Civic Week for Active Citizenship and Climate Action 2025-2026

This year, returning to school in Cabo Verde is much more than the beginning of a new school cycle — it is a true celebration of active citizenship and climate action! Under the motto "AGORA em Festa", the Civic Week 2025–2026 marks a joint commitment between Luxembourg and the Ministry of Education of Cabo Verde to nurture critical, climate-aware citizens dedicated to building a sustainable future for the country. This was indeed recognised during the official launch ceremony of the 2025–2026 school year on 15 September 2025 at São Miguel Secondary School (a school that was itself built with support from Luxembourg), attended by the Education Minister, Amadeu CRUZ, and Luxembourg’s Ambassador, Jean-Marie FRENTZ.

AGORA em Festa benefits around 130,000 pupils and 8,000 teachers, from preschool to secondary education, strengthening digital, climate and civic literacy.

This action, supported by the Climate action programme, includes several initiatives, such as equipping schools with “WebLabs”, training teachers in information and communication technologies, and distributing activity manuals for teachers and pupils, in addition to the third edition of the climate-action-themed calendar and notebook for teachers.

Thus, to bring to life the mission of increasing climate literacy within the school community, which represents nearly 30% of the resident population of Cabo Verde, more than 200 ICT teachers have been trained, enabling them to create and disseminate audiovisual content since the beginning of the school year, and 44 WebLabs across the country have been upgraded with new equipment — cameras for capturing image and sound, computers, and editing and broadcasting software. This training and modernisation will transform schools into hubs for producing educational content that inspires climate action.

In addition, to support all teachers, practical and detailed manuals featuring engaging educational activities that stimulate critical thinking and pupils’ engagement with citizenship and climate issues have already been made available. These resources are accessible via the Climate Portal developed by LuxDev in collaboration with the government of Cabo Verde.

Art will serve as a powerful ally: theatre, music, dance, poetry, slam, and spoken word will amplify the voices of Cabo Verde’s youth, awakening pride and the responsibility to take action for a more resilient and just Cabo Verde.

As part of this ongoing effort, 12,000 copies of the Teacher's Agenda on Climate Action are being distributed, with activity suggestions for the entire school year.

These recognise the transformative role of teachers in their communities — through their pupils, their families, and neighbours.

The Climate action programme is funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.