Youth voices and perspectives are not always heard when it comes to planning and implementing just transitions, which are connected to the twin digital (as well as broader labour market) and environmental transformations. Young people will ultimately inherit and shape the world that we leave behind, and, as such, they should have a stronger say in how to make it a better one. 

This hybrid workshop aims at taking a macro perspective on what just transitions mean for young people in different contexts, how labour and climate justice youth movements intersect, and what it means to enable the youth for just transitions, shedding light on the importance of the often-ignored youth perspective in just transition discourses and policymaking. Participants from international organizations, academia, and youth organizations will reflect on their own experiences and expertise on the topic, contributing to understanding how present and future transformations can effectively bring young people on board, addressing their needs and expectations. 

Agenda

10.30 - 12.30: Session 1 - Youth and Just Transitions in the Labour Market and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities 

This session will address the following questions:

• What is a just transition? And, what types of environmental and labour-market transformations and interventions are involved?

• What does the just transition look like around the world? 

• What is youth’s role in just transitions? And, what does it mean to make just transitions work for and with youth?

12.30 - 14:00: Lunch break

14.00 - 16:00: Session 2 - Intersections and Innovations

This session will address the following questions:

• How just transitions intersect with labour and climate justice youth movements and activism?

• Which policies and democratic innovations are key to address climate and labour market transformations, and make just transitions work for youth? 

• How can we build more inclusive, effective and empowered strategies of engagement for marginalized and migrant youth voices in national and global agendas and debates?

16.00 - 16.30: Closing Remarks and Next Steps

This policy workshop, co-organized by the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy and UNRISD, takes place in the context of the AHCD project Protest and Engagement, from the Global to the Local: Mapping the Forms of Youth Participation In Europe.

This event is open to students from the Geneva Graduate Institute. As seats are limited, prior registration is mandatory: please contact us at democracy@graduateinstitute.ch for information and registration.