No Talking, Just Action
Founded in 2019, Youth for Climate NL is a movement of Dutch youth activists who campaign, lobby, and advocate for better climate policy. Since its founding, the organisation has been committed to bringing climate issues to the attention of politicians and Dutch students — engaging with policymakers, organising public actions, and creating spaces where young people can learn about the climate crisis while taking concrete steps to address it.
The organisation works across the full spectrum of youth climate activism: from direct actions and demonstrations to discussions with politicians and cooperation with other environmental organisations including Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, Milieudefensie, and Spun Youth. Its strength lies in its ability to combine different registers — civic engagement, media presence, community organising — in a way that is accessible to all Dutch young people, regardless of background or prior knowledge.
Peer-to-Peer Education in Action
Youth for Climate NL operates on the principle of peer-to-peer education: more experienced young activists share their knowledge, skills, and networks with newcomers, creating a self-renewing learning community. Participants can engage at whatever level they choose — some are deeply involved in campaigns and lobbying, others contribute more occasionally — which means the movement accommodates different levels of commitment while maintaining a core of highly motivated, experienced activists.
This model of learning — by doing, alongside peers, in real political and civic contexts — is one of the most genuine expressions of non-formal sustainability education in existence. Young people are not learning about climate action in a classroom: they are doing it, reflecting on it, and teaching each other from lived experience.
Thinking Outside the Box
Being a youth-led organisation means that there is much to learn — but it also means there is the freedom to think differently, to challenge conventional assumptions, and to be heard in ways that adults sometimes cannot. Youth for Climate NL embodies this double quality: it is imperfect, evolving, and sometimes uncertain, but it generates a quality of ownership and commitment that more structured organisations struggle to replicate.
Relevance for Sustainable Learning
Youth for Climate NL is a vivid example of how young people, when given agency and support, can become not just recipients of sustainability education but its primary practitioners. It connects directly to SDG 13 (Climate Action) and illustrates the power of youth leadership in shaping the future.
Website: youthforclimate.nl
Contact: Saachi Ramrattansing – voorzitter@youthforclimate.nl
