When we talk about “transition” we risk falling into the naivety of being able to transport the current system from one point to another but, as young people all over the world are pointing out and as the pandemic has dramatically highlighted, this is not the case. We believe that young people have the capacity, creativity, and passion to build a Europe that does not live off the rest of the world, spreading inequalities and environmental damage. According to the priority of the “European Youth Forum”, in which the applicant’s project coordinator is a delegate, we seek to empower young people as agents of their own, sustainable future. As it is necessary to identify the root causes of inequalities in order to challenge the status quo, the youth should develop competencies in various sustainability-relevant sectors, developing green sectorial skills strategies and methodologies, as well as have a voice about future-oriented curricula that better meet the needs of individuals and communities. We demand that the voice of youth is properly included in the negotiations and, therefore, it calls for a more democratic and equitable process for localizing Agenda 2030, which both includes young people and also tackles inequalities: “reinforcing links between policy, research and practice” becomes in this perspective a fundamental vector to approach a just and fair transition.

Those are the beliefs and the motives that brought this idea project to life: to foster open and distance learning aimed to develop key competencies and green skills in localizing the goals and principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We believe that young people and youth organizations have several needs to be achieved in the move towards a more sustainable future.

For young people:

1. a) to be recognized as rightsholders;
2. b) to see unlocked their potential as agents for change.

For youth organizations:

1. c) to be effective catalysts of young people’s efforts;
2. d) to be able to enhance internal training and skills of organizations on sustainability issues.