Practical workshops
4 hands-on experiences dedicated to young adults,
to make them discover new practices, challenges and careers around climate change
Along the work package 3 of this project, we worked with young adults to
co-design four educational workshops exploring the challenges of the ecological transition and imagining desirable futures through hands-on activities.
Developed through a collaborative design process, the workshops were tested several times locally and across partner organisations, before a final collective testing phase during the youth mobility in Cinisello Balsamo in May 2026.
Materials and bioplastics, textile upcycling, future jobs, and future-oriented design: each workshop offers a different way to learn, experiment, and envision a changing world. Designed for young adults, particularly those exploring educational or career opportunities, these flexible formats can be adapted to different audiences, settings, and durations.
All workshop resources, facilitation guides, and supporting materials are freely available for FabLabs, makerspaces, and youth organisations to adapt, replicate, and build upon.
Workshops details below :
The workshops
“Calm Futures”
What if we could imagine a more peaceful and sustainable future?
Calm Futures invites young adults to explore desirable futures through speculative design, storytelling, and hands-on experimentation.
Using fictional scenarios set in 2050, participants create storyboards and build low-tech prototypes from reused materials to bring their ideas to life.
By combining creativity, collective reflection, and circular design, the workshop encourages participants to rethink their relationship with technology, resources, and the environment, while discovering how their own skills and interests could help shape a better future.
“Future jobs workshop”
What will the jobs of tomorrow look like, and how can young people find their place in a changing world?
The Future Jobs Workshop explores emerging professions, sustainability, and the skills needed for the ecological transition. Through individual and collective reflection, encounters with inspiring local entrepreneurs, and hands-on activities such as building a kitchen composter, participants discover new career opportunities and reflect on their own aspirations.
The workshop combines practical experience and professional exploration to help young adults approach their future with curiosity, confidence, and optimism.
What's behind the materials we use every day? What jobs are involved ?
Matter of jobs invites young adults to explore the world of materials, with a particular focus on plastics, their life cycle, and their environmental impacts. Through sensory games, collaborative activities, and hands-on experiments, participants discover the challenges of plastic production and consumption, explore alternatives, and make their own samples of bio-based plastics.
The workshop also introduces eco-design principles and connects material choices to emerging professions and skills, encouraging participants to question how everyday objects are made and imagine more sustainable alternatives.
“Matter of jobs”
“Circular design
& textile upcycling”
How can we give old clothes a new life?
This workshop explores the environmental impact of the textile industry while introducing young adults to circular design, sustainable fashion, and digital fabrication. Participants learn to transform and personalise existing garments by combining traditional techniques, such as sewing, with digital tools, including vector design software and laser cutting.
From understanding the challenges of fast fashion to creating their own upcycled pieces, the workshop encourages creativity, peer learning, and more responsible consumption, while introducing practical skills and open-source approaches to making.
