Local Action and Global Imagining: Youth, International Development, and the Walkathon Phenomenon in Sixties' and Seventies' Canada

Myers, Tamara

doi:10.1093/dh/dhu009

Cited by 21 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In Canada, Tamara Myers shows, large numbers of schoolchildren participated in the Miles for Millions walkathon to raise funds for international development projects. In doing so, Myers () argues, young people both cultivated a new sense of themselves as global citizens and projected an image of a benevolent Canada to the world. Of course, young people did not always work to further government aims of combating communism and promoting development in the Third World.…”

Section: Youth Culture Leisure and Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nursery'sIronCurtain: Children, childhood, and the globalColdWar

Fieldston

2019

History Compass

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This essay surveys recent literature on children, childhood, and the Cold War. Over the past decade or so, numerous studies have explored the complex ways in which children and young people both bolstered and challenged the Cold War order. In doing so, they have shed new light on the social and cultural dynamics of the Cold War, encouraged historians to recover formerly marginalized voices, and expanded our definition of politics to include arenas far removed from the formal halls of power. Moreover, looking at youth has revealed striking similarities between the two superpowers whose rivalry defined the latter half of the 20th century.

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Section: Youth Culture Leisure and Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nursery'sIronCurtain: Children, childhood, and the globalColdWar

Fieldston

2019

History Compass

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“…An example is the iconographic "daisy" attack ad from the 1964 U.S. presidential campaign, which has been credited for helping Lyndon Johnson defeat Barry Goldwater [ 42 ]. In general, it has been recognized that children have important symbolic significance in social movements [ 43 ], and have the potential to do so in the fight against climate change [ 44 ]. Thus their messages may impact adults because they symbolize future generations that will be most impacted by the choices adults make now.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel approach to delivering pro-environmental messages significantly shifts norms and motivation, but children are not more effective spokespeople than adults

2021

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Three studies provided initial laboratory tests of the effectiveness of a novel form of community-based environmental messaging intended to be deployed on public digital signs. In all studies, adult participants watched a slideshow of “Community Voices,” a display that combines community images and quotes to celebrate and empower pro-environmental and pro-community thought and action. In addition to assessing the general efficacy of the approach, a central goal was to assess the impact of alternative messengers by comparing identical text associated with either adult or child messengers (Studies 1, 2, and 3). We also assessed the impact of alternative framing of the message itself by comparing: injunctive vs non-injunctive wording (Study 1), political vs non-political content (Study 1), and future vs. present-oriented framing (Study 2). Studies 1 and 2 were conducted on a national sample. In addition, to assess the impact of local vs. non-local messengers, Study 3 compared the response of a non-local sample to a local population in which subjects had personal connections with the people and places featured in the message content. Exposure to Community Voices messages resulted in significant increases in social norm perception, concern about environmental issues, commitment to action, and optimism, suggesting that this approach to messaging is potentially valuable for stimulating cultural change. However, messages attributed to child messengers were generally not more effective, and in some cases were less effective than the same message attributed to adults. We also found no significant difference in the impact of the alternative message frames studied.

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“…In Canada, the response to Biafra is deeply entangled with the country's centenary celebrations and the concurrent attempt to develop a new 'global helpmate' identity. Canairelief, for example, became a symbol of Canadian altruism, while Biafra was 'the war that stabbed Canada's conscience' [Bangarth, 2016;Myers, 2014;Starowicz and Oliver, 1970)]. And then in Ireland, the crisis was framed very much in terms of (anti-) colonialism.…”

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confidence: 99%