How do youth organisations for climate and sustainability work with inclusion and recruitment? And how can they reach out to and engage more people? At the launch of a new report by NIKK for Nordregio, challenges and strategies were discussed with youth representatives in the Nordic region.
According to the Swedish research company Ungdomsbarometern, young people in Sweden still see political parties and organisations as good ways to influence society, but boys and girls have different priorities. Not least on the climate issue.
‘Far more girls than boys see supporting or joining an organisation as the best way to influence society. Young girls are also more concerned about the climate than young boys.’, said Johanna Göransson, Senior consultant specialised in lifestyle and consumer behavior at Ungdomsbarometern.
Based on surveys of 15.000 people between the ages of 15 and 24, Johanna presented data from 2024 and prior that pointed to clear trends in social engagement among youth in Sweden, at Nordregio’s webinar “Where are the boys in climate action? How to break the bubbles and join forces” on 28 August.
The webinar launched the report “Climate, Youth and Gender – Inclusive strategies for Nordic youth movements”, that NIKK, Nordic Information on Gender, has written for Nordregio within the Sustainable Living programme.
Several strategies for breaking patterns
Based on interviews and a survey among board members of youth organisations in the Nordic countries, NIKK’s new study draws attention to challenges at the intersection of climate engagement, gender and other categories, with a particular focus on young people in the Nordic region. The study identifies patterns of youth engagement related to aspects of gender, equality and diversity, and the report provides examples of how youth organisations address these patterns in terms of inclusion and recruitment.
The report suggests and describes in depth several strategies to break the patterns, both for the internal and external outreach and engagement of members; 1) put the issue of inclusion and diversity on the agenda, 2) adopt a code of conduct with policies on discrimination and harassment, 3) create a safe space and a culture of openness to different views, 4) search beyond established patterns in recruitment and outreach, and 5) lower thresholds and formal requirements for engagement.
Climate, Youth and Gender: Inclusion strategies for Nordic youth movements
Author: Jimmy Sand, Analyst, Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, for Nordic Information on Gender, NIKK
Education has impact on engagement
Previous research shows that people, both women and men, who are more care-oriented are also more interested in climate issues and more willing to adapt to sustainable lifestyles. The findings from the survey by Ungdomsbarometern, that young people seem to be more concerned about the climate while differences are visible at group level between boys and girls, are also confirmed in the new report.
‘People who are uninterested in or even opposed to action on climate and sustainability are mostly those who identify themselves as men,’ said report author Jimmy Sand, analyst at NIKK.
While young women are overrepresented in environmental organisations, the report suggests that education level and field of study can be a strong explanatory factor. Those studying social sciences at university level are more likely to be involved in these issues than, for example, those in vocational training at upper secondary school.
‘This reflects patterns in educational choices that are also evident in other contexts, where more women than men continue their studies in higher education and where men predominate in technical education,’ said Jimmy Sand.
Diversity may require compromise
The lack of resources is a major challenge for diversity and recruitment efforts, as highlighted by Alva Danielsson from the Nordic-Baltic network organisation ReGeneration2030, one of the webinar’s youth representatives.
‘This is one of the toughest dilemmas we have. With little resources, we need to build capacity and create resilience within the organisation. At the same time, we need to bring in more new members. We need more people involved, as this is the only way to bring about change in society’, said Alva Danielsson.
The question of recruitment was tested in the discussion: should resources be spent on increasing diversity by trying to recruit people who are not interested – or even opposed to the issues? Or on those who are interested but just haven’t taken the step to get involved yet? The study shows that organisations need to take into account and compromise with the lack of diversity on the one hand, and how social dimensions are integrated into environmental and climate issues on the other.
‘The gender bias in organisations may be related to which groups are most affected by climate change. The focus on gender, equality and climate, which men as a group are less interested in, may also alienate young men. One way to address this could be to also focus on aspects such as class, regionality, minority issues, race and ethnicity for example,’ said Jimmy Sand.
Insights from the new report will also be presented during the Sustainable Living Summit: How you can act for change at Kulturhuset in Stockholm (and online) on 15 October. The full-day conference, organised by Nordregio, marks the conclusion of the Sustainable Living programme and turns to gender and youth perspectives in the afternoon. Both webinar speakers, Jimmy Sand and Johanna Göransson, will take the stage again zooming in on consumption and lifestyle choices among Nordic youth. Find the full agenda and register on the event page.
This article was originally published here.
Watch a full recording of the launch event below.
