ARPA Valle d’Aosta and CIMA Research Foundation are carrying on an educational initiative aimed at new generations. The goal is both to raise their awareness on the sustainable use of water resources in a context of climate change and to identify concrete ideas to tackle these future challenges
“The Next-Generation COP was born because we wanted to hear what new generations think about climate change and what their proposals are to solve the challenges that global warming poses. We are particularly interested in the opinion of those who are becoming young adults and are therefore will soon be called upon to express their opinion and make choices.” This is how Francesco Avanzi, researcher in the Hydrology and Hydraulics Department of CIMA Research Foundation, presents the “Next-Generation COP,” an initiative born in Aosta as part of the RESERVAQUA project, led by the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta.
Next-Generation COP was an initiative of involvement and reflection during which students were able to get involved and confront themselves with on the one hand the challenges posed by the climate crisis – in particular its effects on the water supply – and on the other hand the difficulties of making shared decisions, capable of gathering the voices and needs of all.
The structure of the Next-Generation COP
This initiative should be seen as a path lasting several months and carried out by CIMA Research Foundation in collaboration with ARPA Valle d’Aosta. Starting in March this year, researchers have organized a series of workshops with high schools in Aosta. Through training and information, they wanted to involve participants in a “small-scale” replica of the Conference of the Parties, the international meeting that, every year, brings together the countries that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“Two institutes were involved in the initiative: the Liceo Scientifico e Linguistico “Edouard Bérard” and the Istitut Agricole Régional Aosta,” says Sara Favre, ARPA Valle d’Aosta’s communication and information liaison and member of the SNPA Communication and Information Observatory. “The format we devised was intended to be somewhat different from classic training activities. In fact, in addition to the face-to-face meetings, which represented a moment of preparation, we assigned students an activity to carry out independently (although supported with remote meetings), which represented the core of the course. Each of the classes involved was indeed divided into groups, which were asked to develop concrete proposals for action (one global and one at the local level) related to the theme of sustainability of water use with reference to one Sustainable Development Goal of Agenda 2023.”
The first part of the course, represented by the preparation modules, took place in March, with two mornings of work and exchange on the “water” issue. The first part of the course, represented by the preparation modules, took place in March, with two mornings of work and exchange on the “water” issue. “In these moments we gave the students an initial overview of the key concepts when dealing with the topic of water. Our goals, in fact, went beyond stimulating a debate on the impacts of climate change, a challenge that already very often appears to be addressed, especially by younger people, in the form of protest. Instead, we wanted students to have the means to understand its scientific aspects, between dynamics and consequences, and to make concrete proposals for change. In short, a path of awareness, information, and involvement,” Dr Avanzi says. “This is why we also introduced some concepts that may be little known yet are increasingly relevant to scientific research as well. For example, when discussing the water cycle, we also describe the anthropogenic component, that is, the use that our species makes of this resource, influencing its availability. In addition, we discussed water-related conflicts, a topic of study that CIMA Research Foundation is also pursuing.”
Keywords: awareness, information, negotiation
Between March and April, the students independently developed initial proposals for change. Afterwards, they met remotely with experts from ARPA Valle d’Aosta and CIMA Research Foundation for a phase of discussion and elaboration of these first proposals. Then, the culminating moment: the Next-Generation COP, held on May 10 in the premises of the Youth Citadel (Cittadella dei Giovani) of Aosta. The proposals were presented in front of all the participants, simulating a real international meeting with time limits for the presentation and a poster session for more in-depth discussion. Finally, two rounds of vote: the first aimed at identifying the top-ten proposals, and a second to vote on amendments that were aimed at making these proposals as popular as possible. Everything was done through apps to get the largest participation possible.
“The stages of drafting proposals, their initial analysis, and finally the final presentation and voting had a double objective: to stimulate participants to work independently and, more importantly, to allow them to experience firsthand the challenges posed by negotiation activities,” Dr Marta Galvagno, researcher at ARPA Valle d’Aosta, says. “In other words, we wanted to let them experience firsthand how complex it can be to find shared solutions taking into account different positions, for example reconciling the interests of the tourism sector with those of local citizens, or the agricultural sector, the hydroelectric energy production, and environment protection.”
Toward communicating to the public and the political world
“There are several aspects that really make us think that this approach can be considered successful,” Dr Avanzi says. “First of all, the enthusiasm and diligence of those who participated. From the information we gave them during the initial workshops, students delved into the different aspects concerning the management of the water resource in a thorough way, even independently studying management and technological strategies to reduce water consumption (and waste). After all, the choice of water as a theme for training and, subsequently, negotiation did not happen by chance. With last year’s drought, in fact, young people in the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta were able to see firsthand the consequences of water scarcity – all the more so considering that a high schoolwith a focus on different topics including agriculture was also participating (the Institut Agricole Régional), meaning students had a specific interest in issues for which water is a fundamental element.”
The format also represented an experimentation of an innovative educational approach, and its results support communication of its results to a wider audience. First, we aim at making it known outside the school world, that is, by outreaching to local citizenship and politics. “This is a step we are very keen on, the modalities of which are being defined and which will also be done in collaboration with the municipality of Aosta,” Dr Favre says. “We would like students to have a way to present their path and results to fellow citizens and local and regional decision makers. The positive implication would be twofold, because not only would it allow us to valorize and disseminate the proposals – and the basis on which they were formulated – by making them known to the Aosta Valley reality, but it would also allow the students to get back into the game, experiencing public communication.”
With this view on enhancement and beyond, experts from ARPA Valle d’Aosta and CIMA Research Foundation intend to repeat the experience in other venues and contexts. “Being able to replicate the path of the Next-Generation COP elsewhere (in other schools, but also other cities or regions) would allow us to gather new and different perspectives on the needs and hopes that new generations, those who will suffer most from the impacts of climate change, have towards the sustainability of the use of water resources in our century,” Dr Avanzi concludes.