Review of a youth camp week under the sign of sustainability
![Network Climate Youth Camp 2022 A group of young people stand in nature and wave at the camera.](/resources/files/png129/netzwerk-klima-jugendcamp-formatkey-png-w320m.png)
How do we work with young people from six countries on the topic of sustainability and learn German at the same time? The project Netzwerk Kima enabled 24 young people and 6 accompanying teachers to spend an eventful week in Thailand.
Interdisciplinary GFL lessons as a pedagogical concept
The youth exchange project Netzwerk Klima is based on the so-called FüDaF lessons (interdisciplinary German as a foreign language lessons) as a pedagogical concept. Here, German language skills are taught together with subject knowledge from another subject. During their week together in Thailand, the participants of Netzwerk Klima discussed topics such as environmental protection, consumption and sustainable development, learned a lot and developed their own projects, primarily in German. Where they were unable to make progress in German, they switched to English in order to minimize barriers to the content of their work.![Sustainability workshop with project partner Traidhos Workshop leader in blue T-shirt leads a group.](/resources/files/png129/nachhaltigkeitsworkshop-formatkey-png-w320m.png)
Eat local, reduce waste, experience sustainable places
To get to know the venue better, Traidhos organized a scavenger hunt through the hotel on the first day. The first workshop was dedicated to the so-called SDGs, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations.The second day of the youth camp brought a lot of rain in addition to German learning activities and sustainability workshops. But the participants didn't let that dampen their spirits. In the workshops, they learned how to make soap with natural ingredients - like rosemary from the hotel garden. Or how to make spring rolls organically and environmentally friendly with vegetables and herbs (also from the hotel's own garden). The young people now know why local food is so important for climate protection. They could experience for themselves how to not only grow local vegetables in their own garden, but also compost the leftovers there to enrich the soil with important nutrients and avoid waste. How great would it be to try out this circular principle in your own school cafeteria?
![Workshop in the rain A group of people stand with their feet in the water in a tropical garden. They are carrying umbrellas.](/resources/files/png129/workshop-im-regen-formatkey-png-w320m.png)
![Project work Network Climate Five people hold up an A1 sheet with a graphic and explain it.](/resources/files/png129/projektarbeit-formatkey-png-w320m.png)
![Paddle Tour Network Climate View from above of several kayaks on a river](/resources/files/png129/paddeltour-formatkey-png-w320m.png)
![Country evening Network Climate Four people wear traditional clothing and sing.](/resources/files/png129/laenderabend-formatkey-png-w320m.png)
What remains?
During the week together, the country teams worked on their own ideas that they would like to implement at their schools. Representatives of these country teams remain in regular exchange with the Goethe-Institut Thailand. They have founded the Network Climate Environment Club (LINK), with which they can support each other and implement their own projects. The environmental club is particularly important because one thing is certain: it is not enough to be sensitized to environmental protection and sustainability if no action follows afterwards. With the environmental club, the Goethe-Institut Thailand wants to support this implementation and be effective in the long term.