EPC srl, as coordinator of the Erasmus+ EcoMystery project (Interactive Escape Rooms for Climate Crisis Awareness and Civic Engagement in School Education), proudly announces the completion of two strategic pillars: the drafting of the Needs Discovery Report and the publication of the Policy Recommendation Booklet.

These two goals constitute the true methodological framework upon which the entire initiative rests. Both documents are now available on the official EcoMystery project website in all the partnership languages, ensuring broad accessibility across Europe.

Needs Analysis: the Needs Discovery Report

The Needs Discovery Report represents the project’s first intellectual output and provides the essential scientific foundation upon which subsequent outputs will be developed. Without a deep understanding of the needs of the field, it would be impossible to create truly effective pedagogical tools.

The analysis focused meticulously on identifying gaps, systemic barriers, and current challenges in climate change education within the partner countries. The extensive and multifaceted data collection actively involved key stakeholders in the school community:

• Teachers and school administrators: they were interviewed through analytical questionnaires and targeted focus groups. The goal was to understand their methodological needs, the difficulties in addressing complex scientific topics, and the need for tools that go beyond traditional lectures.
• Students: the heart of the project. The research allowed us to map not only their level of theoretical awareness on the topic of climate change, but above all their interest in innovative educational approaches. A strong desire for experiential learning emerged.

The report’s findings highlight a critical need: more engaging, immersive, and interactive teaching tools. Through action and play, it’s easier to overcome the sense of helplessness that often afflicts young people in the face of the scale of the climate crisis. The full report is now available on the official website.

Six Key Recommendations for the Future of School

Based on the scientific evidence emerging from the needs analysis, the EcoMystery partnership has developed the Policy Recommendation Booklet. This strategic document is specifically aimed at education authorities and professionals who have the power to personalize school curricula.

The booklet offers six key recommendations to transform climate education from a mere theoretical notion to an active, effective, and participatory citizenship experience:

1. Encourage collaboration across subjects: The climate crisis is a complex topic that touches on various fields, from science to history to economics. Climate education must not be isolated to a specific class, but integrated across and across disciplines into the school curriculum.
2. Support teacher professional development: It’s not enough to provide new tools; teachers must be trained. It’s essential to ensure they have the pedagogical skills needed to address emotionally charged and technically complex topics in an innovative and safe way.
3. Promote active learning methodologies: The project strongly focuses on game-based learning. Using approaches such as escape rooms increases engagement, stimulates problem-solving, and makes learning memorable.
4. Integrate digital skills: Technology is not an end, but a means. Leveraging digital platforms enhances learning and simulates future climate scenarios, helping students visualize the impact of today’s decisions.
5. Emphasize individual and collective solutions: We must counteract disengagement and fatalism. Education must clearly demonstrate how individual choices, when widespread and collective, have the real power to reduce environmental damage and influence systemic change.
6. Encourage family participation: School is not an island. Creating intergenerational dialogue is essential to extend environmental responsibility beyond the classroom, bringing best practices and awareness directly into homes and local communities.

Towards the Next Steps: The Future of EcoMystery

The finalization of the Needs Discovery Report and Policy Recommendation Booklet, coordinated by EPC staff, is not only a formal milestone but also represents an important strategic advancement for the entire EcoMystery project ecosystem.

These results lay a solid foundation for the next exciting operational phases of the project. The work done so far will allow us to move from theory to practice through the development of the Teachers’ Advancement Programme—a cutting-edge training program for teachers—and the creation of the “Escape the Climate Crisis” learning program, which will bring play and the climate challenge directly into the classrooms of European middle schools.

Thanks to EPC’s ongoing coordination with these documents, EcoMystery confirms its mission: to transform knowledge into action and the students of today into the informed citizens of tomorrow.