TakingITGlobal

For those without local support, social media and the internet became important places of encouragement and community by presenting distant but real role models. I'm also supported by social media. You have some people in Ghana who do care about climate change… For example that artist [Joseph Awuah-Darko], seeing he can do something, I feel I can do it too. ( A C C R A , I N T E R V I E W ) Team members from Calgary were especially engaged and uniquely supported, noting that support manifests through an entire network of teachers, parents, and peers. These team members were part of the Alberta Climate Youth Leadership Network (ACLYN) 1 , a network of youth in Alberta working to engage with environmental organizations and education boards on climate change, especially advocating to update the provincial climate change curriculum. My classroom has a huge network of support, my teachers especially, they're very understanding of when I want to go into something... My parents are huge supporters in terms of what I'm doing… we're connected to the Alberta Council for Environmental Education… with ACLYN as well, we have a bunch of different connections to different school boards. ( C A L G A R Y 1 , I N T E R V I E W ) This level of support, engagement, and youth organization was extremely unusual. For the rest of our team members, social support consistently came from teachers and parents. BARRIERS: AGEISM AND PEER PRESSURE The main barriers, common in the experiences of team members from all locations, are ageism from adults and the lack of engagement from their peers. Formal and informal ageism was common, discouraging—and in some cases explicitly preventing—engagement with climate change in 'adult' society. In Columbia, you can find different fairs and conferences [about climate change]… these kind of events are usually for people over 18, and I'm not over 18, and I'm interested in these kinds of events so I'm like, "how can I get access to education if they limit my age??" ( B O G O T Á 1 , I N T E R V I E W ) In Ghana there is a strong culture of listening to your elders… so there's that barrier of speaking. But people are like, 'Why don't you sit down and wait until you're older'. There's always that - your voice isn't important because you're not old enough. ( A C C R A , I N T E R V I E W ) 1 As of summer 2018, the Alberta Climate Youth Leadership Network (ACLYN) was renamed Alberta Youth Leaders for Environmental and Energy Education (AYLEEE). | 29 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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