Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

There is an increased recognition towards the need to engage multitudinous social groups in conversations and action about the environment. Amongst the objectives of environmental communication research is to study the implications behind who communicates, to whom, through what practices, intention, and perceived impact. This thesis explored the perspectives of science communication practitioners towards youth, and their approaches to youth-focused communication. The Baltic Sea was chosen as an area of study. Young people in this region should have opportunities to boost their climate literacy and build competencies in the context of the region’s cross-cutting environmental challenges. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted to uncover practitioners’ views on three approaches: one-way, two-way, and multidirectional communication within the youth setting. This thesis found that practitioners are motivated to seek out young people to involve in Baltic Sea-topics, having cited platforms such as schools and social media that helped them reach this social group. In their narrations, the practitioners made it evident that they aspire to give youth their own agency to propose science communication activities that meet their needs. This led them to favour approaches to communication with elements of interaction. The practitioners saw value in diversifying their environmental communication work through the inputs of youth. Inclusive and relevant science communication that positioned young people as equals rather than passive recipients was hoped to incentivise them to get engaged and stay engaged in environmental topics for as long as possible. Youth were seen as the future inhabitants of the Baltic Sea Region who could be equipped with skills and knowledge already now to learn how to contribute to the future of the Baltic Sea’s environmental wellbeing. When the time comes to taking over the mantle from the current generation, this future generation was aspired to be prepared to become the next decision-makers, researchers, and stewards of the sea. Such large hopes appeared to drive practitioners’ motivations to facilitate youth-focused science communication. Against this background, the emphasis on two-way and multidirectional approaches was understandable, with consideration towards the perceived benefits for youth to learn through doing “real” things that maintain their engagement and create room for their continued involvement.