Adaptations of young people in monetary-poor households for surviving and recovering from COVID-19 and associated lockdowns
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Department Name: Bartlett Sch of Planning
Abstract
While young people globally have been less impacted by COVID-19 health outcomes than have older age groups, they have been disproportionately affected with disruptions to both their education (access to school and 'online learning') and home/personal life (e.g. access to food, ability to play and have leisure, and overall living arrangements). Those disruptions, particularly in monetary-poor households, are linked to major failures on the part of the national governments to design COVID-19 prevention and containment policies that mitigated the harmful cost of these policies (Gourinchas, 2020). Given this, the psychosocial consequences of COVID-19 are likely to be more severe for this age group (Power et al., 2020). There is therefore a crucial need to understand how young people have adapted during the pandemic and to assess the wider impact of such processes of adaptations. To do so, we adopt a nexus approach, focusing on food, education, and play/leisure embedded within a wider understanding of the living settings (local places) and home/personal contexts (household composition and home/personal life).
This project seeks to use an action research methodology to co-create this knowledge about such adaptations and generate wider recommendations, with young people, and the communities in which they live, and non-government bodies and non-profit organisations that focus on this age group. By co-creating knowledge, we aim to align our data collection efforts with these organisations' immediate knowledge needs to support the adaptations employed by young people to help them cope and recover from COVID-19 and associated policy responses. Our approach also allows to create a bridge between those affected by policy (young people) and those drafting and implementing policy (organisations). To do so, we focus on case studies in three locations: Mangaung and Moqhaka in Central South Africa, West Midlands in the UK, and São Paulo state in Brazil.
This project seeks to use an action research methodology to co-create this knowledge about such adaptations and generate wider recommendations, with young people, and the communities in which they live, and non-government bodies and non-profit organisations that focus on this age group. By co-creating knowledge, we aim to align our data collection efforts with these organisations' immediate knowledge needs to support the adaptations employed by young people to help them cope and recover from COVID-19 and associated policy responses. Our approach also allows to create a bridge between those affected by policy (young people) and those drafting and implementing policy (organisations). To do so, we focus on case studies in three locations: Mangaung and Moqhaka in Central South Africa, West Midlands in the UK, and São Paulo state in Brazil.
Organisations
Publications
Marais L
(2024)
The COVID-19 restrictions, child services and the well-being of children in South Africa
in International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy
| Description | Young people, and particularly vulnerable young people suffered dramatically during the pandemic and continue to do so. They were not seen as a priority during COVID-19 and continue to be neglected in some areas of policy and service provision, despite the significant proportion of their lives affected by this unprecedented health crisis. While a significant amount of public funding was allocated to emergency funding during the pandemic, it was nevertheless insufficient and poorly targeted in some cases. Some (vulnerable) children and young people will struggle to catch up; this will have long-term consequences on their adult lives which cannot be ignored. Our findings support recommendations about how to help those young people as well as what could be done differently in the event of a future crisis like COVID-19. The daily survival of children and young people and their families was ensured due to the involvement and commitment of individuals, communities, faith groups, charities, schools and teachers who all stepped in in unprecedented ways as part of the pandemic solidarity effort. Hence, as well as making recommendations for policy-makers, our findings highlight their possible future role (and support needed) in responding to future crises like COVID-19 (Andres et al., 2023a&b1). Running through our findings - and our recommendations - is the vital consideration that young people's voices were often unheard during COVID-19. Hence, an overall recommendation underpinning all of our findings is that diverse young people - and particularly those who are most marginalised or vulnerable - were not heard enough and should have a voice in future policies, actions and decision- making processes. More specifically, our findings reveal the following: Education and beyond 1 School absence and refusal have increased since COVID-19. Where appropriate, schools should introduce and/or signpost to students measures that enable school engagement during and after a period of lockdown (or similar), whilst also addressing the root causes for disengagement. Cognisant of the multiple pressures on schools, schools may focus on some or all of the following: a. making school environments less pressurised (thrown into sharp relief during time at home, when many students felt less pressurised); b. measures to support young people with loss of confidence whilst away from school; c. addressing sometimes patchy support in schools for student wellbeing and mental health; d. finding (creative) ways to mitigate loss of contact with school during a crisis, which in turn can mean loss of the wider benefits of school. 