JA and BASF: Empowering Young People to Build a Sustainable Future
April 15, 2024
Young people are the future leaders, policymakers, and professionals who will shape the world and drive sustainable development. They have a unique perspective, energy, and passion to address global issues like climate change. Their concerns, aspirations, and ideas are essential for successful sustainable development strategies.
Increasingly, younger job seekers prioritize employers that value environmental and social issues as much as they value profits, whether those companies are tackling climate change, reducing poverty, increasing biodiversity, or strengthening communities in other ways. That’s why JA and BASF created the "Young Voices for Sustainable Future" partnership, in collaboration with schools around the world, to add to and complement classroom learning and after-school initiatives that empower young people to take individual and collective action for their community and the planet. Emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary learning, combining science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education with social studies and ethics, the initiative offers a holistic approach to understanding and tackling environmental and societal challenges.
During initial workshops, young people research sustainable development challenges, their impacts (such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, food security, pollution & waste, social equality), and how they affect their communities. Once equipped with information, students select a specific challenge to solve.
Students then develop and test ideas to address the identified challenge, make them viable, and present the concepts at the national Innovation Challenge.
Winning teams receive six months of mentoring by BASF volunteers to gain additional support in implementing their ideas.
Finally, the ideas are showcased on the global “Young Voices for a Sustainable Future with BASF” website, along with young people from around the world.
“Young people are eager not only to learn the skills they need to ensure full employment but also to use those skills to make a real difference in the world, said Asheesh Advani, CEO of JA Worldwide. “Whether they’re preparing to be part of the workforce or learning entrepreneurship skills to start their own companies, students want to be part of the solution to the local, national, and global challenges their generation faces. We’re delighted that BASF has partnered with JA to upskill young people with the creativity, collaboration, self-confidence, and resilience they need to create viable solutions for the world’s most pressing problems.”
This unique program is designed to equip the young participants with relevant future skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication for their professional and personal lives. As an example, let’s take a look at how Team COVARSI in Indonesia proposed a solution to an environmental problem in their community during Year 1 of the initiative:
In its first year, the JA-BASF partnership impacted more than 1,400 students in Brazil, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Uganda, and Vietnam, who—thanks to the support of nearly 160 BASF volunteers—developed critical skills for a rapidly changing world. In its second year of implementation, the project added implementations in Chile and Costa Rica, reaching 1,006 additional students, who worked with 171 BASF volunteers. Watch all the student videos from Years 1 and 2.
BASF’s global societal engagement seeks solutions to relevant societal challenges in the communities surrounding its locations and in vulnerable communities worldwide. One aspect of this commitment is contributing to quality education for sustainable development, which gives learners the knowledge, skills, values, and agency to address interconnected global challenges, such as climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, waste management, and sustainable consumption.
“We believe in the boundless potential of young people to create a more sustainable future and we need their voices in our communities and in the business world,” said Judith Trueper, Corporate Sustainability at BASF. “We’re convinced that by engaging in education for sustainable development, we empower youth to be active and responsible citizens, employees, and leaders around the world.”
At the heart of the "Young Voices for Sustainable Future" initiative is the belief in the important role of young people in our society. By providing youth with the resources, mentorship, and platform to express their ideas, the initiative empower the youth to take charge of their future. This empowerment is aimed at fostering a deeper learning experience where students are not just passive recipients of information but active participants in their education. The hands-on approach that is a hallmark of JA Worldwide’s theory of change ensures that young minds are not only prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow but also are motivated to drive positive change in their communities.
We’re gearing up to launch our third year of the partnership, which will introduce “Young Voices for a Sustainable Future” in even more locations around the world.