Future Forte Presents
Green Pathways Project 2025
Step into the future of sustainability with Future Forte’s Green Pathways series.
Designed especially for international students in Melbourne, this program is more than just a set of workshops because it’s a journey of discovery, empowerment, and connection. Together, we’ll explore how to turn passion for the planet into meaningful careers in the green economy.
Supported by the Youth Climate Action Fund by the City of Melbourne and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Green Pathways opens doors to knowledge, networks, and opportunities that will help you grow roots locally while contributing to global climate solutions.
About the Program 🌱
The Green Pathways Project 2025 is designed to empower international students with the knowledge, skills, and networks needed to succeed in green careers. Green careers are roles across industries that protect the environment, advance sustainability, and build climate-resilient futures. They include opportunities in renewable energy, circular economy, disaster resilience, sustainable design, and environmental policy. What brings them together is the combination of professional expertise with a shared mission to protect our planet.
The program features one in-person workshop, one online workshop, and one in-person Green Careers Fair & Networking Session. Through these experiences, participants will explore how climate change is transforming industries, learn to strengthen their professional profile for climate-aligned work, and connect directly with employers, mentors, and peers who are shaping the sustainability sector.
Meet Your Facilitator
Lara believes in growing with the planet. She does this by coaching people to thrive in a green job at Green Economy Ready, facilitating climate change education sessions, and creating content on sustainable living. She has a decade of experience in education for sustainable development in formal and non-formal settings, working with the Philippine Department of Education, Asian Development Bank, and The Asia Foundation among others to mainstream meaningful youth engagement for climate action and democracy. Recently, she completed a Master of Environment and Sustainability specialising in Leadership for Sustainable Development with Distinction at Monash University with an Australia Awards Scholarship. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education major in Social Sciences cum laude at the Philippine Normal University. She is a Climate Reality Leader, Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Exchange Alumni, and the State of Victoria’s International Student of the Year. She is a fan of inner work, BTS, and Ru Paul's Drag Race.
SEED sparks your vision
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ROOTS grounds your skills
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FLOWERS opens you to real connections.
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SEED sparks your vision 〰️ ROOTS grounds your skills 〰️ FLOWERS opens you to real connections. 〰️
About the workshops
SEED Workshop: Exploring Career Opportunities in Renewable Energy, Circular Economy, and Disaster Resilience
🌍 Plant the seed of your climate career.
In this powerful session, you’ll uncover the vast career opportunities that exist in renewable energy, circular economy, and disaster resilience. Using the Climate Ikigai framework, you’ll reflect on your passions, skills, and values, and map out how they align with emerging green jobs.
Key Details:
🗓️ 19th September 2025
⏰ 2:00 - 4:00 pm
📍 Majorca Room, Melbourne City Library, 253 Flinders Lane
Why This Workshop Matters
The green economy is expanding rapidly, and the demand for skilled professionals has never been higher. Yet choosing the right path can feel overwhelming. This workshop gives you the chance to pause, reflect, and make sense of where your interests and talents connect with the world’s most pressing climate challenges. By exploring the concept of Climate Ikigai, you’ll see how your personal story can link to meaningful career opportunities and begin shaping your professional direction with clarity.
What to Expect
Across this interactive two-hour session, you’ll be introduced to current green job trends, and the skills employers are seeking. Through guided reflection, you’ll create your own Climate Ikigai map and take part in a visioning exercise that encourages you to picture your ideal climate career. By the end of the session, you will leave with greater clarity about sector opportunities and a personal next step you can take right away.
ROOTS Workshop: Building Your Professional Climate Network
🌱 Grow your roots in the climate community.
Behind every thriving career is a strong network. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn the art of building authentic professional connections that can open doors to opportunities in the green economy.
Key Details:
🗓️ 25th September 2025
⏰ 6:30 - 8:00 pm
📍 Online via Zoom
Why This Workshop Matters
A strong network is one of the most powerful assets you can bring to your career. This workshop will show you how to grow roots in the sustainability space by building authentic connections and presenting yourself with clarity and purpose. With guidance from facilitators and peers, you will gain the confidence to share your story, reach out to professionals, and begin shaping your presence in the climate sector.
What to Expect
You’ll reflect on your own journey into climate action and transform it into a compelling story you can share in professional settings. With support from facilitators, you’ll refine your LinkedIn profile to highlight your aspirations and strengths, and you’ll practice introducing yourself with a concise and memorable elevator pitch. Expect a highly interactive session where you connect with peers, exchange feedback, and leave with practical strategies you can apply immediately.
Flowers Workshop: Network with Sustainability Professionals
🌸 Watch your connections bloom.
This closing session brings together international graduates who now work in Melbourne’s green economy. They’ll share their journeys, the challenges they overcame, the opportunities they seized, and the lessons they learned along the way.
Key Details:
🗓️ 9th October 2025
⏰ 4:00 - 6:00pm
📍 Town Hall Commons, Melbourne Town Hall, 90/130 Swanston St
Why This Workshop Matters
It’s one thing to learn about climate careers and another to meet the people who are living them. In this workshop, you’ll hear directly from professionals who once stood where you are now and have gone on to build impactful careers in renewable energy, circular economy, and disaster resilience. Their journeys will show you what’s possible and spark ideas for your own path.
What to Expect
The session begins with a dynamic panel conversation where speakers share their career journeys, challenges, and advice for international students entering the sustainability sector. An open Q&A gives you the chance to ask your own questions. The second half of the session shifts into interactive networking, where you can connect with industry representatives and fellow students in a welcoming, supportive space.
Speakers will be announced soon — stay tuned for some exciting names.
In 2024, international students from across Melbourne came together to plant the seeds of their green journeys. Through the 🌱 SEED, 🌳 ROOTS, and 🌸 FLOWERS workshops, participants first explored how climate change is reshaping industries, then learned practical ways to live and lead sustainably and finally stepped into the world of green careers, guided by professionals who once stood in their shoes.
By the end of the series, students left not only with new knowledge and practical skills, but also with the connections and confidence to make an impact in their communities and careers, in Melbourne and beyond.