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Understanding the Barriers and Stimulators for Youth Participation: A Qualitative Case Study in the Parlamento Hubenil Aruba
No full textIn the Aruban context, participation could involve community service, participation in town hall meetings, political discussions, and voting in elections. Creating platforms for youth to voice concerns, collaborate with the government, and engage in civic education programs on citizens' rights and responsibilities is vital. Parlamento Hubenil (PH) is committed to fostering youth potential and participation in Aruba, which is aligned with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Despite its efforts, PH faces challenges in attracting youth aged 18-24, a critical demographic for shaping Aruba's future leaders. This study aims to define key concepts such as youth participation while identifying barriers and stimulators that impact youth involvement in organizations like Parlamento Hubenil. Finally, this research explored strategies to mitigate barriers and strengthen stimulators, providing recommendations to enhance youth participation in Parlamento Hubenil. Furthermore, a qualitative case study approach was employed, utilizing purposive sampling and 18 semi-structured interviews to gain deeper insights into participation and the barriers and stimulators affecting it. The findings suggested that peer influence was a strong strategy for recruitment, and a targeted social media campaign was essential for broadening outreach and raising awareness
Reflections for Biodiversity Researchers Engaging With Policy-ScienceInterfaces
Full text linkResearchers who wish to engage in policy processes to help address the biodiversity crisis are often hindered by fear of the potential drawbacks to doing so. The complexity of political systems, the necessity to interact with policymakers or politicians outside of the work environment, the potential professional risks that may arise from engagement, advocacy, or activism, and the lack of institutional recognition and support for engaging in the science–policy interface may be daunting. Following the negotiation and adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a reflection on how biodiversity researchers may engage more in policy processes is timely. Here, we introduce and reflect on some of the tools that can empower researchers who would like to engage in (1) changing policies, (2) multidirectional communication, (3) building networks, (4) activism and advocacy, and (5) securing institutional support.Debra Zuppinger-Dingley, Maria J. Santos, and Rémi Willemin were supported by the University of Zurich Research Priority Program (URPP) on Global Change and Biodiversity. Debra Zuppinger-Dingley was further supported by the Life Science Zurich Graduate School PhD Program in Ecology. AP was supported by an Ambizione grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation to Daniel Maynard (#PZ00P3_193612). The RCN grant DEB-1745562 from the US National Science Foundation (Cross-Scale Processes Impacting Biodiversity) supported the 2022 WBF workshop that led to the present manuscript and the participation of Ana Carnaval, Andrew Berger, Vinicius Marcilio-Silva, Andrea Paz, Jean Krasno, and Marcia Marques. Catalina Pimiento is supported by a PRIMA grant (no. 185798) from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Lynne Shannon was supported by the MISSION ATLANTIC Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (862428) and the South African Research Chair Initiative, funded through the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) and administered by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF)
Eligible for funding ≠ inclusive funding
No full textMany small island states are eligible for research funding from external funding agencies (such as programmes like Horizon Europe (EU) or calls from the Dutch Research Council (NL) for the Dutch Caribbean). These external funding options provide potential opportunities for small island states to increase capacity to conduct research or boost nature/biodiversity preservation efforts. Unfortunately, the many options existing in this funding landscape are complicated to navigate and once an opportunity is identified it may be difficult to assess whether your institute is eligible for funding. There are also often additional or hidden requirements, which may have a detrimental impact for small island state institutes (bureaucratic administration, extensive reporting and accountability, non-eligible bank transaction costs, as well as required co-funding or in-kind contributions from institutes with already limited resources and capacity). Furthermore, even if small island institutes manage to navigate the funding landscape successfully and submit a proposal – additional hurdles will have to be faced in the process. Reviewers and other people involved behind the screens of these funding programmes are often not familiar with small island state contexts, imposing Global North standards upon the proposed (research) projects - which decreases the chances of success for small island state actors. This contribution will focus on the challenges faced by people from small island states interested in applying for external funding programmes. Tips will be shared on how to navigate the funding landscape hurdles, preventing the waste of valuable resources and providing insights in managing these inequitable systems
Metabolism of Islands
No full textMetabolism of Islands: This 34-minute documentary explores the provocative question: Can a small island truly achieve sustainability? Drawing on the powerful analogy that islands, much like living organisms, metabolize materials and energy to sustain their populations, the film reveals how unsustainable resource-use patterns—an “island metabolism” out of balance—can weaken resilience and amplify vulnerability to climate shocks. The “Metabolism of Islands” introduces a ground-breaking, evidence-based systems perspective that moves beyond short-term fixes toward holistic strategies for long-term sustainability. Featuring voices from across the world’s small island nations, the documentary brings together science, storytelling, and lived experience to illuminate both the challenges and pathways to resilience. Conceived and directed by Simron Singh, and edited by Alexandra Ulacio, the film is a collaborative global effort produced and funded by the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE), in partnership with Metabolism of Islands (MoI) and the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) program of the U.K. and Canada
An exploratory paper: Societal gaps for a transformation towards sustainable rainwater harvesting in Aruba.
No full textA Qualitative Study to Understand the Chosen Profile Process of Retained Students in HAVO-4
No full textCOVIDCAS Research into the resilience of Dutch Caribbean societies Final Report
No full textThis work was supported by ZONMW Projectnummer 1043003
