So this is the end: the final blog post to showcase what we have done in the last three years in our quest to better understand youth digital activism. It has been a roller-coaster journey, with many unexpected turns both in our personal and professional lives. The research team welcomed two small humans, but also experienced grief and loss. These were all relevant experiences that at times enriched, and at other times, made our work more difficult.
The two activist groups also changed considerably, the Fridays for Future (FFF) in the Czech Republic and FFF Hungary. Some of our participants left the movement as they embarked upon other (activist) journeys, while others became even more engaged in their work or studies.
In terms of academic engagement, we published four academic papers in international high ranking journals, while three other papers are currently under review (you can find the list of publications at the end of this text). We are also co-editing with Markéta Supa a special issue for the journal Global Studies of Childhood, focusing on the contrasting role of online and digital media in children and youth civic participation.
We presented the findings of this research project at a number of international events, such as the ECREA conference, or the International Conference on Social Media & Society. In 2022, we were also present at the Climate, Art and Digital Activisms conference in Melbourne, Australia to deliver a keynote based on our findings.
As a major final landmark of our project, we organised in June 2022 a round table discussion that also featured a protest art making workshop lead by two of the Fridays for Future activists (one from Hungary and one from Czechia). This was a unique event for us, as we gathered academics, activists and film makers to discuss the relevance of youth active citizenship. You can read more about this event here.
We are deeply indebted to the six members of our Youth Expert Board for their guidance and support throughout the project. We have learned a lot from them and all the other young activists about what it means to be persistent, courageous and unwavering in fighting for our planet.
We are also thankful to our academic advisory board for their mentorship in these three years.
The members of the research group will now embark on different projects, but we hope that we managed to provide a glimpse into the complex relationship between digital media and youth civic participation in the Central and Eastern European region.
Academic publications:
Lenka Vochocová, Jana Rosenfeldová, Anna Vancsó & Annamária Neag (2024) Soros’s soldiers, slackers, and pioneers with no expertise? Discursive exclusion of environmental youth activists from the digital public sphere in Hungary and Czechia, Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 21:1, 69-83, DOI: 10.1080/19331681.2023.2220318. This article will be printed also as a chapter in a Taylor and Francis edited volume.
Lenka Vochocová & Jana Rosenfeldová (2023) Are Generations Really Divided by Climate? Preference for Conflict in Fridays for Future Media Coverage, Journalism Practice, DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2023.2260364
Annamária Neag, Markéta Supa & Paul Mihailidis (2024) Researching Social Media and Activism With Children and Youth: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Communication, 18, 1-21.
