Teach the Future volunteer, Mystaya Brémaud has shared her perspective on why it’s important for young people to talk to parliamentary candidates about climate education. You can read the blog here. It begins:
“Young people often feel hidden by a wall of headlines: the mainstream media voices our statistics more often than our opinions, making our every action and inaction a cause for scrutiny and concern. This is the image of young people that politicians predominantly see: breaking news about the latest climate protest, or statistics about low voter turnout. But our opinions are far more nuanced than these headlines and statistics suggest. The thoughts and values of young people can’t be boiled down to a few words. That’s why it’s really important for us to have the chance to meet our political candidates: it’s a chance for our voices to be really heard.
It could be said that young people’s impressions of politicians are also built on headlines and clickbait. Manifestos are predominately communicated to young people via social media, where 71% of 14-16 year olds get their news. The format of social media encourages short and attention-grabbing slogans over in-depth discussions of the reasons behind an action. Social media has great power to spread information, but it is also very capable of spreading misinformation and miscommunication.
As a result, the majority of the communication between young people and politicians is via slogans, placards, and short social media videos that are inherently simplistic and impersonal. Young people are rarely given the chance to just discuss an issue with politicians. Currently we are facing a crisis of political trust that is hindering meaningful climate action: while 70% of people consider themselves trusting people, only 27% trust in the UK government, and 12% in political parties. 63% of people “had little or no confidence that they have a say in what the government does”. While these statistics don’t refer exclusively to young people, these figures indicate a broader UK political culture that makes it unlikely that young people “see a point” in participating in politics. If we can meet with political candidates it allows a nuanced and tailored discussion of methodology and reasoning that is impossible over the internet. Sitting down to talk enables an understanding of mutual humanity to be established. Being able to see each other as people is key for establishing trust and creating meaningful action.”
Now read on …