TakingITGlobal

Expressing what may be the most valuable benefit of social media, team members believe it will provide a means to stay in touch with each other, share their experiences, and support each other in their climate change advocacy from afar. I hope [we'll be able to stay in touch], we have already created a group on WhatsApp and we're going to have one on Instagram ( N A I R O B I , I N T E R V I E W ) We always know that we'll have each other to share these climate realities and even to help in our initiatives. ( D E L H I , I N T E R V I E W ) Yet, as one team member wistfully acknowledges: I would love to [stay connected], but because of the distance of our homes... maybe we can talk, but the relationship will not be the same, right? ( B O G O T Á 2 , I N T E R V I E W ) This team member draws attention to the way that online relationships are often not as strong or personal as in-person relationships, as we also observed in the tight personal bonds shared by team members who traveled to Edmonton. Having a local network to ground social media engagement would be very valuable. Team members from many locations expressed a desire to grow their own local social networks with other youth. [ACLYN is] thinking about developing… a 'thought leaders forum' that would let students throughout Alberta come to my school and we would talk there, or have a virtual meeting for a day, where we could learn from each other and develop some sort of document where we can say: students want to learn about this, we want to be involved. ( C A L G A R Y 1 , I N T E R V I E W ) As an organization, ACLYN (Alberta Climate Leaders Youth Network) inspired other team members by presenting an example of what a local youth network demanding real change might look like. LONG TERM IMPACT OF THE IPCC PROJECT AND WHITE PAPER? We interviewed these youth when they were at an emotional 'high' in their experience, and it remains to be seen what the impact of this project will be on team members in the long term. Continuing engagement with climate change will take determination, as this participant acknowledges: Right now I do feel empowered. But then I try to acknowledge that maybe there will be a point where it's like, 'People aren't listening to me and this is very important… I have to somehow find a way for them to understand this, or for them to find new ways they can reduce climate change in their future. And so, I have to continue. But, the inspiration sometimes gets overwhelmed. ( A C C R A , I N T E R V I E W ) 62 | F I N D I N G S

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