As part of a collaborative project, #EnergíaJoven is launched as an initiative to enhance the leadership of young Argentines in the transition towards a fairer and more sustainable energy system. The project is carried out by Wuppertal Institute, the Siemens Foundation and the 500 RPM Foundation. Financial support comes from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German government and is supported by Wisions of Sustainability of Germany.

Promoted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) of Germany through the IKI Medium 2024-2027 call, the project aims to work alongside developing and emerging countries in the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) framed in the Paris Agreement.

The Youth Energy project - Activating the Potential of Youth to Drive the Just Energy Transition in Argentina seeks to strengthen the capacities of technical secondary schools in three key Argentine provinces: Chubut, Neuquén and Mendoza. Over the next 36 months, the focus will be on education as a fundamental tool to engage youth in the fair energy transition.

During 2024, training activities will be carried out in a hybrid manner and replicated in 24 technical schools selected by the provincial Ministries of Education. These trainings will address topics related to climate change, energy transition and renewable energies, adapting to the provincial socio-productive matrix. Collaboration with the OCE (Office for Climate Change Education in Paris) guarantees an international and quality approach to training.

The project includes several key actions, such as the training of teachers and multipliers on climate change, gender and renewable energy issues; the provision of teaching kits and teaching materials; the manufacture and installation of demonstrative hybrid systems; and the co-organization of local and national participation forums.

Project Scope:

24 technical secondary schools benefited

3 hybrid wind-solar systems installed

More than 100 educational teaching kits distributed

4 local and national forums held

48 teachers and 6 multiplier units trained

In the words of Luciana Proietti, president and co-founder of the 500 RPM Foundation: “This project is important because it allows us to empower young people for climate action through education, so that they are prepared for this action in the future, and it does so by addressing the different aspects related to climate change and the energy transition necessary to face it from a scientific perspective, both theoretical and practical. First, working on the concepts with a novel pedagogy brought to us by the Office for Climate Education in Paris (OCE), which was created exclusively to meet the need for systematic educational components, so we are pioneers in bringing this methodology to Argentina. Then, through the use of pedagogical-didactic kits, so that teachers can work in the classroom with students, something that is highly required at the educational level and that needs to be systematized in technical education. And finally, with the installation of low-power hybrid wind and solar energy systems, for pedagogical use. This is a comprehensive project, which we believe can be very beneficial and which we hope local governments can replicate in the future, an aspect that is contemplated in the second year of implementation of the project.”

For his part, Guillermo Pleitavino, responsible for Communication and Project Formulation of the 500 RPM Foundation: “This project is very important. First, because it is a global alliance that involves a German organization that is a reference in climate change worldwide, and two organizations that work at the local level, such as the Siemens Foundation and the 500 RPM Foundation. The project addresses climate change and the energy transition with a very solid scientific basis and supported by applied technology. This is a great differentiator of this project, since it involves providing infrastructure in specific areas to technical schools: in addition to the soft component and the multiplier effect of teacher training, it is important that the project includes the delivery of educational kits to schools created and designed by the organizations that are part of the project.”

Finally, the Secretary of Planning and Educational Policies of the Ministry of Education of Chubut, Marcelo Álvarez, mentioned: “We believe it is essential and a priority to enhance this knowledge in the classroom, making innovative educational resources available to teachers to promote science teaching through experimentation and project-based learning. It is a joy for the province to support a successful international educational program in other Latin American countries and with top-level trainers, who provide the latest trends on climate change and energy transition, which are crucial to continue promoting our socio-productive matrix while always taking care of the environment.”