FIFSW-led global partnership grant empowers youth to drive climate action
Categories: Carmen Logie, Faculty, ResearchProfessor Carmen Logie awarded $2.5 million SSHRC Partnership Grant to lead a transnational youth-centred climate adaptation initiative
A transnational team led by Dr. Carmen Logie, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Health Equity and Social Justice with Marginalized Populations, has been awarded a $2.5 million Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant to implement an ambitious global initiative focused on strengthening youth engagement and leadership in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
The project — CHANGES (Catalyzing Hope and Action for nurturing the Next Generation of Empowered Storytellers) — brings together youth, researchers, educators, and community organizations across Canada, Peru, Kenya, Uganda, and Thailand to address a critical gap in research and policy: the failure to include youth in climate adaptation and risk reduction planning and implementation.
Although young people face heightened vulnerability to environmental shocks, toxic exposures, and climate-sensitive diseases, youth aged 15 to 24 are often excluded from research, programs, and decision making on climate adaptation, prevention, and risk reduction.
The project aims to redefine how youth engagement in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction is understood and practiced globally.
“Half of the world’s children live in regions at high risk of climate hazards,” says Dr. Logie. “Our vision is to build a transnational alliance linking youth, researchers, and community organizations in Canada, Peru, Kenya, Uganda, and Thailand to centre youth voices and knowledge in the design of climate adaptation and risk reduction.”
The seven-year research partnership will be split into three-phases. First, researchers and youth collaborators will document young people’s experiences with climate and environmental hazards through participatory mapping, geospatial analysis, and surveys. Next, youth will share their experiences through storytelling, collaborating with researchers to transform the data collected in phase one into narratives, visual media, and community innovations. Finally, the team will transform findings into youth-led climate action plans, practical tools, and policy resources designed to inform local practice and international decision-making. A global toolkit will be co-developed with the United Nations Think Tank on Water.
Young leaders in each participating country will be supported to co-govern and co-create across every phase of the project, building skills in research design, digital storytelling, data analysis, advocacy, and policy engagement.
“CHANGES will generate new evidence on how young people adapt to environmental challenges, while producing practical resources such as participatory maps, citizen science outputs, policy briefs, and a global toolkit,” says Dr. Logie, who is also an Adjunct Professor at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment & Health. “Findings will help inform climate adaptation and disaster preparedness strategies, support community-led resilience initiatives, and amplify youth perspectives through an open-access storytelling platform and multimedia campaigns.”
Among its many goals, the CHANGES project aims to:
- Gather evidence on youth’s climate-related priorities across diverse geographies spanning four continents
- Inform climate adaptation frameworks, research directions and community toolkits
- Nurture climate leadership and sustain collaboration and innovation beyond the funding period
- Establish a blueprint for equitable, partnership and governance, enabling shared power and accountability
- engage the next generation of leaders while advancing climate justice worldwide.
“This project will create opportunities for youth to lead research, shape climate adaptation strategies, and influence policies that affect their futures,” says Dr. Logie. “Our research will translate evidence into tangible, systemic change. Policy-makers, educators, and community leaders will gain concrete, evidence-based tools to embed youth leadership within climate programs and disaster preparedness frameworks.”
About CHANGES
CHANGES (Catalyzing Hope and Action for nurturing the Next Generation of Empowered Storytellers) is an international partnership led by Carmen Logie that aims to advance youth-centred climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction through participatory research, storytelling, citizen science, and policy engagement across Canada, Peru, Kenya, Uganda, and Thailand.