Voices of a generation the communicative power of youth activism

Abstract

Drawing from interviews with 31 young leading climate activists from 23 countries across the world this article aims to capture the contribution of the recent youth climate movement to communicating climate science and politics. We show that from the point of view of the youth activists, the movement powerfully connects personal and local experiences and emotions with climate science. This has enabled the activists to construct an authentic, generational and temporal identity that has helped them to carve out an autonomous position and voice with considerable moral authority among existing climate policy actors. Claiming to represent the future generation, we conclude that activists have offered an important added value to climate science as new ambassadors for scientific consensus and climate mitigation. The youth movement and the added value it brings communicating climate science is an example of the dynamics of the formation of “relational publics” and emphasizes the need to understand better the networked communication landscape where climate politics is debated.

Perceived climate change risk and global green activism among young people

“…To study the phenomenon in depth, they compared these movements with previous climate campaigns and found that the participants had some elements in common, while the main difference was the use of a more politically “neutral” framing of climate change. Recent studies have focused on the FFF movement and have made interesting contributions to knowledge about the phenomenon, social base and strategic choices of European youth (della Porta and Portos 2021 ), the communicative power of youth activism (Eide and Kunelius 2021 ) and crossing crises (Bowman and Pickard 2021 ; Martiskainen 2020 ). In particular, della Porta and Portos ( 2021 ) addressed the background of protesters as a possible trigger for an active role, noting that their social composition is heterogeneous, as there is a cross-class coalition that forms the collective mobilisation against climate change.…”

“…In particular, social background may influence their opinions, as demonstrators from the upper class are more likely to believe that governments and corporations are capable of solving environmental problems than activists from the working and middle classes. Eide and Kurnelius ( 2021 ) focused on the ability of FFF activists to build an identity based on scientific evidence that strengthens their authority among climate policy actors. They are defined as new ambassadors for climate action who use networked communication tools to link personal experiences and add value to climate science.…”

Mobilising hope to overcome climate despair

“…19 We should take inspiration from young activists who are harnessing hope to drive positive change. 20 There is precedent in history with the success of civil society movements advocating for change on health concerns. In the 1980s, AIDS advocacy groups were crucial in raising awareness, pushing for change, and challenging attitudes.…”

Adolescent wellbeing and climate crisis: adolescents are responding, what about health professionals?

“…As the “new ambassadors for scientific consensus and climate mitigation,” adolescents are at the forefront of the movement to hold governments and industries accountable for their emissions. 35 Many young people, however, assert that their inclusion in global platforms, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conferences, has been tokenistic rather than a serious attempt to respond to their views. 36…”