TakingITGlobal

3. 4 Cr ea ting Poli tical and Emo tional Spaces f or You th Youth have a rightful place at the table, and the decisions made at that table can be greatly enriched with the contribution of youth voices. Youth have unique capabilities to engage with climate change in ways that many adults do not. Youth are still filled with hope and are able to imagine, create, and choose alternatives. They can also inspire adults, who have had far more time to become discouraged. The adults watching the youth IPCC presentation were full of emotion, inspiration, and respect. Adults may be particularly inspired by youth because they are inclined to care about the wellbeing of children. This study highlighted a number of important elements to making this happen, starting in the classroom. Field (2017) presents climate change as an opportunity to actively engage students in the "community" and use this space as a "classroom." The global nature of climate change, understood through adaptation and mitigation actions at the local, regional, and global scales, offers an opportunity to explore complex systems and the problem solving skills they require. The next step, however, is creating space for the tangible expression and further cultivation of their passion for change. Not all youth have an appetite for conventional avenues of political engagement. Many team members expressed enthusiasm for getting involved in curriculum development, scientific solutions, art, or community projects like growing food collectively. Regardless of the form, this project instills the importance of creating spaces for generating community. This project provided positive and empowering validation for youth by providing an opportunity for their concerns and ideas to be heard. As a precursor to creative, collective engagement, our findings highlight the critical role of emotions in the ways climate change information and experience are processed, and the need to honor those emotional responses, rather than stifle them with overly rational or technical approaches to the subject. Creating spaces, both in the classroom and in our communities, to validate and discuss grief, fear, helplessness, anger, and frustration enhance the important capacity to process, rather than avoid, those emotions. Additionally, sharing hope and enthusiasm can be contagious. Brown (2016) places emphasis on actively seeking gratitude for all we are given, and honouring our pain for the confusion, the suffering, the lost species and languages. Youth deserve the truth about the world they are living in and the troubles they will face. Spaces need to be opened in formal and informal society where youth can express how they feel about this knowledge, alongside what they think. Crucially, there is a need to cultivate hope, not based on the promise or probability of a better day, but in the recognition that positive change is possible through action.

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