The British Council has challenged hundreds of 18 to 35 year olds in Northern Ireland and Ireland to take action to cut carbon use by applying to join an exciting pan-European programme launched to explore options that will change the way we use carbon forever.

Through the programme, the British Council is searching for 20 people from Ireland and Northern Ireland to become part of its Challenge Europe campaign. The campaign will run for three years and will explore solutions to climate challenges across Europe skills, ideas and passion of the participants. The campaign aims to make a definite and lasting impact on the climate change debate by offering this generation the opportunity to focus valuable time and invaluable talents to find real answers to address the crisis.

Across Northern Ireland and Ireland, the British Council will collaborate with a number of partner organisations to develop Challenge Europe on an all-island basis. They will work closely with the Arena Network of Business in the Community Northern Ireland, Comhar ­ the Sustainable Development Council for Ireland, Cultivate Living and Learning Centre in Dublin and the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Commission.

The 20 participants will be plucked from all walks of life and will offer a broad representation of talents, attitudes and ideas. Some may already be dealing with climate related issues in their work or study, others may be interested in developing their knowledge and involvement. Within the three broad thematic areas of education, business and policy, it is expected that teams will be formed that represent a wide variety of cross-disciplinary interests.

Each team will initially share knowledge and brainstorm ideas after which time they will spend one month researching, negotiating and refining ideas into a single project proposal. The British Council and its core partners will then support each team with the implementation of its individual project through international outreach, management support and professional mentoring. This may take the form of in-country and international investigations, visits, virtual and face-to-face networking as well as further meetings and activities with important decision makers, influencers and experts in the field of climate change. Crucially, participants will determine this stage of the project.

The philosophy of Challenge Europe is simple: to create momentum through collaboration, innovation, energy, drive, passion, understanding and knowledge-sharing. Success will be measured by changes to policy, business practice or human behaviours, which bring about a low carbon future.

To find out more and for an application form, individuals should visit the British Council website: www.britishcouncil.org/nireland or www.britishcouncil.org/ireland. Successful applicants will be selected by the end of May and the final 20 will take part in an orientation meeting and team building workshop in Dublin from 13 to 14 June.

At a recent climate change event, Gillian Belben of the British Council said scientific consensus suggests there is just one generation left before we face the potentially devastating effects of climate change.

In 2008 to 2009, in addition to Challenge Europe on the island of Ireland, projects will also run in the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and Wales.

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