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- Convenor:
-
Nico Brando
(University of Liverpool)
Send message to Convenor
- Chairs:
-
Nico Brando
(University of Liverpool)
Stacy J. Kosko (University of Maryland)
- Discussants:
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Pedro Hernando Maldonado Castañeda
(Universitat de Barcelona)
Stacy J. Kosko (University of Maryland)
Roni Kay M. O'Dell (Seton Hill University)
- Format:
- Thematic Panel
- Theme:
- Social solidarity, grassroots approaches, and collective action
Short Abstract:
Youth across the Global South are increasingly driving social change movements. This panel delves into the complexities of youth activism, examining the mechanisms they employ, the barriers they face, and the strategies they develop for effective action. Focusing on diverse contexts and issues, it shed light on the challenges and opportunities encountered by young activists.
Long Abstract:
(This Thematic Panel is a collective endeavour of the HDCA TGs on Children and Youth and on Human Rights).
Youth across the Global South are increasingly driving social change movements, advocating for a more just and equitable world. This panel delves into the complexities of youth activism, particularly for marginalised groups, examining the mechanisms they employ, the barriers they face, and the strategies they develop for effective action. Focusing on diverse contexts and issues (international and domestic levels), the panel aims to shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities encountered by young activists in the Global South, with some additional examples from the Global North.
From the Soweto Uprising in South Africa in the 1970s, passing through climate justice movements to indigenous rights campaigns, youth in the Global South are at the forefront of social change. Their activism is fuelled by a deep understanding of systemic inequalities and the impact they have on the most disadvantaged populations. The ongoing threat of environmental, socioeconomic and political crises across the globe has led youth movements to expand across borders, with digital media being a fundamental platform for collective engagement. However, youth activists’ journeys are often fraught with challenges, including limited resources, discrimination (based on age, status, and others), and state repression. Understanding the mechanisms they utilise, the barriers they confront, and the strategies they devise is crucial for supporting their movements and amplifying their voices.
This panel brings together (three) distinct perspectives on youth activism in the Global South:
1. Understanding Marginalised Youth Activism: Providing a broader lens on the experiences of marginalised youth activists across the globe (Moldova, Kenya, and many others), exploring the specific barriers they encounter and the unique strategies they employ to overcome them.
2. Environmental Activism and Capabilities: Examines the risks and threats faced by young climate activists in Colombia and Brazil, and the role that the capabilities approach might play in better conceptualising their fundamental interests and needs as political actors.
3. Youth and Indigenous Groups at the United Nations: Investigating the participation of indigenous youth activist groups in UN negotiations, showcasing their contributions to global decision-making processes and the challenges they navigate in these formal spaces.
By exploring these diverse case studies, the panel aims to: Analyse the various mechanisms young activists use to mobilise, advocate, and achieve their goals. Identify the distinct barriers faced by marginalised youth activists and explore strategies for overcoming them. Examine the role of technology, inter-alliances, and human rights frameworks in enabling youth activism. Highlight the importance of amplifying the voices and experiences of young activists from the Global South and the opportunities for solidarity with youth in the North, as communication technologies increasingly makes such cooperation plausible.
This panel will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of youth activism in the Global South, fostering dialogue and knowledge exchange amongst researchers, activists, and policymakers.
Short Abstracts of Contributions (there is no space for adding the abstracts):
Prof. Stacy J. Kosko - Valori şi principia: Strategies and Barriers in Marginalized Youth Activism
All peoples and individuals, marginalized or otherwise, have the right participate in processes of social change that affect them, and to share in the benefits of those changes, including enjoyment of the economic and social benefits of development. Marginalized youth are among those least able to exercise that right. Yet they continue to demand to be heard, to seek to shape the processes as they unfold, and to claim their right to participate in the creation of political and social change at home and globally. This research—global in scope—is based on a series of long-form interviews with youth activists from marginalized groups. The aim of this research is to better understand the barriers to and strategies for successful social and political change, as perceived by these activists.
Roni Kay M. O’Dell - Youth and Indigenous Participation in Decision Making on Sustainable Development through the UN Major Groups: Limited Benefits of Communication Technologies
This paper investigates how individuals from marginalized populations, particularly youth (ages 18-24) and indigenous groups, democratically engage in international negotiations and decision-making processes on sustainable development. Using the creation and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a case study, the research assesses successes and roadblocks that such individuals experience as they negotiate with delegates or UN staff.
Pedro Hernando Maldonado Castañeda - Colombian Young Environmental Activists in the Political Arena: A Lens on the Capabilities Approach
Drawing upon the normative proposal of Amartya Sen´s Capability Approach, this paper focuses on the necessary recognition of young environmentalists as political agents and essential actors in the defence of the environment and global sustainability. Adopting a capability perspective when assessing the contributions and potential of young activists allows for a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to addressing environmental challenges, considering their capabilities, aspirations, and rights as essential stakeholders in the pursuit of a sustainable and equitable world.
Accepted papers:
Paper short abstract:
This paper investigates how individuals from marginalized populations, particularly youth (ages 18-24) and indigenous groups, democratically engage in international negotiations and decision-making processes on sustainable development. Case study used: Creating the Sustainable Development Goals.
