The Adaptation AGORA Academy to access and use Climate Data and to monitor Climate Risks, an innovative learning tool to foster education and citizen engagement.

Climate change education and citizen engagement are essential for advancing towards a climate-resilient society promoting institutional, regulatory and policy transformation. Informal learning tools, as digital environments, and co-development approaches play a pivotal role in addressing this challenge. In this perspective, the AGORA project contributes to the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change by promoting best practices, innovative methods, climate change education instruments and citizen engagement to enhance community and regional engagement in climate action. A key initiative within AGORA is the development of the Community Hub, a collaborative online platform designed as an integrated discussion and learning space. This digital hub hosts two Digital Academies aimed at equipping citizens and stakeholders with open-source climate data and tools to address climate adaptation challenges and misinformation. The ambition of this work is to promote the  Digital Academy to access and use Climate Data and to monitor Climate Risks developed in the AGORA project, as an inspiring educational initiative, inviting data owners, educators, and policymakers to collaborate in transforming climate knowledge into actionable solutions. By fostering trust, enhancing education, and empowering citizens, these efforts collectively contribute to building a climate-resilient Europe. Specifically, the Digital Academy supports citizens and stakeholders to access open-source climate data for adaptation, also supporting users with guidelines on how to read, interpret and effectively use the information. By integrating existing real-world data, sources and platforms on climate data, adaptation and risk hubs with theoretical modules and guidelines, educators can provide users with both a deeper understanding of climate change and an immersive experience in climate research. The Academy is formed by inventories and modules with key scientific information on the usage of climate data at different levels of knowledge (i.e. entry, base and advanced). Then, the Academy promotes information and initiatives fostering climate adaptation supported by citizen science activities. Indeed, the Digital Academy is co-designed and co-developed in different public events, such as ECCA (www.ecca2023.eu), SISC conference 2023 (www.sisclima.it) and specific events with stakeholders and academic students. Such events allowed to connect climate adaptation practitioners with the scientific community, to gather the users’ requirements and provide suggestions and ideas for the advancements in the building up of the Digital Academy. Such an innovative learning tool provides authentic climate information, fosters scientific inquiry, and nurtures critical thinking skills.