Youth and Future Generations Day, COP27
'Youth and Future Generations Day' on 10 November will be a particular focus for the pavilion organisers hailing from 14 youth-led organisations'.
By Dr Nisreen Ameen, and Menatalla Zaky, MSc Digital Marketing student, Department of Marketing
Relevant United Nations’ SDG goals:
- Youth For SDGs Action Network
There are 1.2 billion people aged 15 to 24 years old today. “Climate change is disproportionately affecting children, young people, and will harm future generations,” stated Dr Omnia El Omrani, COP27 Youth Envoy, adding that “the first-ever Children and Youth Pavilion at COP27 in Egypt will tackle this injustice by platforming our voices.” As highlighted by the UN, youth can play a major role as leaders and innovators; they can be a driving force for change, particularly providing a voice for marginalized communities who may otherwise go unheard.
COP26 left many youth climate activists frustrated after struggling to even get in to the conference, most notably for Barack Obama’s speech, which was particularly targeted at youth but hardly any were in attendance. This year, with the standalone Youth and Future Generations Day, young activists from around the world will have the opportunity to have open discussions and demand action. The thematic day opens with the Conference of Youth (COY17) representatives who will present the Global Youth Statement, highlighting the policies on which policymakers need to take urgent action. The universal demand from youth (as outlined in COY16): to be included in decision-making processes. Youth climate activists around the world want to see concrete actions taken, not just words agreed upon then forgotten. Among the broken promises which have been highly criticized by activists in past years is the failure of developed countries to dedicate $100B a year in climate finance to developing countries; criticism that is likely to resurface at this year's COP.
The day continues with several events showcasing youth success stories and challenges, including “ Young Africa: Stories from Egypt and the broader African Continent.” Despite being one of the lowest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, African countries are among the hardest hit by the effects of climate change. With COP27 taking place in Egypt, the country is in a strategic position to advocate for climate action in Middle Eastern and African countries. The youth-led Young Africa event will highlight ground-breaking approaches by African youth for climate adaptation and mitigation, including presentations from youth advocates from Namibia, Ghana, Egypt, and more.
Young generations such as Generation Z are true digital natives, spending more time on their mobile devices compared to other generations. They are risk-averse in their attitude and behaviour. Furthermore, individuals who are part of Generation Z tend to be more responsible and pragmatic than Millennials. Generation Z individuals are more informed, politically involved, more aware of the financial struggles due to various global shocks, share their views and expect personalised services and products. More importantly, they expect their products to be environmentally friendly. Moreover, Millennials and Generation Z have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. They are decision makers and their opinions often influence the opinions of their family members.
At Royal Holloway, University of London, we have been leading and involved in various projects focusing on understanding young individuals’ behaviour and exploring the issues that matter to them. For example, Dr. Nisreen Ameen has been a country liaison for an ongoing Global Generation Z study (with data collected from Generation Z in 33 countries) exploring their values and opinions on issues related to leadership, consumption, interactions with various technologies, climate change and politics. Our research shows that the young generation of consumers have unique characteristics about their views of the world and being a ‘tech native’ generation brings many benefits and challenges. For example, our recent research shows that being addicted to the use of smartphones is linked to Generation Z’s compulsive buying behaviour. Young individuals with smartphone addiction may use these devices to manage unpleasant moods and deal with negative emotions. In another study, we found that the integration of various cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence, augmented reality and social media can positively impact Generation Z females’ body image and self-esteem. We found that the augmentation enabled by augmented reality, the type of chatbot (friend vs. assistant), and social media (specifically trust in social media celebrities and addictive use of social media) can affect Generation Z female consumers' body image, purchase behaviour, and self‐esteem.
Despite the increasing interest in understanding the youth perspective on issues of the day, there is still much to learn about their concerns, needs and references; and how they can affectively lead future generations towards meaningful change. Future research is required to understand how the youth can effectively communicate their views and priorities in terms of climate change, environmental issues and global exogenous shocks.
Further research is especially needed on how to involve the young generations in low- and middle-income countries as they are the ones disproportionately affected. Moreover, media attention is often given to large, public displays by youth demanding action from politicians, however there is a gap in understanding and acknowledging the actions taken by the young generations themselves in their day-to-day lives to effect change.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Nisreen Ameen is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing at Royal Holloway, University of London and the Co-Director of the Digital Organisation and Society research centre. Nisreen is also currently serving as Vice President of the UK Academy of Information Systems (UKAIS). She is an Associate Editor for Information Technology and People, Computers in Human Behavior and the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Nisreen has also served as a Guest Editor for special issues in various top ranked journals such as: Information Systems Frontiers, Computers in Human Behavior, Psychology and Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, The Service Industries Journal and International Journal of Consumer Studies. She is also a Guest Associate Editor for a special issue in Information Systems Journal.
Nisreen's research focuses on two main themes: first, consumer interactions with new-age technologies; and second, how organisations can use these technologies to provide better experiences, services and products. Within these main themes, her research interests include digital marketing and entrepreneurship, human-computer interaction consumer behaviour, and organisational use of consumer data. She also focuses on cross-national and cross-cultural research in developing, emerging and developed markets. She has expertise in qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis; in particular, survey and experimental research. The multivariate modelling techniques she has used include Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), scale development and scale validation, structural equation modelling (SEM), multiple regression, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and testing for mediation and moderation.
Her research has been published in high-ranking journals: the British Journal of Management; the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research; Psychology and Marketing; Information Technology and People; Information Systems Frontiers; Internet Research; Computers in Human Behavior; Information Systems Management; Information Technology for Development; the British Journal of Educational Technology; and the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship.
Menatalla Zaky is an international student from Egypt, currently pursuing an MSc Digital Marketing degree at Royal Holloway, University of London. Previously, she studied Information Systems and Operations Management for her bachelor’s at George Mason University in Virginia, USA. Before moving to London, Menatalla worked at the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) regional office in Cairo, Egypt. Menatalla’s time at WFP sparked her interest in humanitarian aid, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa region. With a growing interest in the role marketing plays in non-profits, Menatalla hopes to return to work in the humanitarian sector upon the completion of her master’s degree.