BSA ANNUAL CONFERENCE : SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS
23-25 April 2025
Presentation: Youth-Led Creative Climate Activism: Intersectional approaches to Environmental Justice
Location: Manchester Metropolitan University - Room 3.209
Date and Time: April 25 - 11:00AM GMT - Room 3.209
YOUTH-LED CREATIVE CLIMATE ACTIVISM: INTERSECTIONAL APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
A recent literature review of young people’s climate activism (Neas, Ward and Bowman, 2022) calls for researchers to transcend mainstream environmentalism, to better engage with communities already experiencing marginality and the impacts of climate change, such as immigrant and migrant communities, LGBTQ+ and communities of colour, and to better engage with Global South activists. This research examines a creative climate activism programme connecting young adults from diverse backgrounds across the UK with global mentors from regions navigating environmental stresses from conflict and the climate emergency.
Drawing on mixed methods approaches, including surveys, interviews, participant observations, audience data and young people as researchers, we share preliminary findings from our work with the charity In Place of War. 100 young people attended a twoweek training programme facilitated by global change-makers (July 2024), resulting in ten funded creative projects, which will include recordings from a musical exploring environmental responsibility, and an art installation co-created with South Asian communities in Cardiff.
The mentored projects will help develop skills and knowledge in building creative campaigns to mobilise communities in the fight against climate change. In partnership with The Environmental Funders Network, the project will showcase young people’s advocacy projects to policy and decision makers. Embedded in environmental justice and social movement perspectives, we assess how participatory arts-based methods and transnational knowledge networks can foster new forms of climate engagement among diverse youth populations, addressing climate change while simultaneously tackling broader social inequalities.
PRESENTER
Susan O'Shea
