I’m a Euro-optimist. But crisis after crisis tested my hope — until I met these teenagers

From Ukraine to the climate and war in Gaza, Europe is struggling. But its young people remind me change is possible

Palestinians walk between the remains of destroyed buildings following the Israeli bombardment on the main road of Gaza City. Europe has revealed itself in all its weaknesses, repeatedly dividing itself at the UN between countries that support, reject and abstain from calling for a ceasefire, and loosely tagging on to Washington rather than mustering a position of its own.

I returned to my old school in Rome last January; an experience that lifted my spirits. 

I was there to talk to students about some of the issues I covered in my book on the climate challenges facing Europe. By the end of that afternoon, I felt reassured, and not just because of how engaged these 16- and 17-year-old students appeared, asking well-informed questions and commenting on my work.