Chiari, Sybille

Doyle, Julie

Hazel, Berndt

Pearl, Persephone

Shaw, Chris

Sonja, Voeller

English

The recommendations in this briefing are aimed at young climate activists and groups who want to broaden the appeal of their campaigns, and bring in new audiences. The recommendations are based on the authors experiences of working with a global network of over 50 young adult climate campaigners during 2017-2019, combined with a growing body of social science research on engaging young people with climate change

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The recommendations in this briefing are aimed at YOUNGCLIMATE ACTIVISTS and groups who want to broaden theappeal of their campaigns, and bring in new young audiences.The recommendations are based on the authors’[1] experiences ofworking with a global network of over 50 young adult climatecampaigners during the last two years, combined with a growingbody of social science research on engaging young people onclimate change.[2]The research found that by working together young adults canbuild collective power, work together to create compelling newvisions for the future, and thereby give voice to the hopes andaspirations of young adults in the face of a growing climate crisis.[1] The cliMATEs project team was a collaboration between academics, communication specialists, andfacilitators from Austria, Germany and the UK. For more details about the project visithttp://climates.boku.ac.at/infos/[2] Corner, A., Roberts, O., Chiari, S., Völler, S., Mayrhuber, E. S., Mandl, S., & Monson, K.(2015). ‘How do young people engage with climate change? The role of knowledge, values, message framing, and trusted communicators.’ Wires Climate Change, Vol. 6(5), pp. 523-534Recommendations for engaging youngpeople with CLIMATE CHANGE campaignsInsights from new European researchThe briefing summarises principles for effectiveclimate communication, with the aim ofᐅ increasing the number of YOUNG ADULTS who becomeactively involved in climate campaigns, andᐅ BROADENING the appeal of CLIMATE CAMPAIGNS beyondpeople who may already identify themselves asenvironmentalists.Do’s and don’ts for maximising the effectiveness of communicating climate campaigns aimed at young people Do move beyond activist identities, and position climatecampaigning as part of the new normal for young people. Thecampaign identity is crucial to increasing and broadening support - ifthe campaign’s messengers, imagery and language speak totraditional, adult-led campaigns by NGOs the campaign is unlikely toreach the new grassroots of young people’s climate campaigning.Taking action on climate change is less about being environmentalist,and more a new social reality. Do highlight the moral and justice dimensions of climate change.Many of the young campaigners we worked with told us a keymotivation for their involvement was concern about the injustice ofclimate change, with those who were doing least to contribute toclimate change being the ones most affected by the impacts. Do make use of life stage transitions which offer opportunities toreach new audiences. Moments of significant life change (forexample moving away from home to start university or a new job) areoften a time when young people are shaping their identity as theyform new peer groups. These disruptive moments offer uniqueopportunities for reaching people who might not have otherwisebeen responsive to campaign messages.Do’s and don’ts for maximising the effectiveness of communicating climate campaigns aimed at young people Do highlight the short term, clear wins for the campaign.Young people will be more likely to get involved in campaignsif they offer the potential for making a tangible difference tothe environment. Long term political campaigns are likely to bea turn off for many young people, because of the amount oftime they will need to invest and/or because of the (perceived)limited chances for success. Do harness the collective power of groups to createcompelling new stories about the future. During theresearch we brought together twenty young people fromacross Europe for a four day retreat. During that time thegroup worked together to co-produce new formats forcommunicating with young adults, exploring new visions forsociety. From that process three new campaigns aimed atyoung adults have been created and will be going live in 2019. Do recognise the importance of peer support and peer topeer communication.Our research found that young climate campaigners often feelisolated and powerless, but when they work together theyfeel more empowered to effect change. Do remember that values and emotions are just asimportant as facts.Numbers and science alone are unlikely to motivate people tobecome involved. Understand what matters to the campaign’saudience and connect your message with those concerns. Tella story that helps the audience understand the implications ofthe facts in a way that is relatable and relevant to them.Do’s and don’ts for maximising the effectiveness of communicating climate campaigns aimed at young people“Many of you appear concerned that we are wasting valuable lessontime, but I assure you we will go back to school the moment youstart listening to science and give us a future. Is that really toomuch to ask? In the year 2030 I will be 26 years old. My little sisterBeata will be 23...That is a great age, we have been told. When youhave all of your life ahead of you. But I am not so sure it will be thatgreat for us. Now we probably don’t even have a future any more.Because that future was sold so that a small number of peoplecould make unimaginable amounts of money.”Greta Thunberg, 2019Do’s and don’ts for maximising the effectiveness of communicating climate campaigns aimed at young peopleThunberg, G. (2019). 