Youth Climate LAB 4 | First session summary

Yesterday, we kicked off the fourth edition of the Youth Climate LAB on eco-anxiety and resilience in education. With the support of Elin Kelsey, we introduced the topic and engaged in three discussion rounds. 

In her presentation, Elin highlighted:

• The traditional way of engagement around climate change is through knowledge, but in recent years there has been a shift towards acknowledging emotions. 
• It is important how the climate crisis is portrayed as it has an impact on our emotions. Climate change news usually frightens us, as less than 3% of media talk about solutions. This phenomenon is called "culture of doomerism". In this perspective, the climate crisis has also become a crisis of hope as we focus on what is broken rather than examples of actions. 
• The culture of doomerism may also have an effect on people's actions as if an individual feels that hopeless, he/she is likely to not take actions. Contrarily, through "solution journalism", the reality is portrayed as a complicated story with negative and positive news.
• Individuals usually feel more than emotion towards climate change, but it is important to keep hope by reminding ourselves of stories of change. It is also important to remember that we are part of a huge ecosystem that is resilient.
• Education in this discussion as it will enable individuals to develop innovative solutions. Additionally, our feelings are based on reality but also on thoughts, beliefs, mindset and education.

Following Elin's presentation and Q&A, we started the discussion addressing how we feel when thinking of climate change with the support of the Climate Emotion Wheel. We then shifted our attention to two key discussions: what do young people need and what can educational settings realistically do. 

Participants highlighted crucial needs, including having networks and communities to talk as safe spaces and avoid stereotypes, empowerment of youth in their actions, education and training for teachers and journalists. 

Participants also highlighted many examples of what educational settings can provide to meet these needs, such as creation of action groups for students or green teams in universities, provide psychological support for those who need, and community days and project weeks partnering with the local community.