UNLEARNING
Yes, shifting power requires us to move the dial on power towards young people and track this movement; but before this can happen, it calls us to undergo a mindset shift first. It calls us to unlearn.
A Psychological Prerequisite to Shifting Power
Yes, shifting power requires us to move the dial on power towards young people and track this movement; but before this can happen, it calls us to undergo a mindset shift first. It calls us to unlearn.
Our colleagues at CUBIC tell us about confirmation bias - a notorious feature of our psychology that actively seeks evidence confirming our pre-existing beliefs and ignores information that challenges us. Applied to youth and child-led campaigning, people who uphold beliefs about children as human becomings (rather than human beings), often unconsciously seek out all the reasons why youth and child-led campaigners can’t be approached as equal partners in social and environmental change.
HOWEVER, YOUNG CHANGEMAKERS CONTINUE TO PROVE US WRONG, TIME AND TIME AGAIN.
UNLEARN: “It is always more efficient to solve social and environmental issues using already entrenched powerful institutions.”
There are already existing institutions working in adolescent health space in Bhutan. However, when Y-PEER Bhutan launched their campaign to heighten young people’s awareness of their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, they were able to do it much more effectively.
The reason: they took an EduTainment approach that spoke to young people in a language they could easily understand and relate to. From the multitude of testimonials that were collected from young participants by Y-PEER Bhutan, most talk about how it was not the usual classroom teaching but rather something exciting and different.
By complementing the energy and mobilising strength of grassroots, with partnerships and longer-term lifespans of formal institutions, we can most effectively move towards solving persisting social and environmental problems.
UNLEARN: “Children and youth groups do not have the requisite capacity to manage funds, at least not to the level that financial systems require.”
Scrutiny around the child-friendliness and risk appetite of current financial systems to work with young people are gradually coming to the fore. However, despite immense existing challenges, youth and child groups supported by genuine adult partners find innovative workarounds to live up to their commitments.
For instance, Ethiopia’s two youth-led groups - Lenege and Bekere Lewt - were faced with the challenge of transferring funds to carry out their campaign in 2023. Against this, Ethiopia’s Fun Adults forged a partnership with Kishene, a youth-led theatre company that then helped channel the funds to the two campaigning groups. SHIFT Ethiopia was able to find a creative workaround for the existing barriers.
UNLEARN: “Youth and child-led groups have weak and often limited human resource capacity, which means that they can only affect small-scale and local impact”
Given the highly mobile nature of young people's lifestyles often having to move around for education, employment (their own or their parents) or in pursuit of other opportunities, it does play an important factor in their group dynamics. However, youth and child-led groups often have extensive networks that can amplify their initiatives beyond their localities.
Lilongwe Shifters from Malawi are a part of the National Youth Network for Climate Change (NYNCC), which they used as a platform to provide a youth and child-centred perspective to the COP28 national deliberations and dialogue in 2023.
WHAT WE NEED TO RELEARN
Such evidence encourages us to become more cognisant of our confirmation biases around why young people can’t become true partners in change-making. Instead, it calls us all to unlearn - learn - relearn so that we can prime ourselves to shift power meaningfully.