The Future is Climate: Youth-Led Citizen Science for Climate Adaptation in Europe
Project Overview
We are currently in the deliberation phase of the project, conducting online sessions that are both educational and participatory in nature. In March 2026, we will reach a significant milestone with an in-person gathering in Brussels. This event will allow us to convene and consolidate the findings emerging from the process thus far, while finalizing the individual proposals developed by the participants. The Université Libre de Bruxelles and the European Economic and Social Committee will host several days of intensive training, dialogue, and proposal-drafting aimed at addressing the climate crisis. Subsequently, we will analyze the data and proposals gathered to compile a comprehensive report documenting all outcomes, which will then be disseminated to civil society.
27 Voices, One European Vision
The Future is Climate is a project that integrates two core principles: citizen participation and citizen science. Our initiative brings together 27 young individuals from across Europe, representing each European Union member state, to co-define a new scientific framework for the climate crisis, positioning research and youth engagement as the project’s primary drivers. The objective is to contribute to scientific knowledge through youth-led citizen participation and to translate these novel scientific perspectives into social and policy proposals aligned with climate change adaptation.
Moving Forward
With the support of ScienceUs, we can integrate a novel scientific approach into our project, providing a new catalyst for citizen engagement. Science should not be perceived as something remote or abstract, detached from the public, rather it must be conducted both with and by the citizenry. Indeed, our project addresses, within a highly complex global landscape, the stagnation of scientific data and the academic community in mobilizing climate adaptation solutions and fostering social awareness. We aim to provide solutions in this area, and by leveraging the support of ScienceUs to blend the principles of participation and citizen science, we are launching The Future is Climate to make this vision a reality.
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”