The Education for Climate Coalition, a key initiative of the European Education Area and the Green Deal, aims to support and promote co-created actions in five areas: training teachers, linking education with science, developing green skills, raising awareness, and changing behaviour. The Coalition engages a wide range of participants, including educators, students, policymakers, and climate education enthusiasts.

Challenges

– Engagement: Maintaining an active community with a clear purpose among more than 9,000 members.

– Knowledge Sharing: Facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices among diverse participants.

– Event Management: Organising and running over 400 events for more than 7,000 attendees.

– Content Management: Managing and organising a wide variety of resources, which includes over 130 pages of searchable content.

Solution

The Europa Community Platform (ECP) SaaS, based on Open Social, is a user-friendly community platform that serves as the technical backbone for the Education for Climate Coalition. The platform’s features help the Coalition to:

1. Community Management:

• Group Subscriptions and Event Registration: Members can easily join community groups, register for events, and join discussions.
• Detailed Profiles and Tailored Permissions: Members create profiles, receive custom permissions, and engage in activities like topic postings, comments, and ideation flows.

2. Knowledge Synthesis:

• Content Scheduling and Moderation: The platform allows for content scheduling, moderation, and comprehensive taxonomies, ensuring knowledge and practice stemming from community interactions is well organised and accessible.
• Search Functionality: Advanced search capabilities enable members to easily find relevant content, events, and discussions.

3. Event Hosting:

• Interactive Events: The platform supports interactive events, such as webinars, workshops and conferences, with features like live Q&A sessions and video tutorials.
• Gamification and Certification: Gamification elements and course certifications enhance member engagement and participation.

4. Collaboration and Innovation:

• Challenge Hub: A dedicated space for members to propose challenges, seek feedback, and collaborate on solutions.
• GreenComp Community: A sub-community focused on developing and improving competencies needed for a sustainable future, leveraging the platform’s capabilities to host discussions, share resources, and co-create learning scenarios.

Results

• Community Growth: The Coalition expanded to over 9,000 members with high engagement from educators, students, and policymakers.
• Event Success: Over 400 events were hosted, attracting more than 7,000 participants.
• Knowledge Sharing: More than 130 pages of curated content were created, with extensive taxonomies ensuring easy access to resources.
• Innovation Labs: The platform supported numerous co-innovation labs that developed new teaching materials, citizen science projects, and green education initiatives.

Open Social’s ECP SaaS platform has been crucial for the Education for Climate Coalition, helping achieve its goal of fostering a climate-neutral and sustainable Union through education and training. The platform’s features facilitated community engagement, knowledge sharing, and collaborative innovation, becoming a cornerstone of the Coalition’s success.

Testimonial 

“The Open Social platform has been instrumental in building and sustaining our community. Its user-friendly interface and powerful features have allowed us to engage thousands of members, host hundreds of events, and curate a wealth of knowledge. Open Social has truly empowered us to drive meaningful change in climate education.” – [Susanne Szkola, Knowledge manager and community co-designer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission]

About Open Social 

Open Social is a leading provider of community engagement platforms, empowering organisations to build vibrant, purpose-driven communities. With a focus on user experience and robust functionality, Open Social enables organisations to connect, collaborate, and innovate effectively. Open Social is built on Drupal and follows an open-core model, offering its core software on Drupal, while providing enhanced features and products through a subscription-based version. 

For more information, visit getopensocial.com.