Providing a variety of education for young people in Austria
Children and young adults in the wider Vienna area are benefitting from ChangeX Austria educational support and community involvement. ChangeX is an international organization that provides grant funding for community-based projects. With support from Microsoft, the ChangeX Community Challenge in Austria aims to fund a variety of projects that focus on digital skilling, sports and recreation, community, and environmental sustainability.
Connecting urban youth to nature in St. Pölten
The Big Friendly Giants project brings a national park experience to urban spaces. The project offers education and opportunities for children who live primarily in urban settings to connect with natural monuments and nature along themed routes.
Since 2020, the organization Green Steps has developed more than 20 routes in St. Pölten that foster a deeper connection to nature by highlighting century-old trees and important species that are crucial for local biodiversity and climate resilience. These old trees, referred to as “big friendly giants,” are keystone species that offer life to hundreds of other native plants and insects. Through the project, Green Steps teaches children how these trees help us address climate changes and how to protect them for generations to come.
Two interactive nature series help kids of different ages interact with their surroundings: “Plants & Friends” provides guided experiences for ages 6 to 12, and “Big Friendly Giants” builds independent citizen science for ages 12 and up. Each series differs in length and style to allow for the best learning for each age group. Both programs focus on cooperative and transgenerational learning, but Plants & Friends incorporates more playful aspects for the younger children and Big Friendly Giants is based on independence and citizen science.
Supporting innovative startups in Vienna
The Startups for the Mission of Educational Innovation! program enhances the lives of young people in Vienna by providing access to workshops, networking, and mentorship with educators and industry leaders. Through its Future Wings Challenge, innovative ideas from young people turn into sustainable and charitable projects to benefit communities through educational development. Mentors are experienced social and educational entrepreneurs providing individual attention to students’ ideas through more than 20 different workshops within the Future Wings Challenge network. Each round of the challenge ends with a Demo Day attended by more than 100 guests from the business, education, and political sectors to witness student projects and hear pitches from the budding future business founders. Three winning projects have the opportunity to secure start-up funding through the Demo Day.
Extending digital literacy to disadvantaged youth in Mödling
The Hobby Lobby Niederösterreich addresses educational inequalities for children and young adults in Mödling. Through the Digital Skills for Equal Opportunities project, free extracurricular activities including sports, arts, digital skilling, and more offer access to essential social and educational skills for these young students. With additional funding from Microsoft, classes in robotics and coding are offered to enhance digital literacy.
The extracurricular classes are made possible by volunteers and partnerships with local schools. Instructors are supported through the program to provide group-oriented, hands-on activities for the students.
The classes are offered through a twelve-week course that provides routine and stability for participants, giving them a chance to develop skills and create a sense of belonging with their peers. The course helps the young students strengthen problem-solving skills, build confidence, and foster their creativity.