Young people leading an action outside COP21 in Paris, France.
“Millennials! Millennials!”
Sometimes, it feels like those words are all I hear at events relating to young people and climate change. We have been told that we are the future (yay!). We have been told that we are fighting for our own future (cue the violins). We have been told that we’re great with social media (#millennials). We have been buzzword-ed to death (we’re hip! we’re cool!). We have been told that we are inexperienced. We have been told that we are too idealistic. We have been called “kids” – despite our degrees and life experiences. We have been told that polls show we don’t care about politics (this is also usually told to rooms packed beyond capacity with young people concerned about climate change).
Most of the people who tell us this – with some exceptions – are older. They also don’t look like us – they are mostly white, and almost always male.
[A caveat: this is not to say that anyone who is older, white, or male cannot be an ally, or that they will always talk down to young people. In fact, my staunchest supporters, and the mentors to whom I am indebted most, are my professors, who defy this patronizing stereotype.]
What is it like to have someone who looks nothing like you consistently patronizing you? What is it like to have people refer to young people as a homogenous voting bloc? What does it mean to have people refer to studies being conducted about you when you in fact are right there in the same very room?
I for one am tired of the tokenizing. I am tired of sitting in the UN space – a privileged space, nonetheless – and being held up symbolically without being given a voice nor a seat at the table.
How can we change these power imbalances?
I wish I knew the answer (don’t we all?). But I know that, as a young researcher and community organizer, I am well-placed to tackle that question.
That’s why I’m focusing my action research on youth: I am tired of having older people tell me about my own identity. I want to help our generation get an active seat at the table.
There are no guarantees – other than I know that I will not find a silver bullet to this issue – but I want to work hard at getting to some answers.