The Climate Policy Bootcamp took place on April 21–22, 2026, as part of Earth Day Med – Mediterranean Climate Festival, bringing together students, activists, researchers, and artists under 30 from the local area and international contexts in Palermo.
At a historical moment marked by the intensifying climate crisis, growing inequalities, and new geopolitical tensions across the Mediterranean, the bootcamp created a space for political dialogue, collective learning, and shared imagination. Over two days, participants gathered at Teatro Garibaldi alongside representatives from environmental organizations, institutions, and civil society to reflect on the role of the Mediterranean as both a fragile region and a strategic area for global climate action.
The programme led to the drafting of a shared Manifesto, developed through recommendations, priorities, and visions that emerged during the workshops. The Manifesto addresses key issues such as climate justice, social sustainability, water as an intersectional challenge, the gap between policy and implementation, and the need to strengthen Mediterranean cooperation capable of responding to the environmental, economic, and democratic challenges of the present.
The recommendations developed during the bootcamp will not remain a symbolic exercise: they will be further expanded and presented to the Presidency of COP31, which will take place in Turkey in November 2026. Through this process, FSR and its strategic partners aim to bring the voices of younger Mediterranean generations into international decision-making spaces, recognising the Mediterranean not only as an area of crisis, but also as a political laboratory for new forms of solidarity, adaptation, and ecological transition.
Building on the experience of the bootcamp, we are also working towards the creation of the first Youth Board Council of the Environmental Festival: a permanent group of young people who will contribute to the development of future editions of the festival by helping shape its content, participatory practices, and future public actions. The Youth Council is intended to make youth participation structural and to transform the festival into an ongoing platform for proposals, dialogue, and political advocacy.
The Climate Policy Bootcamp therefore represents the beginning of a broader journey: a process that seeks to connect education, activism, cultural production, and international advocacy in order to build a young, plural, and politically engaged Mediterranean voice.
Stay tuned for the next steps!
Read the poem “Great Dream of a Small World” by Mattia Garofalo, written during the days of the bootcamp!