YCI’s Innovate MY Future gives young people the opportunity to become climate action leaders in their communities

Since launch in 2019, over 100 young people across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) have come together, working in partnership to plan and execute climate action projects. Laura Hache, Youth Challenge International’s (YCI) Climate Action Lead, shares how the Innovate MY Future program is engaging youth to tackle climate issues in their communities.

Today’s young people are at the frontlines of climate action mobilization worldwide. Motivated by genuine anxiety for their future and frustrated with delayed action from older generations, youth today are eager to roll up their sleeves and make change happen. 

In collaboration with Evergreen, YCI’s Innovate MY Future program provides a platform for young people in the GTHA region to channel their passion and energy to tackle the climate change in tangible ways and test new approaches to address the crisis at the local level. Since last spring, we have recruited over 100 young people across the GTHA and placed them on 22 place-based teams. These ‘Climate Action Catalysts’ are doing the hard work of engaging in dialogue about these issues in the public realm. YCI then provided training, resources and mentorship to support our Catalysts to design and run climate action projects together in their cities.  

In February, YCI and Evergreen hosted the Climate Action Catalyst Summit at Evergreen Brick Works, which was the first time that all of our 100 Climate Action Catalysts were together in one room to share what they accomplished with their projects and what they’re planning next.  

Read the full article on YCI’s Climate Action Catalyst Summit 2020 at futurecitiescanada.ca and check out our video and photo gallery from the event below!