Princess Esmeralda becomes Honorary President of Take Action Global Belgium
Climate movement founded by Belgian teacher Koen Timmers has reached more than 23 million students and teachers worldwide and now opens a seat in Brussels
BRUSSELS, 5 October 2026 — After the hottest summer ever recorded in Belgium, Take Action Global (TAG) is opening a Belgian seat in Brussels. Over the past eight years, the international climate education organisation co-founded by Belgian teacher Koen Timmers has reached more than 23 million students and teachers in over 190 countries. Her Royal Highness Princess Esmeralda of Belgium will serve as Honorary President of TAG Belgium.
According to the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI), the summer of 2026 was the hottest on record, with an average temperature of 20.3°C in Uccle. Belgium went through three official heatwaves, and the period from 1 July to 15 August was exceptionally dry.
“For young people, climate change is no longer an abstract idea,” says Koen Timmers, Director of TAG Belgium. “They feel the heat and the drought themselves. Education has to do more than explain what is happening. We need to give young people the knowledge, the creativity and the chance to come up with their own solutions and take action.”
From a Belgian classroom to a global movement
Koen Timmers is a teacher and was a finalist for the Global Teacher Prize. Since 2015 he has taught students in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya online and has helped build schools there. In 2019 he co-founded Take Action Global with Jennifer Williams, headquartered in Florida, so students around the world could work together on climate.
In the Climate Action Project, TAG’s flagship programme, students explore climate change alongside peers from other countries. They map problems in their own communities, come up with solutions and turn them into concrete actions. Teachers receive training and certification to embed climate education in their classrooms and schools.
TAG measures not only how many students take part, but also what they achieve. According to the latest figures, its programmes have contributed to planting 2.5 million trees and have produced thousands of student-led climate solutions and actions.
Part of the TAG community for years
“If we want to change the world, let us begin with the children who will inherit it,” says Princess Esmeralda. “Education is one of our most powerful tools against the climate crisis. It gives young people the knowledge to understand what is changing around them, the confidence to imagine solutions and the strength to become part of the change themselves. That is exactly what Koen Timmers and the Climate Action Project do. I am delighted to become Honorary President of TAG Belgium.”
The Princess has been involved with TAG for years. She took part in Climate Action Day, TAG’s annual global event for students, teachers and international guests. She also connected TAG with young activists, partners and others working on environmental and social issues.
“Princess Esmeralda has long been part of our community,” says Timmers. “She knows our work and believes in the power of education. Asking her to become Honorary President was the natural next step.”
Brussels as a bridge to Europe
With the new seat, TAG aims to work more closely with Belgian and European schools, colleges and universities, businesses, governments and civil society organisations. Today, 288 Belgian teachers already take part in the Climate Action Project.
“We want Brussels to become a bridge between our global community and Europe,” says Timmers. “And we hope many more Belgian classes will take the step from learning about climate to doing something about it themselves.”