The annual Green Contact Points meeting on the ecological transition
From June 24 to 26, 2025, 41 Green Contact Points (GCP) from 29 European countries met to exchange ideas and advance the green priority within the agencies and the Erasmus+, ESC and Youth programs.
The meeting had several objectives:
1/ Promote the work carried out by the GCPs and encourage the exchange of best practices
On the basis of a timeline, the GCPs had the opportunity to present their main achievements in relation to the green priority. This network is an essential link in its implementation, and this activity highlighted its dynamism and commitment.
2/ support their skills development through workshops
As part of the meeting, two workshops were proposed. The first was the digital fresco. Based on the same principle as the climate fresco, the digital fresco puts our digital uses and environmental impact into perspective.
The GCPs were also able to try out the game developed by SALTO Green: VERDIR, which aims to support project leaders in their reflections on the greening of their project. This fun activity enables them to familiarize themselves with the resources made available by SALTO Green and to fuel discussions around facts and figures linked to climate change (e.g. creation of new professions, impact of meat consumption on carbon footprint…).
3/ exchanging program news with the European Commission
A moment eagerly awaited by the GCPs, this point of exchange with Christophe Samray (DG EAC) raised questions about the addition of the boat as a green means of transport. On this point, it was pointed out that its addition would enable certain geographical areas, such as islands, which are currently excluded from green mobility, to achieve it and move away from “all-air” thanks to the combination of boat and train or bus.
4/ contribute to the evaluation of the green priority in programs
Work on indicators was launched in 2024, with the support of eureka21. Two working groups were set up: one on transport (staff and beneficiaries), the second on awareness-raising and training on climate change issues. After having identified in these working groups which indicators could be common to all agencies, taking into account existing information and data, the Strasbourg workshop enabled all the GCPs to have the same understanding of the indicators and to agree on which indicators to keep for the next test phase.
This first meeting of the 2025 GCPs was held at Digital Village, a former tobacco factory. The second GCPs meeting will take place online, in November.
Many thanks to all participants, facilitator Margaux Richet and speakers for their contributions and commitment!
