From knowledge to active participation: the potential of territorial citizenship in education for the climate emergency

Abstract

The methodology of the Nós Propomos! Project has been proven to be a powerful didactic approach. Its purpose is to help the development of geographical thinking and to contribute to the civic education of young people in basic education. This process occurs from the centrality of research on the lived territory and on locally experienced geographical situations. Moreover, it is grounded in territorial citizenship, understood as a link between knowledge and political participation. In this way, the project promotes the construction of solutions to community problems. Experiences carried out at the Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste (UNICENTRO), in the city of Guarapuava, PR, Brazil, have highlighted its contributions to education on the climate emergency. They also reinforce the territorial citizenship role as an intellectual tool for conscious action aimed at climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. Local studies foster community commitment, and youth leadership is fundamental to understanding representative democracy; both are fertile seeds for the formation of citizens capable of acting publicly and mobilizing for a fairer and more sustainable world.