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Department of Ethnic Studies

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Photo of Jesica Fernandez

Photo of Jesica Fernandez

Youth Making a Change

Examining Climate Justice Activists’ Sociopolitical Development

Examining Climate Justice Activists’ Sociopolitical Development

In Spring 2025, Jesica S. Fernández will spend five months in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar in the Schuman European Union Affairs Program. Her project, Youth Making a Change, is a qualitative study of climate justice activists' sociopolitical development. It will examine the political subjectivities of EU youth coming of age amid climate crises yet mobilizing change. She seeks to learn why and how youth embody their politics and citizenship and how climate justice youth activists have the capacity to shape public opinion by raising awareness via direct actions, intergenerational partnerships and transnational coalitions; these efforts can also strengthen EU solidarity and global climate action alliances.

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