On 27 November聽2025, as part of the implementation of the project "EU Global Responsible Leadership: Climate Change, Environmental Protection and Humanitarian Aid" (EU_LEAD) and with the support of the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet programme, the Second Ukrainian-Polish Youth Climate Forum was held online on the topic "What are your schools and communities doing to stop climate change?".
The event began with welcoming speeches by EU_LEAD project participants聽Prof. Yaryna Turchyn聽(NULP) and聽Prof. Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk聽(WMU in Olsztyn). During the expert panel,聽Prof. Stanis艂aw Czachorowski聽(University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn) and聽Olga Bilonizhka聽(project and programme manager at Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine, member of the Plast NGO and the Youth Council at the Ministry of Economy, Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Ukraine) shared their knowledge. The focus was on the impact of climate change on biodiversity, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and youth participation in environmental initiatives.
The youth panel attracted considerable interest, with students from Secondary School No. 20 in Lviv (Ukraine) and the Jacek Kaczmarski Secondary School in Olsztyn (Republic of Poland) sharing the best local eco-practices, in particular:聽Daria Frankova, Ulyana Voychyshyn, Viktoria Velikopolska聽(topic of the report: 鈥楢 comprehensive model for combating climate change in educational institutions: school practices of sorting, eco-artistic activities and monitoring of water resources鈥),聽Amelia Zalevska聽(topic of the report: "Start the change with yourself 鈥 the future depends on our actions today. What are you and your community doing to stop climate change?"), prepared with scientific advice from teachers聽Oksana Kai, Dmytro Ignatov, Grazyna Malek, Dorota Kruslinska-Zysk, and Violetta Matsiak.
The event concluded with a practical eco-panel discussion entitled "The European Green Deal: A Brief Overview of the Key Points," led by聽Lidiya Kasha, Associate Professor at 果冻APP and member of the Jean Monnet Department of EUSTS. School pupils had the opportunity to test their eco-knowledge by participating in the 鈥楪reen Deal EuriQuiz: A Step Towards a Green Future鈥 quiz. Teams from Olsztyn and Lviv reached the final and were awarded prizes.
Summing up the event, Prof. Teresa聽Astramowicz-Leyk emphasised that there is a perception that young people are inferior to the older generation in terms of experience and responsibility. However, the forum proved the opposite, as the eco-practices of schoolchildren are impressive in their innovation and should be more widely used in everyone's lives. After all, saving the planet is everyone's mission, where the key task, according to Prof. Stanis艂aw Chachorowski, is to "leave young people a world in which they can live".聽聽
The EU_LEAD project team would like to thank all the numerous participants of the event (over 100 people in total) 鈥 pupils, teachers, lecturers, students from Ukraine and Poland, as well as representatives of the public and authorities. Special thanks for supporting the initiative go to聽Natalia Yasnyska, headmistress of Secondary School No. 20 in Lviv,聽Ewa Or艂owska, headmistress of the Jacek Kaczmarski Secondary School in Olsztynek, and聽Piotr Kolek, Director of the Department of Education, Culture and Physical Culture of the Olsztyn County, who welcomed and congratulated the participants of the youth forum on behalf of聽Andrzej Abako, Head of the Olsztyn County.
The event was prepared by the EU_LEAD team 鈥 Prof. Teresa 聽Astramowicz-Leyk, Prof. Yaryna Turchyn, Assoc. Prof. Olga Ivaschenko, Assoc. Prof. Oleg Tsebenko, and Yulia Vaida.
