Agents of change in bushfire recovery: Young people's acts of citizenship in a youth-focused, animal-welfare and environmental program

MacDonald, Fiona; Lanyon, Chris; Munnery, Leah; Ryan, Derm; Ellis, K.; Champion, Sam

doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103551

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Young people are the focus of this paper and we provide evidence of how a capability and empowerment discourse around young people acknowledges their skills and capabilities as agents of change (MacDonald 2021; Macdonald et al 2023). We are not alone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Young people are concerned about disasters, climate change, mental health and their communities, but they are also keen to find solutions. Their perspectives about environment, climate, health and wellbeing, diversity, inclusion, human rights and social justice bring fresh and creative ideas to address issues that concern them (MacDonald et al 2023, Walsh & Black 2018. They want to learn as well as be respected.…”

Section: Creativity and Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, while change is evident, roles for children and young people in disasters remain firmly grounded in trauma-informed, risk discourse. Young people 1 should be included at all levels of emergency and disaster management (MacDonald 2021, MacDonald et al 2023. However, the focus of this paper is on resilience building in communities as this is where the consequences of disasters is 'first and foremost experienced' (NEMA 2022, p.7).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Joining the dots to reimagine community resilience: empowering young people

MacDonald,

Woods,

Hall

et al. 2023

AJEM

Self Cite

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Historically, disaster response management for children and young people, people from linguistically diverse cultural backgrounds and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been shaped by a vulnerability and risk discourse, informed by trauma-informed and risk mitigation strategies. These are vital, but the vulnerability discourse has moved into other areas of disaster prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and resilience. Vulnerability has been linked to pre-existing, socially produced inequalities and power structures. This has worked to homogenise, marginalise and diminish the capability of community members in resilience efforts. The United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 [Sendai Framework] calls for governments and relevant stakeholders to ‘advocate for resilient communities and an inclusive and all-of-society disaster risk management’ (UNDRR 2015, p.23). This includes the meaningful engagement of people who are marginalised from resilience building. The Sendai Framework makes a specific argument for engaging children and young people, declaring they are agents of change who should be given the space to contribute to disaster risk reduction. The aim of this paper is to consider how the Sendai Framework has influenced the inclusion of young people in disaster resilience and to introduce emerging evidence of how young people are joining the dots to reimagine community resilience.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Creativity and Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Joining the dots to reimagine community resilience: empowering young people

MacDonald,

Woods,

Hall

et al. 2023

AJEM

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Through a focus on how excluded groups can generate ideas and work with authorities down the track, our approach showed how embracing the diversity of voices is important to maximise a community's resilience (Mansfield 2020), which is important in hazard-prone areas. This approach prioritises excluded groups, advances their ideas about how positive change can occur and highlights youth as fully-fledged agents of change in disaster risk reduction (MacDonald et al 2023). Outcomes for this example indicate that codesigned, youth-driven measures nurture crossgenerational relations, raise the profile and esteem of youth and builds their skills, knowledge and resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

January 2024

2024

AJEM

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“Older people will die of old age. I’ll die of climate change”: engaging children and young people in climate decision making for public health

Arnot,

Thomas,

Pitt

et al. 2024

BMC Public Health

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Background The climate crisis is a significant risk to the health and wellbeing of children, young people, and future generations. While there are calls for children and young people’s engagement in climate decision making, current power structures limit their participation. This paper aimed to understand children’s perspectives about the impact of the climate crisis on their futures, their ability to influence climate decisions, and strategies and mechanisms to facilitate their greater engagement in decisions made about the climate crisis. Methods Online in-depth interviews were conducted with n = 28 children (aged 12–16 years) across Australia. Photo elicitation techniques were used to prompt discussion about how the climate crisis impacted their futures, their ability to influence climate decisions, and strategies and mechanisms to engage them in climate decision making. A reflexive approach to thematic analysis was used to construct three themes from data. Images were analysed for ascribed meanings. Results First, participants stated that they and future generations will inherit the climate crisis from older generations, specifically decision makers. Second, they described a need to address a range of age-related barriers that limit children and young people’s engagement in climate decision making, including perceptions about their capabilities. Finally, they discussed strategies and mechanisms to embed children and young people’s perspectives within climate decision making, including at civic and political levels. Conclusions Children and young people have the right to be involved in decisions made about the climate crisis which significantly impact their futures, including their health and wellbeing. They argue for structural changes to embed their views in climate decision making, and describe a range of engagement strategies and mechanisms to structure their perspectives and knowledge with decision making processes. Furthermore, genuine involvement of children and young people in climate discussions must avoid youthwashing and tokenistic participation. The public health community can help address barriers to youth participation in climate action and should actively engage and collaborate with children and young people to facilitate their political and democratic influence over the climate crisis. This involves making room and creating an accessible seat at the decision making table to ensure their perspectives are embedded in climate decisions.

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Agents of change in bushfire recovery: Young people's acts of citizenship in a youth-focused, animal-welfare and environmental program

Cited by 3 publications

References 13 publications

Joining the dots to reimagine community resilience: empowering young people

Joining the dots to reimagine community resilience: empowering young people

January 2024

“Older people will die of old age. I’ll die of climate change”: engaging children and young people in climate decision making for public health

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