Executive summary
Young people can be more exposed to environmental pollution and can be more susceptible to its damaging health effects, while at the same time they usually have a smaller contribution to environmental pressure and less possibilities to protect themselves. To mitigate these inequalities, Climate Stories gave voice to young people through a participatory research approach and interdisciplinary partnership. Around 50 youngsters were engaged in Brussels and Hasselt through a citizen science campaign and digital storytelling. The participants collected and analysed data about the local air quality with sensors and recorded their experiences and concerns through photographs. The collected “climate stories” from the participants represent their experiences, concerns and wishes and visions on a sustainable Brussels and Hasselt. A public exhibition occurred at the end of the project to disseminate the results to a wider audience and generate policy impact. Further, an academic paper was written for conducting and designing inclusive citizen social science projects.
Why it matters
The Brussels-Capital Region is not performing well in meeting WHO air quality standards. It has the eight highest count of nitrogen dioxide among European cities. The Brussels regional Government was also condemned by the court for violating European Union law by not monitoring and not correctly protecting its citizens’ health against harmful air pollution levels. Looking at the dispersion of socio-economical classes in Brussels, the lower classes live closer to roadways, in more densely populated areas with less green space. In the last few years, a strong social movement in Brussels has started for demanding cleaner air. Many citizen initiatives popped up, such as FilterCafé, Clean Air Brussels, Luchtpijp, Influencair, etc.
Project objectives
Objective 1: To give voice to people that are mostly left unheard, to empower diverse groups and make their voice heard to inform public debate and local policy
Objective 2: Increase insights in lived experiences concerning climate change and a sustainable future from socially vulnerable groups
Objective 3: Validate the photo-voice and digital storytelling methodology for engaging diverse groups of citizens in citizen science research.
Key findings
Key finding 1: Easy to use instruments and methods for data collection and analysis of the changing climate with young people: The main instrument was an air quality lens that helps to visualise air quality data captured by low-cost particular sensors. This lens supported narration of the data.
Key finding 2: Creative slogans, art works, photography series and 23 climate stories from young people in Brussels and Hasselt. These outputs were showcased during a final exhibition. Half of the participants affirmed to have learned new skills, and a third of the participants would like to create a new story.
Key finding 3: Development of the ‘STORCIT-framework’, which combines citizen science and storytelling methods for engaging underrepresented groups and establishing inclusive dialogue between science, society and policy. It is an approach for citizen science practitioners who wish to engage diverse audiences in multiple stages of their research (see article).
Output
Example of a climate story available here.
Publications:
- A framework for making citizen science inclusive with storytelling methods
- The Air Quality Lens: Ambiguity as Opportunity to Reactivate Environmental Data
More info
Reach out to Carina Veeckman