Young Changemakers discuss their ideas with SEEd CEO, Ann Finlayson. Credit: SEEd.
Designing for young changemakers’ futures, hopes, and agency.
The Campaign
SEEd stands for Sustainability and Environmental Education. The SEEds of Young Changemakers (YCM) were sown a decade ago when SEEd CEO, Ann Finlayson, envisioned a Young Enterprise on sustainability. When adults on SEEd Changemakers course insisted youth need the same skills they were building to navigate an uncertain future, YCM was born.
SEEd launched a single-school pilot in 2018. Development continued online throughout lockdown, and in 2023, SEEd YCM evolved into a local area pilot in which young people were connecting with local sustainability organisations. Evaluation by Dr. Paul Vare of the University of Gloucestershire provided evidence showing empowered young people building on community action.
2024 brought more schools across the UK and Nepal onto the programme. SEEd’s most recent evaluation reflects the successes and challenges of this approach. SEEd uses the results to campaign for this approach for all young people so they all can be involved in designing for their futures, their hopes and their agency.
Young Changemakers connects young people with local community organisations.
We are proud to have been shortlisted for SMK’s National Campaign Awards 2026. This recognition of the work of the SEEd Young Changemakers programme is a reminder of the our mission – to put learning at the heart of sustainability, and sustainability at the heart of learning in every way we can. Only by empowering the next generation to be change makers can we hope to see change and action for sustainability and the climate, and the recognition we’ve received will only propel us further in making this happen.”
Ann Finlayson
CEO, SEEd
The Change
SEEd’s evidence shows the programme changes the mindset of educators around the teaching of sustainability, but it also changes the way the school sees sustainability and action for nature.
SEEd saw students moving away from simplistic, linear ideas of change, and beginning to understand the complex, interconnected systems of the real world. Many cited this as the most significant change they experienced during YCM. However, one of the most heartening changes they saw was the emotional journey of the students. Many began with feelings of trepidation but moved towards feelings of hope and personal satisfaction through their team work, actions and projects.
By networking with over 22 local organisations, students gained new insights and saw firsthand the positive action underway in their communities – inspiring many Young Changemakers to take their project into the community and into the next year, showing a clear impact on self-efficacy and empowerment.
By telling these transformational stories through every opportunity, SEEd is informing policy makers, including the Department of Education, school decision makers, parents, and other educators. Ann says, “We can show the impacts on understanding complex systems, collaboration, communication and influencing, problem solving and planning, along with understanding green jobs.”
The Future
SEEd’s Young Changemaker programme is already showing how students love being in control of their learning and working on real world problems they have identified. They and their schools will be the advocates for this empowering approach. SEEd’s target audiences will be policy makers, school decision makers, parents, and other young people. They are already collecting stories, photos, videos, webinars and interviews to show this approach is transformative and different. At SEEd, they will show and train other educators how to design for learning and sustainability as they have done for 18 years.
Who else was involved?
Ann Finlayson, George Edwards, Lili Mihalics, Ana Romero, Huwaidha Nasser, Doug Hulyer, Sarah Frazer, Claudi Williams, Claire Gilbert, Dr. Paul Vare, and Dr. Katy Wheeler.
