CLİMATE CHANGE AND ART

Özet, Erasmus+ Project Results platformunda yayımlanan İngilizce metindir.

Amaç

Art provided people with an emotional and mental internal experience. By drawing in the audience or participants, it assisted them in individually experiencing events or situations. It could be used as an effective tool in addressing specific issues by inspiring action, drawing attention, and inspiring change in the face of a particular problem.
Climate change, which was increasingly becoming a critical issue, was directly linked to global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. The phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect involved gases accumulating in the atmosphere, trapping solar radiation, and causing the warming of the Earth's surface. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for faster emission cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The latest data from the World Meteorological Organization showed that global temperatures continued to rise, with the hottest eight years recorded between 2015 and 2022 since records began in 1850.
This rise in temperature led to changes in ecosystems and deviations from normal climate patterns. For instance, in Japan, cherry blossoms had been observed since the ninth century, but the blossoming seen in 2021 was recorded as the earliest in the last 1,200 years. Climate change resulted in various problems like rising sea levels, extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, melting glaciers, and changes in biodiversity. For example, during severe rainfall in Pakistan in July and August 2022, more than 1,700 people lost their lives due to resulting floods.
Climate change posed a serious threat to ecosystems, human health, and the economy. Measures such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting sustainable energy use, and adopting environmentally friendly policies were essential to combat this issue.
Art was an immensely powerful tool for drawing attention to social issues. Particularly concerning climate change, aesthetic and various artistic disciplines allowed individuals to engage in deep reflection, establish emotional connections, and spur young people to action. Art was a highly effective method for creating climate change awareness. Through creativity and its potential to reach wider audiences, it encouraged young people, artists, and other segments of society to actively engage in combating climate change.
Paula Winokur, one of the artists expressing climate change through art, stated that the environment could not return to its former state in her work titled “Tar Ice Interruptions.” Winokur used black porcelain to represent oil seeping from the cracks of a white porcelain plate, confronting us with tar that was nearly impossible to purify. Another example was artist Nele Avezedo’s work “Melting Men.” In 2009, she created an installation of a thousand 20 cm tall ice sculptures. Her work, melting into water before everyone’s eyes, highlighted the melting of glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica due to global warming and human-induced environmental disasters.
This project aimed to provide young people with an opportunity to express their ideas about climate change through art. It was important for young people to develop their knowledge and skills in climate change and art to contribute to society. In our project, the focus was on the potential of art to increase climate change awareness and mobilize people into action. Young people learned how to convey environmental and climate messages through artistic projects and developed in this regard. Moreover, this project encouraged young people to promote environmentally friendly behaviors and inspired them to develop different projects using art in combating climate change in the future.
Among the specific objectives of this project were raising awareness among young people aged between 18 and 30 about the seriousness of climate change, increasing their awareness about this issue, and actively encouraging their participation in finding solutions. Art was used as a fundamental tool to achieve these objectives
Our specific goals were:
To enable young people to better understand the problems of climate change, adopt more sustainable lifestyles, and guide their communities in this regard.

To demonstrate to participants how different artistic disciplines and creative expressions can be used as tools to raise social awareness about climate change.

To develop solutions for climate change issues and enhance dialogue with policymakers.

