The arrival of spring on the University of Louvain-la-Neuve campus in Belgium is marked not so much with budding trees and flowering plants but with an annual student-run circus. After months of living indoors, more than 2,500 children, students, and adults flocked to Circokot 2008 to enjoy a carefree afternoon of outdoor recreation.

Children watched wide-eyed as costumed storytellers told tales, clowns performed stunts, and jugglers tossed objects high in the air. Entertainment was only one goal. Also important was making sure the event incorporated sustainable development principles.

How do you make a circus more socially and environmentally conscious?

You start by ensuring that all the food and beverages served are produced and distributed using earth-friendly practices, explains Kurt Peleman, Manager of the Future Smile program, which provided guidance and financial support to the event’s young organizers. Operated by the Foundation for Future Generations with support from Nokia, Future Smile helps enterprising youth incorporate sustainable development thinking into their community projects.

The drinks sold at the Circokot event, for example, were organic and served in cups made of ‘corn plastic.’ Corn is a renewable resource making corn plastic more sustainable than regular plastic which is made from petroleum. Even the t-shirts sold at the event were made of organic cotton.

Just as important to sustainability, adds Peleman, is ensuring that the event is inclusive and affordable to diverse populations. To satisfy this need, the Circokot team invited children from neighboring towns and villages and waived the admission fee for the afternoon.

“Through Future Smile, we received new ideas for how to apply sustainable development concepts,” says Adrien Lippolis, 20, an engineering student and accomplished juggler. “This project is something different, something special,” he adds. “After a few years of partying for fun, you start to want do things with more meaning.”

“Our goal is that these young people take what they learn through Future Smile and apply it throughout their careers,” says Peleman. “Those who attend these events also learn that there are alternatives to a throw away society.” In addition to Circokot, Future Smile has supported more than 40 youth-run projects – ranging from the production of a global warming hip hop CD to a biodiesel project in which students collect used cooking oil to fuel their school’s vehicle.