The YOU-CARE Project

Working on the YOU-CARE project, Association “FOR YOU” collected information about Bulgarian youth and eco-anxiety. We conducted research (survey and focus groups), the results of which we will present to you in the following paragraphs.

Feelings

Our survey, completed by 59 people (mostly young people), shows that when thinking about climate change, more than 83% of respondents experience “a feeling of nervousness and anxiety” at least some of the days in a two-week period. The most common feeling is disappointment (94.9%), while other frequently experienced feelings are worry (89.8%); fear (88.1%); anxiety (84.7%). Regarding positive feelings, 74.6% indicated some level of hopefulness, optimism, encouragement. While 84.7% feel “determined” at least a little.

We asked participants, “How do you feel when you come across news or conversations about climate change?” The answers can be divided into three categories – negative feelings, interest, disinterest. The last category is observed among younger students – 13 years old. While the interest shown by high school or university students, in their words, is due to the rarity with which they encounter environmental topics. Young people are familiar with various environmental problems such as – fires; drought; deforestation; loss of animal species; pollution of the oceans and others. Older participants, however, also add key factors such as the role of industrial production and wars.

Personal Responsibility

A European Commission survey shows that only 17% of Bulgarians are aware of their personal responsibility for tackling climate change (EC, 2023). While 71.2% of those who completed our survey feel anxious about their responsibility for solving environmental challenges. Approximately the same percentage of people worry that their personal behavior “will not help tackle climate change”. However, the majority believe that individual actions (nearly 70%) and community efforts (94.9%) can contribute to solving the climate crisis. Including, nearly 85% are aware of the social inequalities that the climate crisis creates.

Civic engagement

Young people’s engagement is limited – they take active action to address climate change, but with varying consistency. At least 44% of respondents have never – been to a protest; written a letter to an official/politician; signed a petition; considered changing who they would vote for based on their climate policies. On the other hand, young people are willing to share and discuss their opinions on climate change with friends, family and strangers, without interfering with their personal relationships. There is a trend towards preferring face-to-face communication.

We also learned that young people are taking environmental action as a way to deal with strong feelings about the climate crisis. They shared that they collect waste separately; recycle; reduce their carbon footprint; try to make a difference. The shift from awareness to action is observed mainly in older students (high school) and university students.

Needs

We also learned that young people  experience distrust towards the authorities and their environmental policies. According to them, the authorities – “do not act”; “do not discuss”; “do not pay enough attention”; “do not care”. However, the environmental progress of some educational institutions is mentioned – recycling bins, additional hours for discussing environmental topics. The needs that the participants express for their communities and schools include – more publicity and awareness on environmental topics, including eco-anxiety; courses and trainings; psychological support; improvement of the recycling infrastructure; afforestation. It is noticeable that the focus of the younger participants is on the school, while of the older ones – on the community.

More about the YOU-CARE project

YOU-CARE (YOUth Creating Action Research on Eco-anxiety) is an Erasmus+ project, the main goal of which is to allow young people to collectively explore the range of emotions related to the environmental crisis, so as to move from eco-anxiety to active participation, while improving their emotional, pedagogical, scientific and advocacy skills.

The participants in the project are divided into two groups – one from Sofia and one from Varna. The young people are between the ages of 13 and 25 and four identical workshops are planned with them, which are yet to be completed. At the end of the first workshop, the participants were given an online survey to distribute to their friends and family, to be filled in by five people. And during the second, the young people participated in focus groups answering pre-made questions.

If you want to read the report with the analysis of the research, click HERE!

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The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the content, which reflects the views of the authors alone, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.