The Eco Agents – Norway

The Eco Agents is the name of an environmental organisation for children. It promotes the voices of children and young people on climate and environmental issues. The children are given the opportunity to play an active role in projects, get to know other children who are interested in the climate, and explore the relationships between humans and nature. The Eco Agents serve as an important mouthpiece for children and play a crucial role in tackling the climate and environmental crisis by engaging children from a young age. The organisation covers an age range of 4–15. Through knowledge, experience and participation, it provides children with the tools they need to understand environmental challenges and stand up for causes about which they care. The Eco Agents mobilise, build capacity and foster a sense of community among environmentally aware children and young people. The organisation gives children a sense of achievement, hope and the belief that getting involved makes a difference. Democratic structures and the children’s climate panel give children and young people a real voice. The opportunity to work together at a local level, and the impact of building the capacity for hope, are considered particularly important at this time point in time. The Eco Agents are helping to shape a generation with both the will and the ability to look after nature and the climate. What really sets the Eco Agents apart from other initiatives in the Nordic Region is that it is a democratic organisation run by the children themselves. The organisation is the first of its kind to enable Norwegian children to exert political influence via democratic channels. The Eco Agents hold national conferences attended by child delegates to decide on their priorities, and has a democratically elected climate panel that exerts political influence. The organisation has over 10,000 members and local branches throughout the country. It has grown significantly in recent years and the model can be scaled up to cover other Nordic countries. Especially now that several Norwegian climate and environmental organisations are no longer receiving state funding, it is particularly relevant to show Nordic support for this type of organisation.