Paper long abstract:
This paper investigates how individuals from marginalized populations, particularly youth (ages 18-24) and indigenous groups, democratically engage in international negotiations and decision-making processes on sustainable development. Using the creation and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a case study, the research assesses successes and roadblocks that such individuals experience as they negotiate with delegates or UN staff. One of the main elements of the paper is to investigate how technology either helps or hinders marginalized individual’s or group’s access to and engagement in UN negotiations, with a specific focus on recent communication technologies of online meeting platforms (e.g., Zoom), phone and computer applications that advance communication (What’s App), and the use or impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on such interactions. The paper argues that the future of international negotiation and diplomacy requires a concerted effort to engage across political and social boundaries with many different entities beyond nation-states (from individuals to non-profit organizations to corporations). The paper relies on in-depth qualitative interviews of youths and indigenous peoples who have been active in engaging with the United Nations (UN) on sustainable development activities through the Major Groups and Other Stakeholders mechanisms (MGos). There are already some clear trends coming out of the interviews thus far conducted, namely, that there are structural roadblocks to youth and indigenous engagement with UN negotiations at conferences and in committees that include 1) lack of funding and resources for youth and young people to engage both in-person or remotely, 2) lack of delegate commitment to include marginalized voices, 3) donor interests swaying the conversation (and influencing marginalized groups to follow one path even when they are included), 4) the challenges of technology which does not only mean technology access, but the negative impacts of technology on inclusion, 5) language barriers (while the UN has six official languages, it is still very difficult and expensive to work in or translate into other languages, even within those six, and thus the default language is English), and finally, 6) lack of respect and a tendency toward tokenism for youth and indigenous peoples. Closer examination and implementation of the ways in which the UN is currently working with young people and indigenous populations can more accurately represent marginalized voices and ensure support in implementing sustainable development policies.
Paper short abstract:
The paper highlights the crucial role of young environmentalists as vital political agents in global sustainability, based on Amartya Sen's Capability Approach. It calls for inclusivity, acknowledging their capabilities and rights in addressing environmental challenges for a sustainable world.
Paper long abstract:
The practice of environmental activism carries significant risks in various regions of the world, especially in nations as Colombia and Brazil, where the private interests of political, business, and illegal armed groups clash with environmental concerns. These groups often view activism as a threat to their economic, political, or territorial interests and resort to extreme tactics such as intimidation, kidnapping, torture, and even murder to silence activists. Among the most vulnerable to these dynamics are young environmentalists, whose voices and actions are often dismissed and undervalued within political structures due to age biases and adult-centric dynamics. In Colombia's context, the struggle for environmental protection is particularly intense. The country's rich biodiversity is threatened by various factors, including deforestation, illegal mining, and armed conflict. Environmental activists, including young people, face risks such as threats, attacks, and killings for their advocacy efforts.
Drawing upon the normative proposal of Amartya Sen´s Capability Approach, this paper focuses on the necessary recognition of young environmentalists as political agents and essential actors in the defence of the environment and global sustainability. Recognising young people as political agents entails understanding their capabilities to influence and act in the public sphere, as well as to drive concrete changes in environmental policies and practices. Encouraging active participation of young people in the political arena can lead to the formulation and implementation of policies prioritising environmental protection and sustainability, benefiting not only the current generation but also future generations. Moreover, by acknowledging the political capability of young environmentalists, it is possible to challenge prevailing age-related prejudices that hinder their involvement in decision-making processes and impede the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Adopting a capability perspective when assessing the contributions and potential of young activists allows for a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to addressing environmental challenges, considering their capabilities, aspirations, and rights as essential stakeholders in the pursuit of a sustainable and equitable world. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to foster an environment that values and empowers young activists, enabling them to contribute effectively to the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment. Furthermore, this research highlights a significant theoretical gap regarding studies on environmental activist youth from the Global South. The majority of research focuses on the experiences of youth from the Global North, perpetuating hegemonic practices and overlooking the unique perspectives and realities of youth from the Global South actively engaged in environmental advocacy.
Paper short abstract:
This research—global in scope—is based on a series of long-form interviews with youth activists from marginalized groups. The aim is to better understand the barriers to and strategies for successful social and political change, as perceived by young activists from 11 countries.
Paper long abstract:
This research—global in scope—is based on a series of long-form interviews with youth activists from marginalized groups. The aim is to better understand the barriers to and strategies for successful social and political change, as perceived by young activists from 11 countries.
The project comprises 45 long-form interviews from 11 countries on five continents. Together with a geographically expansive literature review, this qualitative research gives us a clearer understanding of the strategies used by marginalized youth activists and the obstacles that they face as social and political change agents. We find that these are remarkably consistent in the literature and across all of our samples. These obstacles include age-based hierarchies, weak communication between youth and elites or older adults, criminalization of youth culture or activism, discrimination, outsider interference, hollow lip-service from adult leaders and governing elites, and the role of parents. Based on this collection of challenges, we concluded that: the process of creating change is 1) mediated by outside actors; 2) captured before it can begin; 3) a political performance; and 4) rife with epistemic injustice (Kosko et al, JHDC, 2022, presented at HDCA in 2022).
Yet young people are famously resilient and our 45 interviewees report employing a variety of strategies to get around, or at least confront, those challenges. These strategies include bypassing the state; leveraging digital media to facilitate resistance; employing English language skills to gain access to international platforms and audiences; embracing more horizontal leadership and membership structures; expanding their networks well beyond national borders; and building alliances across intersecting causes. The consistency among these strategies across vastly different geographies and cultures suggests that there may be a coherent set of capabilities important for youth to engage in social and political activism. These might include capabilities to be creative, to accept discomfort, to connect with peers across social barriers, to build alliances, and to learn new skills quickly.
While the interviewees employ a stunning array of tactics to defeat the many barriers thrown in their way, a great deal of frustration and pessimism remained. Said one Moldovan activist “Valori şi principia, valori şi principia – values and principles, values and principles. It’s all [the political elite] want to talk about, but they do nothing for the people. We are trying to do something, but they don’t hear us. They are only talking to each other.”