A creative approach to participatory mapping on climate change impacts among very young adolescents in Kenya

Abstract

Adolescent perspectives are crucially important for developing sustainable solutions to address climate change yet remain overlooked in the literature, particularly in low and middle-income contexts. Kenya is an important context to explore youth climate solutions, as youth constitute the fastest growing population facing climate change-related challenges, such as extreme weather events (e.g., droughts) and issues of water, food, and sanitation security. This manuscript details a methodology for participatory mapping on climate-related issues that was co-developed with Kenyan youth and community-based organizations in Kenya. The aim of this paper is to describe the design of a multi-media participatory mapping tool to identify and address the interconnections between social, health, and environmental well-being with very young adolescents (aged 10-14 years) in six geographically-diverse, climate-affected regions of Kenya (Nairobi, Kisumu, Kilifi, Naivasha, Isiolo, and Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement). The authors describe methods used to develop a strengths-based multi-media participatory mapping approach that combines user-friendly geographic information system (GIS) technology with arts-based methods (dance, drawing, music, video). The aim is to share these methods and process of co-development to inform future participatory mapping approaches with youth climate-related issues.