TakingITGlobal

I think these are things that I could do. Like encourage my school to take garbage and make it useful, like we could turn plastic bottles into hanging pots or pencil holders. ( A C C R A , I N T E R V I E W ) Youth are unique and they will address climate change in their own ways. The ways that youth experience climate change—through what is relevant to them—is good evidence supporting the youth team's claim that climate change curriculum should be implemented in all disciplines, to capture as broad an engagement as possible. SOCIAL MEDIA, COMMUNIT Y NE T WORKS, AND CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATION Spreading awareness about climate change is a key role that these youth see for themselves. Communication with a broad public audience is key to acting on climate change, and it has presented a significant challenge for the IPCC and the greater scientific community (Moser 2010). We have to explain better what we are doing. Like the IPCC, what are they doing? They are researching on climate change, but what are they actually doing with that information? ( A C C R A , I N T E R V I E W ) In response, the White Paper focused on the use of social media as a relatively accessible, collaborative tool that youth could use to raise awareness, disseminate information, and organize global action. I think social media is the key because it is the only thing that reach the whole world. Some places in the world don't have access to internet but, then, maybe there is just one person who has access to the internet or community, they can be the voice of the international community and share the information... I created an Instagram account called 'change is our goal'. I want to make it a platform for young students to know what's going on in their city. In Bogotá there are so many events, like UN models and like other debates and volunteer programs happening from independent organizations, but how can I know about this if nobody tells me? Having this platform from young people to young people might be very useful. ( B O G O T Á 1 , I N T E R V I E W ) Many team members expressed optimism about the use of social media to aid their educational and political initiatives. Research by Enjolras et al. (2013) agrees, arguing that social media significantly reduces the required skills (communication, organizational) and cost (monetary, time and commitment level) of political participation. However, Valenzuela et al. (2009) caution that the effectiveness of social media depends on the way the technology is used, and can actually support escapism rather than engagement. This indicates the need for more education regarding the use of social media in politics, including how it might be leveraged more powerfully for awareness and organizing around issues such as climate change. | 61 Y O U T H A N D C L I M A T E C H A N G E 2 0 1 8 E D I T I O N

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