Ukraine launches pilot phase of “ZOOM – Kids on the Move for Climate!” campaign

In June 2025, Ukraine joined the international educational campaign “ZOOM – Kids on the Move!”, bringing climate awareness and sustainable mobility lessons into classrooms across four pilot municipalities. Created by Climate Alliance in 2002, the initiative is implemented for the first time in Ukraine.

“ZOOM – Kids on the Move!” is an international campaign designed to help children understand, through everyday experiences, how they can contribute to climate protection.

Four pioneering communities – Konotop, Zhytomyr, Fastiv, and Chortkiv – are taking part in the pilot phase. For one or two weeks, selected schools and youth centres turn into labs of curiosity and transformation, where children reflect on their routines, discuss climate change, explore sustainable transport options, and recorded their “green actions” in the form of symbolic green footprints.

Beyond numbers, the campaign sparked a change in mindsets. Parents joined in, teachers innovated, and children became true messengers of hope for the climate. As the teacher in Zhytomyr noted, “When adults talk about climate change, it sounds like a challenge. But when children talk about it — it becomes a promise.”

Following the pilot phase, the campaign is planned to be scaled up to other municipalities in Ukraine and across the Eastern Partnership region.

The collected green footprints and children’s creative works will also be presented at the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil — ensuring that the voices of children from Ukraine are part of the global dialogue on our planet’s future.

“ZOOM – Kids on the Move for Climate!” is more than a campaign. It is a child-friendly, participatory approach to climate education, energy awareness, and behavioural change — empowering the youngest citizens to shape a more sustainable tomorrow.