Formal, non-formal and informal learning

Formal learning

Sustainability and citizenship are two of the 16 key competencies in Flanders secondary education (second and third grade – ages 14-18). The citizenship competency emphasizes identity, diversity, democracy, and reasoned dialogue.
Following a decision by the Council of State, extensive attainment targets relating to sustainability were scrapped (within the framework of the right to freedom of education). However, the key competence of sustainability remains in place, with reference being made to other key competences such as ‘competences in mathematics, science, and technology’; ‘citizenship’; and ‘competences relating to spatial awareness’. In the latter key competence, for example, we see objectives relating to being able to explain climate change from a geological perspective and to reflect on possible measures relating to climate change.

Non-formal learning

The Flemish Government supports projects and initiatives in all kinds of areas which will make sure that sustainable choices are deliberate choices.

ORGANISATIONS FOR EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Various organisations are working on the basis of Education for Sustainable Development. Djapo, for example, is an educational organisation that works with schools to empower children and young people to help shape the world. Studio Globo is an educational non-governmental organisation that promotes global citizenship in education and strives for global solidarity. Topics such as poverty, climate (in)justice, migration, and inequality are brought into the classroom thanks to the necessary support for teachers. Goodplanetis an organization that aims to make sustainability simple and accessible for everyone. They inspire children, young people, and adults at school and work through a positive and educational approach. AFS activates global citizens of all ages and backgrounds, placing intercultural learning and global competencies high on the agenda. They do this through workshops, discussions, online learning modules, and other activities. These organisations are eligible for funding as nationally organized youth associations from the Department of Culture, Youth, and Media. 

Educators’ support
The Sustainable Education Center is a center of expertise on sustainability education. Through the Sustainable Education Center, the Flemish Government supports people who are active in the field of sustainability education with services tailored to their needs. The publication ‘Nature engagement among young people in secondary education’ by the Sustainable Education Centre identifies barriers to embedding nature education in secondary education and how to overcome them.

In addition, in Flanders there are various types of educational materials on sustainable development that were developed by Flemish-funded youth organisations, such as Globelink, JNM (Youth Federation for Nature and Environment), Studio Globo, Mediaraven.
With its Nature in Your School initiative, the Flemish government aims to contribute to a robust and resilient natural environment. In 2025, 30 projects linked to schools were supported. Nature-based, climate-adaptive measures ensure greater water infiltration and buffering, replenishment of groundwater, and active combating of heat stress.

Until the end of 2025, the Pulse transition network sought to create a sustainable society through a bottom-up approach in the culture, youth, and media sectors by connecting, supporting, informing, raising awareness, and inspiring more than 1,000 organizations and individuals. From 2026 onwards, the Department of Culture, Youth, and Media will take over the policy theme of sustainability, anchoring the efforts made and continuing to build on a future sustainability policy through dialogue.

A learning network (learning network Sustainable Development in Teacher Training) developed a competency profile linked to the principles of education for sustainable development. It serves as a guideline for teaching trainee teachers the competencies they need to apply education for sustainable development in their classroom practice. 

Informal learning
Various forms of engagement in and learning about sustainability issues also take place in informal contexts. The Flemish Department of Culture, Youth and Media supports young people in their voluntary engagement. Within the Youth and Children’s Right Plan 2020-2024, voluntary engagement was a policy priority of the Flemish Government. One of the actions is a project call (2024-2025) for pilot projects on developing or broadening a (supra)local framework for informal voluntary engagement of children and youth. The lessons learned from this call for projects are still available in a practical publication.

ORGANISATIONS 

KRAS (Globelink)
As mentioned in chapter 9.2 KRAS is a simulation project from the Flemish-funded organization Globelink. KRAS is a discussion and role play for young people from the third grade of secondary education. KRAS works across schools. All over Flanders, young people (ages 16-18) come together in their free time to discuss global issues with their peers on the cutting edge. Discussion and one's own opinion are central in this project. Every school year, a new annual theme with a global slant is used to introduce young people to the world of democracy and debate. Themes covered in recent years include: migration, property, climate, identity and inequality.

JNM
JNM is the Youth Association for Nature and the Environment, is a youth movement (funded by the Flemish government) for all children and young people aged 7 to 26. One of their areas of focus is nature education, both within the activities of the youth movement and through specific nature study camps and a dedicated nature study working group.

Exchange organizations
Various organizations offer young people in Flanders exchange opportunities where they learn intercultural experiences and skills, often in conjunction with a learning program. Examples include organizations such as AFS Flanders and Bouworde. Such intercultural experiences can also be gained within the European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus+ programmes. The organisation JINT promotes the roll-out of these European programmes in Flanders.

Most of these organisations are eligible for funding as nationally organized youth associations from the Department of Culture, Youth, and Media. 

