Med Dialogues +2030. Environmental Activism in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region: The Role of the Youth as Drivers of Change
21 July 2021. From 18:00 To 19:15 | Workshop | English | French | Online
The European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), together with the Barcelona Office of the Club of Rome and “La Caixa” Foundation, organize a cycle of six conferences (Med Dialogues +2030) taking place between May and November 2021. Under the cycle’s title “The Road to a more Sustainable and Climate Resilient Mediterranean”, different actors and stakeholders from the South and East of the Mediterranean basin, including experts, academics, policymakers, and civil society representatives, debate about the current implementation of climate and environmental-related goals in the Mediterranean region under the scope of 2030 Agenda.
As the climate emergency has been intensifying over the last years, more and more young people have been raising their voices to demand stronger climate and environmental action in the name of global justice. Inspired by the example set by Greta Thunberg and other young activists who launched the #FridaysForFuture movement, young people from many countries in the world have been marching in the streets to urge action from public authorities on an issue that directly affects them in the long-term. Making a strategic use of their moral authority and social media networks to mobilise their fellows, they have succeeded at making their voices heard, engaging with the population, and influencing the global, national, and local climate agenda, to the point that are now considered as powerful drivers of change.
The Mediterranean region has been no exception in the rise of youth’s climate and environmental activism. From Rabat to Athens, passing by Marseille, Tunis or Barcelona, young Mediterranean activists have been taking the streets to denounce the lack of action to address the climate crisis, in a region particularly vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation. Beyond demonstrations with media coverage, they have been at the forefront of a growing grass roots movement, creating associations, organizations and networks connecting young activists across both shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Understanding the role of youth as drivers of change is crucial to develop approaches associating young activists to the policy-making process while taking advantage of their energy to mobilise the society towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It is equally essential to understand the challenges they are facing to empower them as important actors of the public debate in countries of the Mediterranean region where they are not considered as such.
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