What is currently happening in the field of Nordic youth studies? The 116th Nordic Youth Research Symposium, NYRIS2024 – Youth in a Just and Fair World, in Tampere, Finland gathered together youth researchers to discuss young people and youth cultures in a changing world marked by various socio-ecological crises.
The three-day conference was overflowing with new perspectives, fresh research knowledge and critical thinking as well as tedious questions. Some questions we carried with us from NYRIS2024 include
- What is justice for children and young people in the climate crisis?
- When we talk about engaging young people and bringing them in, what are we ‘bringing them into’ – what is the context or system for youth engagement? What are the possible perils of top-down engagement and failing to engage young people on their own terms?
- How to make youth studies global rather than Western?
- When we talk about ‘future generations,’ who exactly are we talking about? Who can claim ownership of the future and what kind of temporality is at play here?
Justice and climate change – Youth views from the Arctic
ACAF organised a session titled ‘Justice and climate change – Youth views from the Arctic’. This session included presentations by ACAF project team members Jaana Sorvali, Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi and Suvi Juntunen with a comment statement by Piibe Aikio as well as presentation by Annaliina Pahkala from the University of Helsinki. This blog post summarises the presentations by Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi and Suvi Juntunen as well as the comment statement by Piibe Aikio.
Klemetti Näkkäläjärvi and Suvi Juntunen presented on the topic of Saami youth in warming climate. When talking about Saami youth, it’s important to remember that while Saami home region is placed in North Europe, stretching over Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia, over 70 % of Saami youth under 25 years in Finland live outside the Saami home region. Saami culture is maintained through lifestyles and practices deeply rooted in and connected to the natural environments in Saami homeland. To maintain Saami culture, there is a responsibility to transfer Saami culture and languages to the younger generation. Importantly, many practices and skills crucial to the Saami culture can only be learnt by practicing livelihoods in intergenerational exchange.
Climate change greatly impacts the Arctic region and Saami home region. Through climatic and environmental changes, climate change impacts the livelihoods, know-how and languages of Saami. Klemetti emphasised how there is no alternative, but the changes caused by climate change are something the Saami population – and even more so, Saami youth – are forced to live with.
Suvi Juntunen dived deeper into presenting insights gathered in a Saami youth workshop in Levi, Finland. The workshop was organised as a part of the ACAF project. In the workshop, the workshop participants – all young Saami people living in Finland and involved in traditional Saami livelihoods – recognised effects of climate change in their home environment and landscapes. There are changes in vegetation and the conditions in winter have changed. The Saami youth at the workshop emphasised the importance of reindeers in a warming climate: it is important that reindeers don’t suffer. Nowadays the well-being of reindeers is more dependent on human support due to environmental changes caused by the warming climate.
Climate change doesn’t not only affect the everyday life Saami youth face but also brings concerns about the future of the entire Saami culture. Adaptation is already, necessarily, taking place and some traditions are lost while new traditions emerge. Saami youth are forced to grow up amid contradictions: on the one hand they may feel a deep sense of responsibility to maintain the Saami culture through professions in traditional livelihoods, on the other hand these livelihoods are becoming harder and harder to uphold. The young people may even face pessimism about the future of them with comments such as reindeer husbandry is not worth taking up as it is becoming impossibly difficult and it is low income.
In her comment statement, Piibe Aikio, who participated in the workshop organised in Levi, stressed the importance of gathering Saami youth together to discuss the issues facing the whole community in their own language. Piibe talked about the sadness associated with more Saami families losing their touch to traditional livelihoods: these are painful topics in many Saami families. Some Saami youth also feel a lack of confidence in discussions such as these, especially if they live outside the Saami home region. Workshops like the one organised as part of ACAF can help Saami youth participate in such difficult yet necessary discussions around the future of Saami culture and communities.
You can read more about the Saami youth workshop here: Sámi nuoraid bargobádji – Saami Youth Workshop – Saamelaisnuorten työpaja – iloista yhdessäoloa ja tärkeitä viestejä päättäjille – ACAF.
Blog post written by Venla Sunikka