Youth Climate Meeting in Tampere 6.5.2026
The Youth Climate Meeting was held in Tampere, Finland, as part of the National Youth Climate Meetings taking place across Europe within the climate justice project EYA European Youth in Action. The Finnish event was organised on the 6th of May 2026 in the premises of Tampere youth services and lasted for a day.
As a part of the EYA European Youth in Action project the main target group of the event was youth from 15 to 30 years of age. The goal was to raise youth’s awareness of climate change and explore climate justice through the themes of biodiversity, energy transition, greenwashing, and sustainable and responsible consumption. The event also had the objective of encouraging youth to participate in climate action and express their thoughts and ideas to policymakers.
Event structure
The meeting day was divided into five parts: Introduction and welcome speech, morning workshops, lunch break and fresco, afternoon workshops, and ending speech. The day started with welcoming participants with a coffee and tea and directing them towards the main hall. They were then greeted with a short introduction to the event, Allianssi Youth Exchanges, and the EYA project, followed by a speech by the Finnish Youth Delegate for climate, Saara Böök, before the day’s activities began.
The morning consisted of two workshops: one about responsibility and greenwashing, and one about energy transition. The responsibility and greenwashing workshop was organised by RARE Media, a modern media directed at youth, and consisted of learning about responsible journalism practices and crafting greenwashing-related memes. During the latter workshop, hosted by Tampere Rap Academy, participants discovered the basics of rap song making with the key-themes of energy transition before writing and recording their own energy transition -related rap songs. The energy transition rap can be found here!
During lunch break participants were served vegan lunch and they were encouraged to express their thoughts and ideas about the day’s topics on a long paper in the form of text or doodles. They were guided to explain what they had learned so far, express their thoughts and worries related to climate change, and propose concrete solutions for EU policymakers.
In the afternoon the activities continued with three workshops. A second rap songwriting workshop was organised, but this time about biodiversity. The biodiversity rap can be found here! The second workshop, organised by a university professor, took the form of an escape game, where participants had to come up with solutions to save the warming planet while making sustainable choices. The third workshop by an association for ethical trade, Eetti, explored the theme of responsibility, especially from the viewpoint of industry and consumption. Participants learned what responsibility means when it comes to everyday objects, such as smartphones and clothing, and learned how their own choices and actions can make a difference.
The day ended with the release of the earlier rap songs, followed by a speech held by Ilmastosoturit (“Climate warriors”), a high school climate group who discussed the theme of hope for the future. Participants were eager to share their thoughts and engage in conversation.
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Outcomes
A total of 54 young people participated in the event. The feedback collected through Google forms was mostly positive. The participants found the workshops to be interesting and well-organised, and many felt like they learned something new. The invited speakers were highly appreciated. The event inspired many participants to engage more for climate in the future. Overall, participants were satisfied with the event and its organisation.
Regarding the fresco made during lunch break, many participants filled the paper with their thoughts and illustrations. When going through them, it was possible to see certain categories emerge. The categories are set out below with the youth’s thoughts, concerns, and propositions summarised.
Climate justice
Global inequalities regarding climate change mitigation and consequences - developing countries suffering from historical colonial structures and developed countries avoiding responsibility over climate change
The (in)sufficiency of corporate social responsibility practices and policies
Granting more public subsidies for climate action for small companies
Giving greater emphasis to climate researchers in policymaking
Greenwashing
Giving greater emphasis to the prevention and sanctioning of greenwashing, including the ongoing effects of past issues
Energy transition
Prohibiting the marketing of fossil fuels
More investments and subsidies to renewable energy and the development of nuclear energy infrastructure
Biodiversity
Giving greater emphasis to ecological urban planning
Increasing forest restoration
Putting an end to deforestation, especially in protected areas
Concrete policy propositions
Limiting private driving and investing more in public transport
Stricter rules to the construction of data centers
Making plant-based food more accessible and affordable
Cuts to the subsidies of the meat industry
Increasing the amount of recycle centers that also offer repair services
Ending the waste and disposal of leftover food and products, and reusing them instead (e.g. donating to the poor, recycling, etc.)
Investing more in the development of recyclable materials and waste management
Awareness raising
Incorporating climate change education into the curriculum starting from elementary school
Mandatory info-sessions in workplaces and schools about climate change and everyday sustainable practices