse of social and environmental entrepreneurship, we did a hands-on activity: Within an afternoon, we developed and presented our own business ideas. We had the privilege to witness the potential of youth dedicated to making a positive impact on our society. “With our activity we wanted to show the youth that they’re able to lead a social enterprise and make a real change”, explains the Georgian group leader Sofio (27). Once again we learnt that we can make this world a better place if we give our youth the possibility to realise their potential to the fullest.