One of the highlights of Youth4Planet🇱🇺’s 2024 CreatiVelo Festival: sitting in the front row of St George’s School Auditorium…as radio-host 100 Komma 7 Radio’s Natacha Ehrmann asked pertinent question after pertinent question for almost an hour to Andrew, Frida and Natasha…and each of these Climate Youth Delegates (recently returned from the United Nations COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan) gave deep-dive thoughtful answers.

The Climate Youth Delegates reminded us of core truths: the battle against climate change is not just about metrics or policy; it’s about bench-marking…it’s about irretrievably improving how we work, live, move, eat, care and dream as a global community. Their communiqué (“Don’t Condemn Us to Hell,” published on EuroSolar Luxembourg’s website: https://www.eurosolar.lu/2024/11/26/communique-lrsl_actionteam4future-sur-la-cop29/) shares the frustrations of a generation that has inherited tipping points not of their making: “If current policies continue, the world is facing 3.1C of warming by the end of the century. The first week of the conference quickly revealed the scale of the challenge: the science is clear, but the politics are not.”

With clarity and courage, these students demand accountability from local and world leaders. They emphasize the urgency of keeping the 1.5°C target alive. The need for a just transition away from fossil fuels, equitable climate financing, and the moral imperative to prioritize the voices of those most affected…has never been more urgent. Their work proves that Youth are more than witnesses to history: they are architects of the future. (Note: contact information for the Climate Youth Delegates team is at the bottom of this article).

The students mentioned Ingmar Rentzog (CEO of We Don’t Have Time) who correctly insights: Move the Money away from the >$7 Trillion in total Fossil Fuel subsidies. We have the solutions: move that $7 Trillion into Renewable Energies and Battery Storage that reliably scale at lower cost. Solar and Wind energy are THE fastest new exajoules as they add new energy supply faster than Natural Gas or Nuclear ever have. Investments in stationary energy storage exceeded nuclear power investment in 2023. Meanwhile, Clean Energy Investments have exceeded Fossil Fuel Investments for the past 8 years.

The following are worth sharing and discussing:

i) the 2024 annual presentation on the state of Decarbonization as told with Climate + Capital Markets + Technology and Sector data https://www.nathanielbullard.com/presentations as well as…

ii) The Solutions Project’s Global 100% Renewable Energy Roadmap…which incidentally won Time Magazine’s inaugural Carbon Award: https://thesolutionsproject.org/what-we-do/inspiring-action/why-clean-energy/#/map/countries/location/ALL and in the country by country category…

iii) The Solutions Project calculates that Luxembourg’s Collateral Benefits include: more than 18-thousand long-term jobs + >€1 Billion in avoided Health-care Costs + Massive Savings from 2050 Average Energy Costs https://thesolutionsproject.org/what-we-do/inspiring-action/why-clean-energy/#/map/countries/location/LUX).

Preceding the Climate Youth Discussion, was a powerful panel discussion: “Digital Media for Children & Youth: Curse or Blessing or Maybe Both?” the session brought together a diverse group of voices to dissect the opportunities and challenges presented by technology. Moderated by Natascha Ehrman and introduced with an original animated short-film (featuring Maja and Socrates) by Joerg Altekruse (CEO of Youth4Planet), the discussion explored digital media’s powerful pull and complexity. Timothy O’Brien, representing the CNEL Student Forum, brought mature mindfulness as a young leader navigating this landscape. From a parent’s perspective, Caroline Corr of Parents Voice shared heartfelt insights about following the science while addressing the challenges families face in managing children’s digital consumption. Zeba Clarke, principal of St. George’s, expanded on the role of Educators & Schools in navigating these boundaries and maintaining the highest standards and best-practices. Manon Block of CNAPA.lu, an addiction specialist, offered a sobering view of the darker side of digital media. She shared evidence of how overexposure to screens can lead to dependency, especially among younger users, whose brains are still developing. Finally, Letizia Lukas, coordinator of digitization projects at Luxembourg’s Ministry of Education (MENJE), brought a policy perspective. She spoke of the Ministry’s efforts to support learning and empower responsible citizenship. The discussion was a powerful reminder that digital media’s positive and negative impacts…is shaped by how we use it…while maintaining necessary boundaries.

CreatiVelo Festival’s opening workshops are also a run-up for Youth4Planet🇱🇺’s engagement with LUGA 2025: Semion Smolenskiy (wowwing the crowds with the Natur Musée’s latest AI app installed on the CreatiVelo’s large TV screen) showed how concrete-heavy public-spaces can be easily re-imagined with Trees, Hedges, Flowers, Moss and Art. Bike Bus advocates (School Principals + Teachers + Parents + Children) engaged profoundly with Youth4Planet’s ever-everesting-by-cargo-bike chargé de mission Christian Thalacker and co-pilot C.A.T. (Y4P’s Climate Action Tiger). Meanwhile, in the canteen, Tobi captivated listeners with original Climate Action beats:

