Youth Consultation Brief
April, 2024
SouthAfrica
In-persondiscussionwith10 youngwomenteachersin ruralEasternCape,South Africa
Focusgroupinterviewwith fouryoungwomenfroma ruraltownshipinEastern Cape
Bangladesh
3in-personconsultationswith 25youthinvolvedinalocal youthclimateorganization, twoonMoheshkhaliIslandand oneinCox’sBazarSadar
Trinidad&Tobago Virtualconsultationwith4 youthfromtheUniversityof theWestIndies.
In February and March 2024, the ListenUP! Climate Project conducted a series of youth consultations to inform the development of a proposal for the Wellcome Trust Climate Impact Awards competition
The voices of youth from highly climate-affected settings in the Global South are largely absent from policy discussions and actions on climate distress and resilience
The aim of this project is to develop, through a highly participatory youth-engaged process, a policy framework for defining, assessing and addressing youth and climaterelated distress in climate-vulnerable settings in Bangladesh, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago. ListenUP! will work extensively with youth from project design to implementation, including opportunities for youth to express their concerns, priorities, and strategies, be heard widely by local and global leaders and communities, and lead youth-to-youth and impact initiatives
To develop a proposal that starts with the voices of young people and that places them at the center of our approach, we reached out to young people from rural, urban, and coastal regions of Bangladesh, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago A total of 43 youth responses were gathered through in-person focus groups, discussions and written submissions on a set of common questions This report contains the highlights from these important consultations
Wearegratefultotheyouthwhoparticipatedintheconsultations SpecialthankstoN DeLange,T Gay(QESProjectAlumni)R Moletsane,J Proudfoot,A Rahman,&N Yamile https://wwwmcgillca/equity-ethics-policy/ | wwwmcgillca/spgh
Youth spoke of climate change as irregular weather patterns causing increased heat, drought, extreme weather events, and changes to their land, food security, and communities.
Anxiety is the top mental health impact among youth Anxiety about health, food security, extreme weather conditions, and changing life trajectories
The majority of youth preferred in-person engagements, but also spoke to the importance of social platforms for reaching large groups of youth
CLIMATE CHANGE AND CLIMATE JUSTICE
What does climate change mean to you? What impact does climate change have on your everyday life?
Youth across sites spoke of climate change as irregular weather changes, causing longer periods of heat, longer or abnormal rainy seasons and periods of drought Many spoke of daily discomfort in their homes and schools due to increased heat, the inability to spend as much time outdoors, increased chronic health conditions, and growing concern of extreme weather events.
Youth active in climate organizations spoke of concern over drastic increases in carbon emissions, unsustainable practices like excessive fertilizer use, and dependence on fossil fuels that are leading to concerning environmental changes, including erratic rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and sea level rise Participants also expressed worries about the displacement of communities and the destruction of livelihoods caused by these climate disasters
Unfortunately, as young people we were born into a world that was built by stripping the environment of its wealth of resources; and are now, bearing the consequences of the ‘sin’ of our forefathers, particularly in the western world Climate change affects us socially, economically, politically and in various other ways; which affect us significantly in terms of our wellbeing
MENTAL HEALTH
d, stressed, or anxious? Has your mental health been affected by issues related to the climate? What impact does it have on your mental health?
Anxiety is very common
Among the mental impacts of climate change on young people and their communities, anxiety topped the list. The most common causes of anxiety cited included worrying about health, loss of job in the family, lack of food due to failing crops, lack of clean water, and the fear of increasing extreme weather such as floods, hurricanes and drought.
Youth spoke of being so anxious that they can’t sleep Some spoke of increased thoughts of suicide due to a feeling that things will get increasingly worse, and never knowing when the next fire, or flood will come and how their family and community will be impacted
Stress due to extreme heat and poor air quality
Many youth spoke of increasing heat as causing widespread discomfort and stress It is leading some youth to consider changing jobs, or even migrating to cooler conditions Bad air quality is leading to more time spent indoors, and less play and enjoyment of the outdoors.
Changing responsibilities and Disruption to way of life
The disruption to their way of life, fear of losing homes, jobs, and resources, fear of needing to leave their ancestral land, and the pressure to adapt to a new environment, were all highlighted as mental health stressors Many young people also spoke of needing to take care of their younger siblings due to a parent loss of job or a school closing due to climate change These factors are causing anxiety and stress, as youth try to balance new responsibilities, and changing life circumstances at school and in work, and face not being able to lead the life they had dreamt of
Am I worried? Yes, I am. Considering that things are forecasted to get worse I can only imagine how surviving those extreme conditions will be. It's literally evolving into a life and death situation. However, I'm still hopeful that once the appropriate adaptive and mitigating measures are put in place we can have a fighting chance.
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
What makes you feel heard or listened to? Wha approaches have worked and not worked for you? you think would be important to help you unders health?
In-person engagement to feel heard and valued
Youth talked of in-person engagement and dialog opportunity to speak, as the best forum to feel he empowered Some spoke of the importance of seeing the facial expressions of others to clearly understand what they are thinking and feeling. Some also spoke of feeling heard and valued when they see the presence of youth in climate change forums where policies and actions are being proposed and adopted.
Virtual engagement best to reach large groups of youth
Many youth spoke of social media and online platforms like Twitter and Facebook as an important way for youth to speak to each other, to connect with their peers, and to reach large groups quickly. Social platforms are where youth connect every day and some spoke about feeling safer communicating on-line Some, however, discussed the limitations of virtual communication platforms due to time constraints, concentration issues, and network problems
Climate change information campaigns and empowering youth networks
Many young people spoke of the need to get more climate change information out to youth via social platforms, and said that once they are informed, they can pass on messages to friends and family They also suggested putting up posters and digital display boards in public spaces, use of personal videos, and empowering students from schools and colleges to become climate advocates to create a network of informed individuals who can share their knowledge within their communities.
Action following engagement
Youth spoke about the importance of some form of strategic action being taken following consultation or engagement. It is only through actions coming out of engagement that youth know that they have been listened to and heard. Youth spoke to the importance of some form of strategic action being taken following consultation or engagement. It is only through actions coming out of engagement that youth know that they have been listened to and heard
In person engagements have always been the way to go, messages conveyed in person can never be same as virtual or online communication. Physical engagements give platform for immediate response clarity, freedom of expression and clearly understanding the emotion attached to the context/content. Virtual communication, on the other hand, is also a very effective way of conveying messages in our generation. With much creativity, a vast amount of information can be passed through, especially because our generation is fully invested on social media platforms