VIRTUAL EXCHANGE: Climate Justice
‘Climate Justice: From Inequality to Inclusion’ offers an interactive and international online learning experience focused on one of our planet’s most pressing challenges: finding fair and inclusive approaches to tackle the climate crisis. Through Virtual Exchange, students coming from diverse national and cultural backgrounds, will embark on a shared journey of learning and discovery.
Over the 10 weeks of this course, you will meet online every week for a two-hour group session, with fellow group members and guided by experienced facilitators. During these sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss the week’s topics, and dive into the course content.
You will learn with, and from, fellow students about the climate crisis, climate justice, and inclusive climate action. Together you will explore the complex connections between climate change, societal identities, environmental equity, and meaningful solutions.
In short:
- You’ll embark on a 10-week Virtual Exchange journey. The next Virtual Exchange starts October 14 until December 20, 2024.
- You can expect to invest a total of 90 hours in this course, equivalent to earning 3 ECTS credits (accreditation may vary per university).
- Get ready for a unique transnational group project that will challenge and inspire you.
- This course offers innovative learning elements while enhancing your intercultural and transversal skills, engaging with students from 15+ different countries.
- Our curriculum includes thought-provoking audiovisual materials to enrich your learning experience.
- Get certified with a badge & certificate upon successfully competing this programme.
Who is this course for?
Course are free of charge for participants aged 18-30 and residing in one of our target countries: Algeria, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia.
Currently, we can only enrol students from our partner universities. The following institutions are partners in this project:
- Universite Setif 2 – Algeria
- Alexandria University – Egypt
- Deraya University – Egypt
- Universite de Bordeaux – France
- Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg – Germany
- University of Limerick – Ireland
- UNIMED – Mediterranean Universities Union – Italy
- Universita degli Studi di Padova – Italy
- National University College of Technology – Jordan
- Lebanese International University – Lebanon
- Universite Abdelmalek Essaadi – Morocco
- Hogeschool Utrecht – Netherlands
- Sharing Perspectives Foundation – Netherlands
- An-Najah National University – Palestine
- Bethlehem University – Palestine
- The Islamic University Gaza – Palestine
- Universidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro – Portugal
- Universitat de Girona – Spain
- Al-Sham University – Syria
- Association Soliya – Tunisia
- Institut National de Recherche et d’Analyse Physico-Chimique – Tunisia
If you are a student at one of these institutions and wish to participate in this course, contact your university to learn more about the enrolment procedure.
Course Structure
This is a fully-online course. All course activities and resources will be shared through our course website. Below are the main components of this course. You can find more detailed descriptions, instructions and scoring in the course syllabus.
Weekly Online Dialogue Sessions
Each week, at your scheduled group meeting time, log in to your session through the link provided to you via email at the start of the course. The dialogue sessions are where you discuss the week’s topics with your fellow participants, do activities to get to know each other better. A facilitator is there to guide the two-hour session.
Weekly Learning Materials and Assignments
Prior to your online dialogue session, you need to review the week’s learning materials and to submit a short written response to them as homework. This will help you prepare for the group discussion and think about the learning materials.
After the online session, you need to share their thoughts about the dialogue in an individual, private reflection journal. Your submissions will create a personal record of their experience and development through the 10-week learning process.
Group Project
You will collaborate in (international) teams on a ‘Climate Action Project’ to bring your online experience to your offline realities. These Climate Action Projects are collaborative projects that are designed collectively and then implemented locally. Empowered by newfound knowledge and intercultural competencies, You will work together to collectively design innovative climate actions and will bring them in your everyday life. Part of this group project is to submit a project plan, a report on the progress of the project, present your project in your dialogue groups and to write a blog post on the project.
Workload and Expected Time Investment
This course entails a total workload of 90 hours, equivalent to earning 3 ECTS credits. Your expected weekly time commitment is approximately 9 hours maximum, which can be broken down as follows:
- 2 hours: Online group sessions.
- Max. 3 hours: Engaging with course materials and completing assignments.
- 4 hours: Collaborative group project work (starting in week 3)
You will have 2 hours of scheduled weekly contact time during the dialogue sessions, will be scheduled to fit your availability. The remaining tasks, including assignments and reviewing weekly content, can be completed at your own convenience throughout the course week.
Topic Outline
The main theme of this course is climate justice, with a focus on inclusive climate action. The proposed curriculum aims to inform students on this large theme by addressing sub-themes in a manner that allows them to comprehend its complexity and intersections with other social issues, reflect on power dynamics and global politics, while ultimately empowering them to engage in civic action to contribute towards inclusive climate action.
Week 1: Introduction to the Climate Crisis and the Concept of Climate Justice
An introduction to the course and the concept of climate justice, as well as a preview of the content students will engage with. They will discuss what experience and knowledge they are bringing into the course, what they hope to learn, and what aspects of climate justice they are eager to discuss with their Virtual Exchange group.
Week 2: Climate Change and Inequality (Part I)
Climate change does not impact everyone the same way or to the same extent. This week students will look at the inequality of vulnerability, the concept of environmental racism, and how their social identities can play a key role in how climate change affects their lives.
Week 3: Climate Change and Inequality (Part II)
What is intersectionality, how is one intersectional, and what does this have to do with climate change? This week, students will look at how social identities combine and shape a person’s perspectives and circumstances. They will also explore how understanding this is important to taking inclusive climate action.
Week 4: Power and Climate Action
Who has the power to make impactful decisions about climate action? How or where are these decisions being made? This week, students will look at examples of inclusive action and responses to climate change, identify stakeholders at different levels, and analyse what their own role can be.
Week 5: Climate Justice Through a Personal Lens
This week, students will turn the focus to personal experiences. They will reflect on their identities, their lived experiences, and their participation in change-making. They will get to hear the personal climate stories of individuals from around the world, and share their personal stories as well.
Week 6: Global Politics and Climate Policy
How do politics affect (and are affected by) sustainability efforts worldwide? This week, students look at the politics of climate change, including the key actions and debates taking place on the international level.
Week 7: Critical Lens on Climate Initiatives
The world is seeing a rapid rise in initiatives, policies and products that are carbon-neutral, environmentally friendly, and explicitly taking climate change into consideration – but are these initiatives authentic, or might they be too good to be true? This week, students will take a critical look at some of the most popular climate ‘solutions,’ their outcomes, and where to most effectively direct our support.
Week 8: Climate Communication and Advocacy
What stories do we hear about climate change, and what narratives and frames are used to tell them? This week students will look at the media landscape, ways climate stories are communicated, and how this translates into action.
Week 9: Climate Crisis Strategies: Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience
What powers do technology, nature, and our creativity have to mitigate climate change? This week students will explore how nations, cities and people are rising to meet the challenges posed by their changing environments.
Week 10: Your Climate Actions
In their final week, students will reflect on their journey together and the road ahead. They will look back on their personal and collective accomplishments throughout the course, and look ahead to the role they want to play in their future and the future of our planet.
Course editions
First: March 4 – May 10, 2024
Second: October 14 – December 20, 2024