Flood Green Guide Youth Champions Program Case Study

The Flood Green Guide Youth Champions pilot program engaged nine young leaders (aged 24-30) from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific Islands to co-design a framework for youth involvement in flood risk management (FRM). Through a hybrid approach of in-person workshops in Sri Lanka and virtual meetings, the program developed a structure focused on capacity building, civic engagement spaces, and targeted funding. While the program successfully fostered a community of advocates and provided foundational knowledge in nature-based solutions, it faced challenges regarding long-term participant engagement and the difficulty of maintaining cohesion in a global versus regional program model.

• The pilot program's co-design process resulted in a three-pronged program structure to address barriers youth face in flood risk management: building capacity for youth and communities, establishing youth-focused spaces for civic engagement and decision-making, and increasing targeted funding for youth-led innovation.
• The program utilized a collaborative methodology involving 'serious games' and interactive activities to define problem statements and objectives, which the authors found crucial for transmitting complex topics like climate change and disaster risk to young adults.
• Participants demonstrated the ability to apply their training to real-world scenarios, such as advocating for the inclusion of nature-based solutions and flood vulnerability assessments in project proposals over conventional hard infrastructure.
• In-person engagement was found to be significantly more effective than virtual interaction for building group cohesion and informal learning, despite the use of digital tools like Miroboard and Jamboard.
• A primary challenge to the program's long-term sustainability is the difficulty of maintaining engagement after the pilot ends, as participants move into new jobs or graduate studies, highlighting a need for seed grants, fellowships, or internships to support practical implementation.
• The global scope of the program provided a diverse range of perspectives and revealed shared challenges across regions, but the authors suggest that a regional program might be more effective for sustaining long-term connections due to proximity and time zones.

APA

Cervantes, L., & Walsh-Thomas, J. (2025). Flood Green Guide Youth Champions Program Case Study. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/148/10yhvne17k_25_2348_Flood_Green_Guide_Youth_Champion_Program_Case_Study_050125_DD.pdf

Chicago

Cervantes, Luz, and Jenell Walsh-Thomas. Flood Green Guide Youth Champions Program Case Study. WWF International, 2025. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/148/10yhvne17k_25_2348_Flood_Green_Guide_Youth_Champion_Program_Case_Study_050125_DD.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cervantes |first1=Luz |last2=Walsh-Thomas |first2=Jenell |title=Flood Green Guide Youth Champions Program Case Study |publisher=WWF International |date=2025 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/148/10yhvne17k_25_2348_Flood_Green_Guide_Youth_Champion_Program_Case_Study_050125_DD.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cervantes2025flood, author = {Cervantes, Luz and Walsh-Thomas, Jenell}, title = {{Flood Green Guide Youth Champions Program Case Study}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/148/10yhvne17k_25_2348_Flood_Green_Guide_Youth_Champion_Program_Case_Study_050125_DD.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }