Living Labs and Game-Based Learning to Checkmate Climate Misinformation
- ERASMUS+ cooperation partnership -
- 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2027 -
GENESIS OF THE PROJECT:
The Checkmate project was born out of an urgent need to respond to the growing threat of climate misinformation that undermines scientific understanding and delays climate action. While today’s youth are digitally fluent, they are increasingly vulnerable to misleading narratives, AI-generated falsehoods, and emotionally charged disinformation circulating online. Checkmate aims to empower young people to become truth-seeking changemakers by equipping them—and the youth workers who support them—with critical tools for identifying, analyzing, and countering climate-related myths and fake news. The project adopts a participatory, gamified, and experiential approach: youth engage in simulated climate negotiations, explore myth-busting challenges, and co-create Living Labs that spark dialogue and collaboration. By blending media literacy, critical thinking, and sustainability education, the project cultivates informed and resilient youth voices who are ready to advocate for climate truth in their communities and online spaces. In doing so, Checkmate promotes social inclusion, digital readiness, and meaningful civic engagement, fostering a generation of young people who can confidently navigate and reshape the narratives around climate action.
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:
1. To empower young people to critically evaluate digital content and recognize climate misinformation, strengthening their
ability to engage with accurate information.
2. To inspire young people to become proactive advocates and leaders in addressing climate misinformation and promoting
climate action within their communities.
3. To equip young people with the skills and confidence to counter climate anxiety through active participation in solutions
and climate action efforts.
CONCRETE RESULTS:
• Climate Myth-Busting Challenge
A gamified interactive quiz addressing the 30 most common climate myths, designed to strengthen young people’s ability to recognize, question, and debunk misinformation in an engaging and accessible way.
• Fact-Checking Toolkit
A practical toolkit for youth workers containing guides, hands-on exercises, and digital tools to support young people in identifying disinformation, verifying sources, and building critical digital literacy skills.
• Multi-Role Simulation Game
An immersive educational game where participants adopt different stakeholder roles and collaboratively navigate climate misinformation scenarios, building their resilience, critical thinking, and decision-making skills in real-world contexts.
• Living Labs for Game-Based Learning
Implementation of participatory Living Labs that offer real-life, interactive environments for youth and youth workers to test, co-create, and adapt educational tools, combining experiential learning and civic engagement to counter climate disinformation.
THE TARGET GROUPS:
1. Youth Workers: Youth workers who are actively involved in non-formal education and training, particularly in areas related to youth development, digital literacy, and environmental education. These youth workers are often employed by or collaborate with youth organizations that provide training, support, and informal learning opportunities to young people.
2. Young People: This group includes young people, aged 15-25, who are digitally engaged and concerned about climate change but are also vulnerable to misinformation. They may be students, young professionals, or individuals participating in non-formal education programs.
Results of the project:
• Increased climate literacy and critical awareness among youth, enabling them to better understand the complexities of climate change, the spread of misinformation, and their role in addressing these global challenges through informed action.
• Greater sense of civic responsibility and social inclusion, as young people actively participate in fact-checking, community dialogue, and Living Lab activities that empower them to contribute to meaningful, solution-oriented climate actions.
• Empowerment through youth-led initiatives, offering young people leadership roles, safe spaces for discussion, and the opportunity to design and lead sustainability responses that address misinformation in their local communities.
• Improved green and digital competences, equipping youth with the transversal skills needed for active engagement in the green transition, as well as for navigating the digital world responsibly—skills that are increasingly relevant in both civic life and future employment.
• Enhanced capacities of youth workers, who are trained to use innovative, game-based, and participatory educational tools, strengthening their ability to facilitate non-formal learning that tackles both environmental and digital challenges.