NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: social sciences, food security, youth, environment

Objective(s): To help better understand youth resilience and mobilization related to global changes of concern in the Arctic, more specifically the community of Tuktoyaktuk.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No.5073. This research will help better understand youth resilience and mobilization related to global changes of concern in the Arctic, more specifically the community of Tuktoyaktuk. To achieve this goal, the principal investigator (PI) will ask the questions: 1. In the context of escalating anticipated and unanticipated changes affecting Arctic communities, what do youth identify as their primary concerns? 2. In what ways are youth mobilizing around those issues? 3. What strategies and tools might additionally support and possibly amplify those actions? The PI is using a community-based participatory approach, which is seen as an appropriate approach building on trust and equal participation in research. Using a combination of qualitative participatory methods (focus group, in-depth interviews, participatory video), The PI is working with young participants (15-19 years old) to share their perceptions on global issues, such as plastic waste and climate change, and their vision of solutions and policy actions that should be put in place now and in the next decades. In preliminary research conducted in 2019 and through the use of Participatory Video, youth started investigating more deeply their topics of interest by conducting interviews among themselves and with community members to create a story and produce their films. They have worked on a film "Happening to Us" and four youth from Tuktoyaktuk have presented their film at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in December 2019 with our team members. The research team have had two visits since the start of the project, once in August 2018 (10 days) to meet the community and youth and listen to topics of interest, then in June 2019 for the film workshop (1 month). It is important to the research team to meet with local partners and organizations every visit to update them on the project and listen to feedback. The team work closely with the Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation and the Mangilaluk School and have been in touch fairly regularly via email or phone. The team have also been in touch with the Inuvialuit Research Corporation about this project. The research team is planning on having some calls for updates on this project and discuss plans moving forward. The team have had successful film screenings in Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik and planning on having more once the film is finalized. Once the data is analyzed and interpreted (with the help of the participants), the PI will report back using short reports or pamphlets to the local organizations, as well as presenting in person on the next trip. The youth, Kendyce Cockney and the PI have presented at relevant conferences (Adaptation 2020, COP25, ArcticNet) and are planning to do more of that moving forward. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from March 15, 2022 to December 31, 2022.