2 There is a need for further work around the 'soft skills' that some young people lost or did not develop during COVID-19, particularly as there is a shared feeling that we 'moved on' from the pandemic in a way that did not enable young people to come to terms with what had happened. Many professionals who work with young people have reported that there are cohorts who, for instance, lack the skills and ability to relate to others in appropriate ways. Schools and other learning institutions could, for example, work on relational pedagogic practices, using trauma- and compassion-informed approaches. 3 Whilst recognising they are vital, we must not over-emphasise the role that schools can play during or after a pandemic. They cannot provide and do not have the resources to provide a one- stop shop for all the issues young people face. They are not and should not be the only place that CYP gain support - families, friends, communities, and other organisations should also be key. There could be greater consideration of how in turn to support those organisations, and how there could be greater coordination, partnership and/or multi- agency working to ensure some young people, and some needs, do not slip between the cracks. 4 Linked to recommendation 3, there could be planning for greater resources and sharing of good practice for organisations outside of schools who provided support for home education during lockdowns. This would also need to acknowledge (as per recommendation 1) that after COVID-19, some young people did not return to school and remained home educated. Any work with such organisations should also ask young people how they would like to be supported outside of school. 5 There could be a concerted focus on support for young people's key transitions - for instance to secondary school, to College/University, and to work. Those transitions and support for them were compromised during COVID-19, with some young people getting 'lost in transition'. Guidance and support for young people could be two- fold: targeted at young people, now, who missed out during key transitional periods during the COVID-19 pandemic; better preparedness, plans and resources to provide guidance and support for young people going through transitions during future pandemics. 6 Address inequalities in children and young people's access to greenspace, and outdoor spaces, which in turn affect their opportunities for play, learning and socialisation. Children and young people are often excluded from outdoor, public and green spaces in their communities; this situation was exacerbated during lockdown restrictions, when playgrounds and other leisure spaces were closed and young people's time outside was limited. There should be greater efforts2 towards and investment in building on guidance to make public spaces more accessible to diverse children and young people, and placing greater emphasis on children and young people's access to such spaces during a lockdown scenario. Information and the role of digital technologies 7 Support and advice around technology use (especially social media and gaming) could be more nuanced. Use of these technologies is a complex issue, especially when children and young people cannot access outside spaces. It should not be assumed that social media use or gaming are always negative behaviours, when they can facilitate learning new skills, socialization and allow downtime; but it should be recognized that use of digital technologies can also be dangerous, problematic and toxic. Supporting young people to find a balance - where that balance may be different during a pandemic - is key. 8 Linked to recommendation 7, recognise and support the ways in which digital media can enable young people's participation in high-level decision making and co-research (as with the PANEX- Youth project) alongside or even more than more traditional approaches to meeting/consultation cannot. There could be greater consideration of how to ensure scaling up of these approaches, inclusion in terms of the young people involved (equal access to these opportunities) and training for young people participating in such activities. 9 Ensuring better preparedness and equitable opportunities for digital access (to devices and/ or data) for different groups of children and young people, their families and those who work with them (both for education and other purposes). There is an opportunity here to engage with the work of UNESCO's Digital Readiness Index3 team, which assesses and provides recommendations for countries in the event of a pandemic or similar crisis. 10 Work with young people to battle misinformation around a crises. Young people have the skills to act as a bridge (and/or to co-produce) accurate information, especially in short form on digital media, to counter misinformation in, for instance, the circulation of public health information during a pandemic. Remembering and learning from COVID-19 - and listening to children and young people 11 Learn from what worked in COVID-19. Some apparently haphazard or reactive approaches happened to work - whether in terms of flexibility in pedagogic approaches or ways of working through digital media, or how local organisations responded to meet local needs. At the national, regional and local scale there could be efforts to collate and share examples of what worked (our longer reports, referenced at the end of this document, are examples of such efforts). Similarly, more learning is still needed on what could still work in a post-COVID context, and what could work in terms of better and equitable preparedness for a future crisis. 