'You did not act in time': Greta Thunberg's speech to MPs. The Guradian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/23/greta-thunberg-full-speech-to-mps-you-did-not-act-in-timeTelling a powerful storyIn our research with young adults we saw young people are planning forthe near term future. They aspire to establish themselves as independentadults who can flourish and enjoy the pleasures of family, friends and ahome. But they see inaction on climate change as threatening to steal thatfuture away from them. Instead of being able to imagine a stable future,young adults instead see the next 10 or 20 years as a time of increasinglyprecarious living conditions.Telling the story of how young adults feel their future isbeing stolen from them as basically unfair, adds a compellingand emotionally resonant moral dimension to the narrative.This worry has also been powerfully communicated by GretaThunberg (see below) who has motivated many youngpeople to become involved in climate campaigning.ᐁ DON’T rely on technical jargon and numbers to win youraudience over. Terms such as ‘managing climate risks’, the ‘2 degreeslimit’, and parts per million of carbon dioxide can be unfamiliar anddisengaging. Build engagement from the ‘values up’ rather thandownwards from the big numbers of climate change policy discourse.ᐁ DON’T launch a communication strategy for your campaignwithout understanding your audience. There is no ‘one messagefits all’ approach. Find out who you want to reach, what issues matterto them, who they would view as a trusted messenger. If possiblepilot messages and communication strategies to get feedback onwhat is and isn’t working.ᐁ DON’T lead communications with longer termclimate impacts, such as sea level rise in 2100. Foryoung people, climate change is fundamentally aboutthe ‘here and now’ – describing the effect it will have ondistant generations, as campaigners and scientists oftendo, undermines the urgency of the problem. [4][4] Corner, A. and Roberts, O. (2015). How Do 18-25 Year Olds Engage With Climate Change? Oxford: Climate OutreachDo’s and don’ts for maximising the effectiveness of communicating climate campaigns aimed at young peopleᐁ DON’T assume just because your audience is young they care the wayyou do. There is a growing movement for change amongst young people,but some audiences are more engaged than others. When reaching out tonew audiences without a background in activism or direct action considercarefully what type of campaigning strategy and messaging will appeal. Noteveryone wants to be involved in direct action or risk arrest, but may still feelthey would like to take action on climate change.What this briefing is based on[5] Corner, A., Roberts, O., Chiari, S., Völler, S., Mayrhuber, E. S., Mandl, S., & Monson, K.(2015). ‘How do young people engage with climate change? The role of knowledge, values, message framing, and trusted communicators.’ Wires Climate Change, Vol. 6(5), pp. 523-534The evidence for the recommendations in this briefing come from a two yearEuropean research project that has explored the social factors shaping how andwhy some young adults become active climate campaigners. The researchincluded reviewing what previous research on this topic had found[5], interviewsand workshops with young adult climate campaign leaders, and a four dayresidential retreat for twenty young people from across Europe who areconcerned about climate change.The young adults we worked with told us:• Social justice was an important motivation for campaigning. • Many people reported that the transition into campaigning was often only possible once they left home and broke free of the norms of their childhood friendship groups. • The voluntary nature of running a campaign was an obstacle to success, but being in the company of other young campaigners was an important motivator.• Some campaigners felt that voluntary campaigning was looked down upon e.g. by parents or peers, and many campaigners were looking to professionalisetheir role. The income would allow them to spend more time on the campaign, and give more credibility and status to the work.• Setting clear and realistic campaign goals helped get other young people involved in their campaigns. • Include activities that people can get involved in without having to be an expert on climate change.• Campaigners are keen to get more people involved, people from a wider background than have previously got involved in climate campaigning.• Existing well established campaigns provided inspiration, validation and support.Project teamUniversity of Brighton, Centre for Spatial, Environmental and Cultural Politics / UKJulie DoyleEnvironment Agency Austria – Vienna / ATSonja VöllerClimate Media Factory – Potsdam /DEBernd Hezel & Ephraim BroschkowsiO N C A - Brighton / UKPersephone Pearl & Keith EllisUniversity of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, ViennaCentre for Global Change and Sustainability (gWN) / ATSybille Chiari / Project leadSybille.Chiari@boku.ac.atClimate Outreach – Oxford / UKChris Shaw / corresponding authorChris.shaw@climateoutreach.orgCitation:Shaw, C., Chiari, S., Doyle, J. Völler, S., Hezel, B., Pearl, P. (2019): Recommendations for engaging young people with climate change campaigns.June 2019

Recommendations for engaging young people with climate change

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Recommendations for engaging young people with climate change

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