On the landscape of youth participation in science policy

Abstract

Despite being important policy stakeholders, the youth remain largely absent from policy building and implementation. However, the growing literature has vividly illustrated the capacity of the youth from diverse age groups to make meaningful contributions to policy. In particular, university students are emerging as significant actors in science policy owing to their unique perspectives and knowledge. By drawing from the literature, we emphasize that the youth are capable of directly contributing to diverse policy matters while also indirectly benefiting from their participation. Consequently, there is a crucial need for initiating programs for promoting youth participation. Furthermore, to ensure the fruitfulness of such programs, more systematic research ought to be done with regards to the accomplishments and challenges of youth participation.

The Australian Mainstream Media’s Portrayal of Youth Climate Activism and Dissent

“…are well-informed on scientific research, consensus, and expert opinions(Narksompong and Limjirakan 2015;Kosciulek 2020). The qualities of these young protestors, as demonstrated through their positive portrayals in the media, may indicate that they could be prioritized as relevant stakeholders in collaborative policy-building for climate action(Kosciulek 2020;Agarwal and Sung 2021). Youth are already underrepresented in the policy process for climate action, yet they will be the most vulnerablepopulation to the consequences of climate change, indicating that their inclusion in climate policy development should be considered (Kosciulek 2020; Agarwal and Sung 2021).…”