On 27 November 2025, as part of the implementation of the project "EU Global Responsible Leadership: Climate Change, Environmental Protection and Humanitarian Aid" (EU_LEAD) and with the support of the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet programme, the Second Ukrainian-Polish Youth Climate Forum was held online on the topic "What are your schools and communities doing to stop climate change?".
The event began with welcoming speeches by EU_LEAD project participants Prof. Yaryna Turchyn (NULP) and Prof. Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk (WMU in Olsztyn). During the expert panel, Prof. Stanisław Czachorowski (University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn) and Olga Bilonizhka (project and programme manager at Zero Waste Alliance Ukraine, member of the Plast NGO and the Youth Council at the Ministry of Economy, Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Ukraine) shared their knowledge. The focus was on the impact of climate change on biodiversity, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and youth participation in environmental initiatives.
The youth panel attracted considerable interest, with students from Secondary School No. 20 in Lviv (Ukraine) and the Jacek Kaczmarski Secondary School in Olsztyn (Republic of Poland) sharing the best local eco-practices, in particular: Daria Frankova, Ulyana Voychyshyn, Viktoria Velikopolska (topic of the report: ‘A comprehensive model for combating climate change in educational institutions: school practices of sorting, eco-artistic activities and monitoring of water resources’), Amelia Zalevska (topic of the report: "Start the change with yourself – the future depends on our actions today. What are you and your community doing to stop climate change?"), prepared with scientific advice from teachers Oksana Kai, Dmytro Ignatov, Grazyna Malek, Dorota Kruslinska-Zysk, and Violetta Matsiak.
The event concluded with a practical eco-panel discussion entitled "The European Green Deal: A Brief Overview of the Key Points," led by Lidiya Kasha, Associate Professor at Lviv Polytechnic National University and member of the Jean Monnet Department of EUSTS. School pupils had the opportunity to test their eco-knowledge by participating in the ‘Green Deal EuriQuiz: A Step Towards a Green Future’ quiz. Teams from Olsztyn and Lviv reached the final and were awarded prizes.
Summing up the event, Prof. Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk emphasised that there is a perception that young people are inferior to the older generation in terms of experience and responsibility. However, the forum proved the opposite, as the eco-practices of schoolchildren are impressive in their innovation and should be more widely used in everyone's lives. After all, saving the planet is everyone's mission, where the key task, according to Prof. Stanisław Chachorowski, is to "leave young people a world in which they can live".
The EU_LEAD project team would like to thank all the numerous participants of the event (over 100 people in total) – pupils, teachers, lecturers, students from Ukraine and Poland, as well as representatives of the public and authorities. Special thanks for supporting the initiative go to Natalia Yasnyska, headmistress of Secondary School No. 20 in Lviv, Ewa Orłowska, headmistress of the Jacek Kaczmarski Secondary School in Olsztynek, and Piotr Kolek, Director of the Department of Education, Culture and Physical Culture of the Olsztyn County, who welcomed and congratulated the participants of the youth forum on behalf of Andrzej Abako, Head of the Olsztyn County.
The event was prepared by the EU_LEAD team – Prof. Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk, Prof. Yaryna Turchyn, Assoc. Prof. Olga Ivaschenko, Assoc. Prof. Oleg Tsebenko, and Yulia Vaida.