Uygulama

The youth exchange Climate Change and Art was implemented in Herne, Germany, between 18–26 October 2025, in accordance with the timetable and the activity plan outlined in the project application. The programme consisted of nine days of structured non-formal learning activities designed to raise awareness about climate change and to help young people express environmental concerns through artistic methods. The mobility brought together 37 participants, including 30 young people aged 18–30 and 6 group leaders and 1 facilitatorfrom Germany, Türkiye, Hungary, Greece, Romania and North Macedonia. Among the participants, 18 young people with fewer opportunities were included, representing economic, social and geographical obstacles. Their inclusion ensured that the exchange maintained its commitment to accessibility, diversity and equal participation.
The activities were implemented gradually, beginning with the arrival and adaptation phase. On the first day, participants arrived, settled into the accommodation and took part in introductory ice-breaking sessions aimed at fostering group cohesion. The second day focused on energizers, individual presentations, expectation-sharing exercises, and the introduction of project rules. Participants were also engaged in interactive presentations on Erasmus+ and Youthpass, followed by the first daily evaluation.
From the third day onward, the programme shifted toward the main thematic content. Sessions such as Situation in My Country and EU Environmental and Sustainability Studies allowed participants to research and present the climate challenges faced by their countries while discussing European environmental policies. Workshops on ecological footprint measurement encouraged participants to reflect on their consumption patterns and to design personal action plans for reducing their environmental impact.
In the following days, participants engaged in a variety of workshops addressing sustainability, biodiversity, natural resource management and environmental terminology through group work, games, poster creation and puzzle-based learning. Drama workshops enabled participants to illustrate global environmental issues creatively, while a guided nature walk provided space for observation and documentation of local ecosystems. Additional sessions such as the Recycling Workshop, Climate Change Discussion Forum, Eco-Friendly Living Workshop, and World in 50 Years Creative Drama Activity deepened participants’ understanding of climate change and encouraged them to envision long-term solutions.
A key component of the programme was the integration of artistic expression. Activities such as storytelling, drawing, campaign design, flash mob preparation, and letter-writing to public authorities helped participants translate environmental knowledge into creative outputs. Cultural nights held across four evenings enabled intercultural learning and strengthened cohesion within the group.
Each day concluded with structured evaluation sessions in which participants completed Google Forms and discussed their reflections in groups. These assessments ensured continuous monitoring of progress and adaptation of activities when needed.
Overall, the implementation followed the planned schedule and successfully combined environmental education with artistic expression, enabling participants to develop awareness, creativity and collaborative skills while engaging deeply with the theme of climate change.

Sonuçlar

The Climate Change and Art youth exchange generated concrete results that aligned with the project’s objectives and created meaningful impact on both participants and partner organisations. Throughout the mobility, young people gained a clearer understanding of climate change, its global consequences and the importance of sustainable practices. Workshops such as ecological footprint calculation, EU environmental policy discussions, biodiversity activities and sustainability-focused games enabled participants to identify environmental problems more accurately and to reflect on how individual and collective behaviours affected the planet. As a result, participants reported increased awareness of environmental challenges and adopted a more responsible attitude toward daily consumption and lifestyle habits.
The project significantly strengthened participants’ creative capacities by incorporating artistic methods into climate education. Through drawing sessions, storytelling, poster-making, drama activities and campaign design, participants transformed environmental knowledge into artistic expression. These activities helped them understand how art could be used as a tool to communicate environmental messages and raise public awareness. By engaging in this creative process, young people developed new skills in visual communication, performance and collaborative creation, which enhanced their confidence in addressing social issues through art.
Another important result was the improvement of participants’ soft skills. Group discussions, presentations and collaborative workshops enhanced their teamwork abilities, public speaking skills and intercultural communication. The inclusion of 18 young people with fewer opportunities contributed to an atmosphere of solidarity and mutual support. Through cultural nights and continuous group interactions, participants built strong international bonds and increased their appreciation of cultural diversity.
Daily evaluations, reflection sessions and end-of-day group discussions allowed participants to assess their learning progress and contributed to the refinement of activities. These evaluations demonstrated that participants had successfully internalised the learning objectives, developed a deeper understanding of climate issues and improved their creative problem-solving skills. The final assessments showed that participants felt more motivated to take action on environmental matters and more capable of engaging their communities in awareness-raising efforts.
At the organisational level, partner institutions strengthened their capacity to design and implement climate-focused educational activities. They improved their cooperation, expanded their methodological repertoire in non-formal learning and gained experience in integrating environmental topics with artistic practices. The project encouraged partners to plan future environmental and art-based initiatives and to continue promoting sustainability within their local communities.
Overall, the project achieved its intended impact by deepening environmental awareness, enhancing artistic and communicative skills, empowering disadvantaged youth and fostering long-term engagement in climate action. Participants returned to their communities equipped with knowledge, creativity and motivation to contribute to environmental solutions and to share what they had learned with others. In addition to these results, a comprehensive booklet documenting the project’s activities and outputs was prepared, and a detailed survey analysis summarising participants’ learning progress and feedback was completed. Both the booklet and the survey results were uploaded to the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform to ensure wider accessibility and long-term visibility of the project’s outcomes.