Youth Perspectives on Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction: An Asset-Based Approach

Abstract

An all-of-society approach is foundational for increasing disaster resilience and creating adaptive capacity in the face of disasters and climate change. Youth participation within disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster risk management (DRM) is an inclusive strategy to engage youth in an all-of-society approach. While this is an emerging and fast-growing area of study, ingraining social inclusion in practice is slow. Through a series of four articles, this dissertation describes two separate qualitative studies exploring youth participation in DRR and DRM through the youth perspective. Participatory research methodologies dismantle power dynamics inherent in traditional research, and they are well-suited for research on youth participation. As such, our first study used Photovoice methodology to explore youth perceptions of youth capabilities in disasters, and to understand their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of youth participation initiatives in DRR are scattered, necessitating exploration of the process of participation in diverse contexts and types of disaster events. We conducted the second study using case study methodology to explore facilitators of - and barriers to - youth contributions towards DRR efforts in the context of local flooding, tornado, and pandemic events in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This dissertation provides insight on how to promote youth resilience, capacity, and strengths in disasters. Based on these findings, we argue that a paradigm shift in DRR towards an asset-based approach is essential to implement youth participation in practice. An asset-based approach aligns with the capability-oriented worldview in youth participation literature and theories. The complexity arises in attempting to apply asset-based lessons from the literature into the traditionally needs-based orientation of DRR policy and DRM practice. More research is needed to document youth actions in DRR and to determine asset indicators to evaluate implementation efforts. This dissertation begins an important conversation around applying an asset-based approach to youth participation in DRR through the perspectives of youth.