Transforming young adults’ climate learning and actions through a co-created climate communication retreat

Abstract

This article brings climate communication approaches to transformational climate learning by critically evaluating an experimental climate communication retreat that brought 20 young adults from across Europe together in Austria to co-create climate communications as a constitutive dimension of climate action. Structured around the transformational principles of interdisciplinarity, multidimensionality, collaborative project-based learning, reflexivity and action-oriented, the retreat specifically focused upon the creative co-production, between peers, of climate communication as communicative meaning-making and action. The retreat experience transformed young people’s sociocultural understandings of climate change, and climate communication as meaning-making and action, and increased their self and group efficacy. The key factors contributing to these transformations were: the forging of collective identity, peer-to-peer learning, emotional sharing, reflexive spaces, inspiring learning environment, interdisciplinary learning, multidimensional experiences, and collaborative project-based communications. Situating co-created climate communication within transformational learning can help facilitate collective experiences beyond direct climate action participation, helping create education for social change.