In 2024, the CreatiVelo Challenge launched in Luxembourg. Individuals and teams were invited to create a short video, music, art, stories or _ _ _ _ _ (creative project) that honors their favorite United Nations Sustainable Development Goal(s): https://creativelo.bike/creativelo-challenge/#intro

RTL Luxembourg’s weekend magazine reported on our CreatiVelo Challenge Workshop in Remerschen during the summer https://www.rtl.lu/news/panorama/a/2214696.html with the headline: “Creativelo” also on its way to Luxembourg to raise awareness among young people. We whole-heartedly agree that it is NOW time to make our youth aware of our sustainability goals and raise awareness. With that in mind, Youth4Planet🇱🇺 wishes to honor three outstanding local submissions to the CreatiVelo Challenge:

‣ Charlotte Heldenstein for her short video celebrating Community Gardens and Tearing Down Walls between Neighbors https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5GFuajNMCt/

‣ Marcel Barros for his multi-lingual Call-to-Action poem + videos inviting everyone to solder Peace at the RepairCafé: https://www.repaircafe.lu/en/become-a-repairer/

and

‣ non-profit natur&ëmwelt for their jewel of a short video that honors one of the smaller nature reserves in Luxembourg: Groheck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFU4t92tDOU

Organizing events like the CreatiVelo Challenge & Festival takes teamwork, dedication, and institutional support. A heartfelt thank you goes to our key sponsor, the European Climate Pact Ambassadors of Luxembourg, whose support was instrumental in making this event possible. You can find more information about the European Climate Pact Ambassadors program in Luxembourg at their website: https://www.cell.lu/en/projets/ambassadeurs-du-pacte-climat-europeen/

Jennifer Feschuk, Country Coordinator for Luxembourg’s European Climate Pact Ambassadors had this to say: As country coordinator for the ECP program in Luxembourg, I am very proud of the work that is being executed by our Ambassador for the Y4P events. Working with youth in relation to the climate crises through a lens of empowerment and inspiration is absolutely essential. This future generation of leaders will ultimately shape how we deal with the effects on our planet. Y4P is a driving force in engagement with youth by connecting on a level that resonates with them. I look forward to what other successful initiatives will come about in the new year.

We are also deeply grateful to St. George’s International School’s Eco-Community for coordinating exceptional staff, facilities, food, and drinks. You can find more information about the Eco-News at St George’s at their website: https://www.st-georges.lu/community/eco-school

Saving the “best for last”: THANK YOU to the incredible Youth4Planet team: André, Leo, Julia, Jan, Mareike, Margitta, Joerg, Semion, Micheal, Jonathan, Paul, Marie-Paul, Christian and C.A.T. …for your passion and commitment. A few thoughts from Y4P team-members:

Leo: As technology advances and inequality grows, we risk losing what truly matters—our connections with each other and the planet. To move forward, we must embrace balance, wisdom, and compassion over unchecked progress and individual success. Through complacency, we risk losing the vast diversity of the world, extending far beyond humankind.

Mareike: My favorite moment this year with Y4P was seeing the joy in the children’s eyes…the moment when they see how well their movie came out…and how proud they were about what they accomplished with their team. 

Joerg: COP29 did not deliver. The world seems in chaos. We are not coming closer to solve the multi-crises we are in. So what do we need as individuals, as humans, as humankind? We need magic to happen. This magic exists: in solutions and ideas already created everywhere on this wonderful planet. It only needs spreading and finding the right people to make it a reality. 

Christian: This year, the CreatiVelo Challenge + Youth4Planet has proven that bold steps…from everesting uphill to work-shopping Batteries for Hope and beyond: we can connect DO-ers. Join us in building a future where every mile, every voice, and every solution counts for the planet we share.

Thank YOU for your support and engagement in 2024. We look forward to 2025…especially as we prepare for LUGA – Luxembourg Urban Garden open-air exhibitions. Across a number of public open spaces in Luxembourg City’s green belt and in the town of Ettelbruck in the Nordstad, LUGA embodies the vision of a future where a balance between nature and the urban environment is possible thanks to a variety of trails where visitors can wind down amid colorful gardens, captivating farm landscapes and numerous recreation and meeting spaces specially designed for the exhibition around the them: Making the invisible visible. For six months…from early May through late October 2025, this unique exhibition, organized for the first time in Luxembourg, will be an open-air laboratory of ideas, a platform for interaction and experimentation where visitors can all contribute to collective reflection on the future of our cities and take part in a program packed with events based on the themes of the LUGA exhibition.

For all the details, exhibition planning and more…visit LUGA’s website: https://luga.lu/en/

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For contact information for the Youth Climate Delegates, please contact the Président du LRSL_Acionteam4future (who is also one of the key student leaders with Youth4Planet’s CreatiVelo action team): Julien Lemmer Veloso
Telephone: +352 691 357 723 (only on Whatsapp)
E-mail: lrsl_actionteam4future@posteo.lu
Site web: https://www.lrslactionteam.com/youth-for-climate-action