Engaging Young People in Marine Decision-Making
A Co-Research Project in Scotland and South Africa
“The youth generation holds a vital key to ocean sustainability and their voices of awareness and activism should resonate like the echoes of ocean waves.”
(Satya Narayana Rao, from Malaysia, representing the YOUNGO Ocean Voice Working Group)
The Issue
Young people are the future guardians and inheritors of the sea. Yet, young people are overlooked as participants in ocean decision-making.
Young people not only have a social right to participate in issues that impact them, but there are also multiple benefits to their engagement. Knowledge is created that is accessible to youth, and therefore to society overall, elevating broader public engagement. Youth become more skilled and prepared to be involved members of the community and provide a source of different viewpoints - contributing to increased innovation, originality and problem-solving.
​
Despite these benefits, there is a shortage of research to guide the meaningful engagement of young people in marine decision-making. Previous studies have demonstrated that young people are eager to engage in marine decision-making. This project takes the next crucial step - addressing the vital question of 'how'. How can be engage young people in marine decision-making, and further, how can we ensure they are engaged meaningfully and long-term?
The Research
This project utilises a co-research approach, where young people are invited to be actively involved throughout the research process. This approach not only ensures the project's outcomes reflect young people's lived experiences but also empowers them throughout the process as active agents of change. Engaging young people in the research process acknowledges that young people are important ocean stakeholders, and is fully realised in the pursuit of sustainable and inclusive ocean governance. By positioning them as co-researchers, the project taps into their unique insights and perspectives, ensuring that the strategies developed are not only theoretically sound but also practically relevant and effective in real-world contexts.
The project aims to provide insight into the contextual realities of young people at local and national scales (in Scotland and South Africa) and ensure that strategies (i.e., the ‘how’) for their engagement in marine decision-making are specific to the needs and priorities of young people within each specific context (rejecting a 'one-size-fits-all' approach).
​
​The hope is to form a mutual learning environment and network of young sea-changers between the Scotland and South Africa, to facilitate empowerment through co-research and to demonstrate that young people are valuable knowledge holders and should be viewed as vital stakeholders.
​
Research Questions
01
What is known from the literature about where, what, why and how of youth engagement across environmental decision-making?
03
What strategies can we use to gather and amplify youth perspectives?
02
What are the challenges and opportunities for engaging young people in marine decision-making?
04
What needs to change to account for the voices of youth in marine decision-making?
ABOUT ME (RESEARCH LEAD)
I'm Julia, a marine social scientist passionate about issues related to inclusion in the pursuit of a sustainable ocean! I have a background in ecology and environmental sciences (BSc) and marine science and policy (MSc) from The University of Edinburgh. I am now working as a PhD student on the Youth Voices for Nature project. My passion for youth activism began during the Friday Strikes for Climate in Edinburgh, where I felt first-hand the injustice against future generations who are unable to meaningfully challenge the behaviours of current leaders and avoid the consequences of their decisions. I believe that empowering youth in the development of marine planning is essential for ensuring the sustainability and resilience of the ocean for future generations.
SUPPORTERS
