GenB webinar series: 2nd installment
4. Jun. 2024
On May the 16th, 2024, the GenB project held its second capacity building webinar for GenB Ambassadors. This instalment, part of an ongoing series aimed at equipping these young advocates with the skills and knowledge to promote the bioeconomy, took a practical turn, focusing on the application of the GenB toolkit and interactive learning methods.
The webinar, which took place online, brought together participants from different countries, all keen to strengthen their role as ambassadors for a sustainable bioeconomy. The session was structured to provide hands-on experience with tools designed to engage and educate different audiences about the bioeconomy. The webinar was organised and moderated by ZSI.
Agenda highlights:
- Overview of the GenB Toolkit - Clara Blasco (AIJU, Spain) presented the extensive resources available in the toolkit, highlighting its versatility in educating different age groups about the bioeconomy.
- Bioeconomy Job Profiles - Isidora Salim (EUN, Belgium) discussed career opportunities in the bioeconomy, highlighting the skills needed and the sectors expected to grow. An important aspect of her presentation was to guide ambassadors on how to effectively communicate these job opportunities and the relevance of the bioeconomy to others.
- Quizzes and Educational Cards - Clara Blasco (AIJU, Spain) explained how these tools can be used for self-training and for teaching others in an interactive and engaging way.
- Games and Gamified Solutions - Valentina Vavassori and Selenia Marinelli (FVA, Italy) presented a series of educational games developed by GenB and other projects to teach bioeconomy concepts through play.
- Students2students - Laura Mentini (APRE, Italy) shared methods for ambassadors to directly engage their peers through activities such as TED-style talks, storytelling, hands-on experiments and facilitating large-scale events.
- Educational Videos and Library Resources - Pietro Rigonat (LOBA, Portugal) presented the GenB Library, a repository of resources that ambassadors can use to deepen their knowledge and support their advocacy work. He demonstrated how to find educational videos on the bioeconomy and explained how ambassadors can become part of such videos by participating in video projects and creating content.
This webinar emphasised practical application, going beyond theoretical knowledge to equip ambassadors with actionable tools and methods to spread bioeconomy awareness to their peers and beyond. The introduction of different learning formats - quizzes, games, videos and hands-on experiments - aimed to make learning about the bioeconomy engaging and accessible. Participants were provided with detailed instructions and examples on how to use these tools effectively, ensuring that they felt confident in their role as advocates.
The webinar encouraged participants to actively engage through the Mentimeter platform, fostering a collaborative learning environment. They shared their initial thoughts on how they planned to implement the tools presented in their contexts and the potential challenges they foresaw. In addition, when asked if they felt ready after the webinars to take on their role as GenB ambassadors and spread awareness about the bioeconomy, all participants expressed readiness. Just over half said they felt ready but would need some support to overcome certain concerns, while the rest felt fully prepared to take on their role immediately. Notably, none of the participants felt they needed further training, underlining the effectiveness of the webinar series.
The session also set the stage for the final webinar in the series on the 9th September 2024 (18:00 -20:00 CET), which will focus on strengthening soft and cross-cutting skills such as communication, copywriting and video production.
Join the movement: The GenB ambassador programme continues to welcome young people under 30 who are passionate about contributing to a sustainable and circular transition. Those interested in joining can register and become part of a network dedicated to promoting the bioeconomy and sustainable practices.
For more information and to access resources from the webinar, visit the GenB library.
Stay tuned for the next webinar and continue to be a driving force for the bioeconomy!
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