The Youth Energy Labs Guide is a resource developed within the Erasmus+ project Youth Energy Labs, designed to support youth workers, educators and professionals in engaging young people in sustainability-related initiatives.
The guide provides a structured yet flexible methodology for setting up Energy Labs, spaces where participants can explore renewable energy, circular economy, responsible consumption and sustainable entrepreneurship through interactive and practical activities.
The Guide is intended for those working with young people aged 16 to 30, particularly those at risk of social exclusion or energy poverty, with the goal of equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand environmental challenges and develop solutions tailored to their communities. Through hands-on learning experiences, young participants are encouraged to think critically, experiment with sustainable technologies and collaborate on concrete projects that promote more responsible energy and consumption models.
The Guide outlines 20 structured activities, divided into five thematic areas:
- Environmental sustainability, addressing awareness and personal engagement with sustainability issues.
- Renewable energy, exploring different ways to generate clean energy, such as wind and solar power.
- Circular economy, introducing practical ways to reduce waste and upcycle materials.
- Sustainable consumption, encouraging reflection on daily habits, such as the impact of fashion or food waste.
- Green entrepreneurship, helping participants develop skills to create sustainable business ideas.
These activities are designed to combine technical knowledge with experimentation, allowing participants to apply scientific concepts to real-world sustainability challenges. For example, they might build small wind turbines to understand how blade design affects energy generation, test how different materials influence a building’s energy efficiency or explore ways to repurpose discarded objects into useful items.
Each activity follows a clear structure that includes learning objectives, required materials, step-by-step instructions and reflection questions, making it easier for educators to adapt them to different contexts and participant groups.
A key element of the Guide is its participatory approach, which ensures that young people are not just passive learners but active contributors in shaping sustainable solutions. The methodology follows an action-research model, where participants identify sustainability challenges in their local communities, test solutions and evaluate their impact.
This approach fosters problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills, while also strengthening their ability to engage with local stakeholders, from environmental organizations to businesses and policymakers.
The Youth Energy Labs Guide is available in English and will be soon available in Spanish, Latvian, Italian and Greek, ensuring accessibility across different communities. Developed as an open educational resource, it provides youth organizations, educators, and facilitators with a practical tool to integrate sustainability education into their programs.
