{"id":622,"date":"2022-12-16T10:48:41","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T15:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/ccedarrproject\/?post_type=chapter&p=622"},"modified":"2024-06-24T18:21:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T22:21:03","slug":"622","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/ccedarrproject\/chapter\/622\/","title":{"raw":"Challenges to Youth Engagement","rendered":"Challenges to Youth Engagement"},"content":{"raw":"

While many young people across the globe are making outstanding efforts to advocate for climate change mitigation and adaptation, various systemic issues act as barriers and limitations to youth engagement in their fight for climate action.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/youtu.be\/j9ZhgnNC8QE[\/embed]\r\n\r\nElyse Tsang discusses the role of youth in climate action and barriers to engagement (2:43)\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Tokenism of Youth in Climate Change Discourse<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

While the advantages of incorporating youth voices and opinions in the sphere of climate change are widely acknowledged and understood, overlying ageist discourses still regard youth as problematic and ungrateful for the efforts of the older generation.34<\/a><\/sup> Opportunities for engagement continue to be lacking, and when youth are included, their contributions tend to be overlooked.36,37<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Tokenism refers to the process in which the practice of inclusion is purely symbolic.36<\/a><\/sup> In conversations around climate change, the meaningful contributions of youth have often been disregarded in adult-dominated spaces. In other words, youth participants have been tokenized rather than empowered, due to the lack of recognition of the valuable insight they can provide.36,37<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n

Youth tokenism has been a political strategy that more and more youth are calling out climate change leaders for furthering their personal agendas. Their frustrations result from international events, where youth are often chosen to speak seemingly on behalf of all the world\u2019s young people and then used for photo opportunities by leaders hoping to fuel their own political agendas by the perception of youth engagement.37<\/a><\/sup> The most recent COP26 conference in Glasgow was promised to be the \u2018most inclusive COP ever,\u2019 yet was criticized by sidelined groups for the lack of opportunities to have their voices heard and have meaningful engagement, instead however, they were just \u2018there.\u201938<\/a><\/sup> Indigenous youth and youth from countries in the Global South, in particular, felt these sentiments.38<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n

According to Hart\u2019s ladder of youth engagement based on the events of COP26, the final stage of Youth\/Adult equity is far from being achieved on the global level. Many world leaders still tokenize youth for their political gains, choosing an opportunity for a photo op to garner youth support over thoughtfully collaborating or empowering youth voices and ideas.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Arora and colleagues outline four mechanisms that can help to avoid tokenism by championing youth in planetary health action, including integration, education, climate health storytelling, and investment.39<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n

Integration begins with mechanisms of (1) consulting existing youth advocates, (2) developing longitudinal relationships with youth-led networks, (3) providing visibility to youth engagement initiatives, and (4) ensuring accountability for engaging young people.39<\/a><\/sup> Education is a necessary component as a movement cannot find momentum without understanding the issues at hand. This means removing barriers by increasing what is currently lacking in the education system.39<\/a><\/sup> Next, climate health storytelling or showcasing the lived experiences of young people is important as this can tap into core human values of empathy and understanding while simultaneously amplifying the voices of those who will be dealing with the consequences of climate change.39<\/a><\/sup> The last component is monetary and non-monetary investment, that will sustain and support these mechanisms of integration, education and climate health storytelling.39<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Championing youth as leaders of planetary health would be a positive step in fighting the climate crisis. It is important for leaders to move away from the current norm of tokenization and to instead see the value and advantages of authentic collaboration with youth leaders.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Eco-Anxiety and Youth Mental Health<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

As previously mentioned in Chapter 5<\/a>, scholars have noted the increasing concern about the impacts of climate change on mental health.40<\/a><\/sup> Youth carry the heaviest burden, with the consequences of climate change directly impacting their future. Eco-anxiety, an emerging term defining anxiety occurring as a result of fear for our environment, has been found to affect at least 60% of youth (from a sample of 10,000 respondents aged 16 to 25), with 45% reporting that this anxiety had an impact on their daily lives.41-43<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n

In particular, rural youth are at an increased risk of dealing with eco-anxiety. The increased exposure to natural disasters such as fires, mudslides, and floods have caused property damages, displacement, and even deaths of community and family members that are damaging to the overall mental health of rural youth.44<\/a><\/sup> Furthermore, the destruction of their physical environment and geographic isolation severely limits access to mental health resources that can support rural youth.45<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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\u201cGlobal warming, abortion laws, sexism, racism, truly the list is endless. So, we scream. We are scared, and we are many, and we are scared.\u201d<\/span>\r\n- Youth participant44<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

An opinion piece published by the British Medical Journal outlines suggestions for youth to cope with eco-anxiety and other climate change-related stressors.46<\/a><\/sup> This includes having access to the best and most reliable information on climate mitigation and adaptation which keeps youth informed about the situation and helps to mitigate anxiety. The authors encourage youth to spend time in nature and align themselves with others holding like-minded interests in protecting the environment, which can increase perceptions of efficacy.46<\/a><\/sup> The feelings of progress in making a change on a smaller scale will translate into change on the broader level.47<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cSimply talking about the issue with the older generation and understanding the progress and mistakes they made along the way can help young people feel more at ease with the creation of their own personal plan of action on how they can affect change within their community.\u201d<\/span>\r\n- Justin Langan, a Metis youth advocate47<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\nFinally, it is vital not to portray youth as victims facing the climate change crisis.35<\/a><\/sup> This only fuels negative perceptions of youth and encourages young people to accept their role as victims in this situation, which significantly inhibits their motivation to take action against climate change and seek solutions.35<\/a><\/sup><\/span>\r\n

\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/youtu.be\/capEFlATF3o[\/embed]\r\n\r\nThea de Paoli discusses eco-anxiety and the importance of meeting people where they are at, particularly when it comes to climate change decision-making (1:11)\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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<\/a>Recommendation 49<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Develop more support systems for youth struggling with climate change-related mental health issues, such as eco-anxiety, and make these resources widely accessible<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\r\n<\/header><\/div>\r\n

The Disconnect<\/strong> Between Concern and Action<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Most youth worldwide are worried about climate change and the state of the world;48<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0however, there has been a disconnect between concern and action taken.49<\/a><\/sup> Studies show that many youth are willing to partake in more pro-environmental behaviour yet often opt for actions that are perceived as easier (but less effective) than more effective behaviours that require greater effort.49-51<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Other youth felt that their actions would not yield meaningful change.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is reflective of the ideas presented in Chapter 6<\/a>. To review, Bandura\u2019s social cognitive theory is built on four concepts; self efficacy, goal commitment, outcome expectations and expected outcomes.52<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Bandura\u2019s Social Cognitive Theory<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\r\n