Youth-targeted information campaigns on global issues

#iktrekhetmijaan (I care) 
#iktrekhetmijaan (I care), the former Thick Sweater Day (Dikketruiendag), is an awareness raising campaign organised by the Flemish Government. In 2005, the project MOS (Milieuzorg Op School, Environmental Care at School) of the Department of Environment and Spatial Development organised the first Thick Sweater Day in response to the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol’s objective was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
Since 2005, Thick Sweater Day has reminded us of the agreements made under this crucial treaty with a few simple activities: wear a warm sweater and turn down the heat, take your bike more often, eat locally grown food, reduce standby power and so on. On Thick Sweater Day Flanders massively reduced CO2 emissions as well as raised awareness of school-going children, businesses and the authorities.
Although the MOS project will cease to exist in 2026, Thick Sweater Day was still held on February 8, with at least 130 schools registering to participate. The organization also believes that without the MOS project, the day of action will now be firmly established and support will continue to be provided by the sustainability organization GoodPlanet.

National Children’s Rights Day
On 20 November, it is International Children’s Rights Day. There are a lot of activities to promote the understanding of children’s rights. 
In Flanders, the Flemish Office of the Children’s Rights Commissioner (see 4.2.2) also presents its annual report on this day. 

Fight4YourRight - Youth-friendly Concluding Observations of the UNCRC
To enable children’s participation in the reporting process, a key point is that they need to be informed on specific children’s rights recommendations for their State, as listed in the Concluding Observations (COBs) issued by the CRC at the end of the State’s children’s rights examination. The COBs as such are however drafted in technical, complex language, not adapted to children. Child Rights Connect also gives the important advice to translate the concluding observations into the national language(s) and produce simplified and child-friendly versions as a way to show State commitment and transparency to the CRC reporting process and to ensure the dissemination and understanding of the COBs to the wider public and children.
Therefore, at the end of Belgium’s last review by the CRC in 2019, at the initiative of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child – Belgium , a project was launched aimed at developing a child-friendly version of the latest COBs: Fight4YourRight (#F4YR).
The objectives of the project are to make the Concluding Observations more accessible as to:
• Foster their dissemination;
• Make them better known and increase their use by children, governments, (child rights) professionals and the population in general;
• Provide children with the necessary tools to contribute to the monitoring of the implementation of Belgium’s children’s rights obligations;
• Provide children with the necessary tools towards informed participation and for their opinions to be taken into account more frequently.

Campaign ‘Work for Change’ by YOUCA
YOUCA, Youth for Change and Action – formerly known as “Zuiddag” – is an organisation, supported by the Flemish Government, for and by young people that encourages them to work together towards a sustainable and just society. They do this by making them aware of important social challenges and by supporting them in their commitment. In addition, they provide unique encounters with impact on cultural, business and public life.
Each year in October there is the YOUCA Action Day. On that day, more than 15,000 young people from Flanders and Brussels commit themselves to work for a day for a company, an organisation, a government or a private individual. The wages they earn on that day go to projects of committed young people all over the world.

No Hate Speech Movement
The No Hate Speech Movement is a campaign for online human rights and against fear for young people who want to stop discrimination and hate speech online. The campaign started in 2013 and was initiated by the Council of Europe but it is based on national campaigns which are run in the member states of the Council of Europe. National committees operate their own national online Campaign platforms and online tools.
In Flanders, the No Hate Speech Movement Flanders, supported by the Division Knowledge and policy and youth organisations, calls on young people, youth workers, teachers, parents… and sensitize, train and support them to take actions against (online and offline) hate speech (No Hate Speech Movement Vlaanderen. has been created to provide some tips and advise. 

GoodFood@School
GoodFood@School is an initiative of Rikolto, Fairtrade Belgium and GoodPlanet that helps school integrate a healthy and sustainable food policy. Their goal is to ensure a healthy and sustainable food policy in all Flemish schools. Both in the kitchen and in the classroom. The underlying idea is that food at school can make our nutrition more environmentally responsible, fairer and healthier. Such projects are believed to be necessary if we want to feed the growing world population in a sustainable manner. The initiative involves the development of school food councils and school food labs.

Information providers

Globelink
The youth organisation Globelink disseminates information and raises the awareness of young people about global issues through different leisure time projects, such as:
- Kras for schools
- Ecoshizzel for animated playgrounds and youth camps
- 9XXX Toeren, a project on mobility, for youth associations

The Flemish Youth Council
The UN representatives of the Flemish Youth Council launched the project and toolkit “Flemish youth 4 global goals” (only in Dutch). The toolkit explains the Global Goals for Sustainable Development to young people and youth organisations. The Flemish Youth Council believes that the Global Goals for Sustainable Development are important for young people and hopes that these goals will motivate the Flemish Government to work towards a sustainable world for young people and youth organisations. The toolkit has been updated in 2018.
The UN representatives of the Flemish Youth Council also offer a workshop on sustainability to teachers and students of upper secondary education.

Ambrassade
The Ambrassade coordinates WAT WAT, a project commissioned by the Flemish Government. WAT WAT aims to provide young people between 11 and 24 years old with information on different topics for young people, including environment and sustainability. The goal is to tackle the fragmentation of initiatives, websites and campaigns targeted at young people.

Key initiatives

See youth-targeted information campaigns on global issues and information providers.