Campus de l'engagement

Presentation of the organization

Created 45 years ago, ENvironnement JEUnesse works for environmental education (ÉRE) "by and for the environment". It favors outdoor pedagogy and develops programs adapted to school and college environments. Its action aims to stimulate the formation of an eco-citizenship based on democratic participation in socio-ecological issues.

Context

ENvironnement JEUnesse, with its experience with programs like Cégep Vert du Québec, is now reinventing its offer for college students. With Campus de l'engagement, the organization wishes to structure an action-learning path for young adults, in partnership with youth initiatives and environmental conferences. The goal is to equip, motivate, and unite young people ready to take concrete action for the climate.

Project Description

The Campus de l'engagement is an annual program that mobilizes three cohorts of 18 to 30-year-olds, each following a personalized path in communication, facilitation, or mobilization. It combines workshops, field meetings, visits, networking events, and training sessions. At the end of the program, participants receive a skills certificate attesting to their learning.

Pedagogical Intentions

At the heart of the Campus de l'engagement is the development of future skills: citizen engagement, critical thinking, collective leadership, and communication. The program aims to question how the environment is discussed in CEGEPs and to encourage positive action stories, far from alarmist discourses. Engagement is seen as a collective process, mobilizing a community around local and concrete projects.

Methodology and Approach

Based on the principles of ÉRE (ÉRE aims to foster individual and collective capacity to understand, feel, imagine, and transform the world, so that it remains livable, just, and joyful), the program favors active learning, co-construction, and democratic participation. It is part of a transformative approach that values the involvement of young people as agents of change. Furthermore, the experience of programs like Cégep Vert demonstrates the potential of educational partnerships to promote the active participation of the entire college community (management, students, staff).

  • Three modular paths: communication, facilitation, mobilization.
  • Experiential and localized: field trips, visits, citizen events.
  • Real consideration of constraints and words from the field: how do we talk about the environment in CEGEPs?
  • Specific networking events for engaged youth.
  • A certificate at the end, valuing engagement and acquired skills.

1. The type of project developed by young people in the program:

Citizen mobilization campaigns

  • Organizing a petition or an event around a local issue (e.g., protecting a green space, access to active transport).
  • Creating an environmental committee in a CEGEP or a municipality.

Creation of educational or media content

  • Production of podcasts, videos, or posters on local climate issues.
  • Managing a page or an Instagram account dedicated to the environment.

Collective and intergenerational events

  • Organizing a youth forum on the climate.
  • Setting up a citizen café or a green agora to exchange with the community.

Intervention or space transformation projects

  • Creating a community garden, a composting space, or an ecological corridor.
  • Greening project in a schoolyard or an underused parking lot.

Peer training and workshop facilitation

  • Designing and facilitating workshops in school, community, or youth settings.
  • Training young peers on the basics of eco-responsible communication or climate leadership.

2. Participants in the programs have shared feedback such as: "I am not alone. There are other young people asking the same questions as me, and together, we can make things happen," and "Before, I didn't know where to start. Now, I have tools, contacts, and a project I can carry forward."

Collective Action Capabilities

  • Knowing how to organize an event, mobilize people, facilitate a group.
  • Experiencing teamwork, dialogue, and shared decision-making.

Critical Thinking and More Systemic Understanding

  • Developing a deep understanding of the structural causes of environmental issues.
  • Being able to distinguish false solutions from just transition paths.

Communication Skills

  • Adapting one's discourse to different audiences (youth, elected officials, media, etc.).
  • Expressing oneself orally and in writing with confidence on complex issues.

Personal and Collective Sense of Efficacy

  • Gaining confidence in one's ability to change things.
  • Developing a positive connection to engagement, as something supportive and joyful.

Eco-citizen Knowledge

  • Understanding the tools of democratic participation (consultations, councils, community organizations).
  • Knowing the laws, policies, or institutions that regulate the environment in Quebec.

The Campus aims to make environmental engagement a collective project. It addresses an identified problem: young people want to get involved but lack structured spaces to act. ÉRE (environmental education) provides a solid foundation for developing critical, ethical, and political skills in young people. Inspired by models like Cégep Vert, the Campus promotes the idea of a responsible college community, driven by a network of actors and good practices, and embodies the transition to action.