12 Don't just move on: COVID-19 happened but young people have not had the opportunities to deal with its shorter- and longer-term impacts. COVID-19 was a major part of their lives (proportionately, compared with adults, and because of the impact of restrictions on them). It is crucial to keep talking about COVID-19 and address trauma. 13 Develop a systemic approach to policy for children and young people, particularly for times during and in the years after a crisis. In particular, working across health, education and employment can help deal with challenges in respect of young people's transitions. Such policies - as per wider policy- making for young people - need to be aligned, coherent and joined up, stopping young people from falling down the cracks. They also need to be properly resourced and involve children and young people in appropriate ways in their design. 14 Those working with and advocating for young people could call out and put pressure on organisations who should be engaging young people in debate about and responses to crises, but don't. Examples of good practice in engaging children and young people - whether specifically during crises or more widely - could be collated and shared, with resource to support good forms of engagement. |
| Exploitation Route | All through our project, we have been working with key partners at national and international levels. Some of these organisations were part of our community of practice and have been involved in workshops all through the project. This is reflected in our engagement activities. The work we are currently completing with Unicef and Unesco demonstrates the international relevance of the Panex Youth research and some of the findings will inform wider policies and strategies at both national and international levels. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://panexyouth.com |
| Description | PANEX YOUTH impact and findings, to date, have been used in two main ways: 1 - By informing national and international strategies. This includes the report "A Plan for Play: The affordable way to wellbeing for every child" by The Children's Alliance. Lauren Andres contributed to it and used some of the Panex-Youth results. The forthcoming Learning and Community Hubs for the Evolving Right to Education in Times of Crisis UNESCO Working Paper on Education Policy (work done with the UNESCO · Chief of Education Unit - Paris) The forthcoming Call for Action "Strengthening Urban Resilience and Sustainable Neighbourhoods for Children in Times of Crisis" with Unicef (Global Lead - Urban - NYC) 2- By empowering young people through their participation as co-researcher in our research. We have collected several statements and the one below testifies from the societal impact of our work. My experience working as a co researcher on the Panex Youth Research team has been nothing short of enjoyable and thought provoking - a sentiment I'm sure my fellow co youth researchers would share. From the beginning of the project Cristiana has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside with. She has a way in which she can appeal to young people especially in regards to some pretty complex information being covered. We have always been able to cover a plethora of topics all while having a laugh and genuinely enjoying ourselves. During my exams I felt completely overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work that had to completed - I am not sure my professor would be too pleased to hear this, but our sessions with Cristiana played as an escape from those never-ending assignment deadlines. Each meeting or session with Cristiana has left me feeling extremely positive and rearing to go. Cristiana had provided us with the necessary training and support to conduct our field interviews - this wonderful opportunity has allowed us to feel more confident in information gathering, and able to note this down for future career applications. Don think I've forgotten you Peter and Lauren. If all my professors could be like Peter, my life would be complete. Peter is a man of many talents - from being extremely intelligent to very cool and edgy and in with the "young people" (not saying peter is not young hahaha). Peter is also incredibly passionate about his work - and that shows when he is able to condense very complicated content into manageable content that we could understand as young people. Lauren is an incredibly warm and welcoming person - she just has the welcoming persona that allows people to open up and become more comfortable - Lauren is also very intelligent and really adores her area of expertise - she is able to make me laugh, but also support me in any way possible. She also creates an atmosphere that allows people to share their valuable experiences and insights. I reckon she could be our next Prime Minister. My highlight working on this research project would definitely be the conducting of the interviews. Every time I had interviewed my friends, family members or peers I learnt something new about people's different experiences of the covid 19 pandemic. While there was plenty of negative thoughts surrounding covid - a lot of the interviewees had stated they picked up positive habits such as learning new languages, skills and hobbies. I'm also going to cheat a little and say a second thing I enjoyed from this project other than working with some amazing people would getting to meet our Brazilian and South African colleagues both in person in Birmingham and at an online session. This project is the gift that keeps on giving - this, even as a aspiring Barrister will aide me in my future career and ongoing educational pathway. Please see below statements from our young people who participated to our project: |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | A plan to Play Report |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://childrensalliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/A-PLAN-FOR-PLAY-FINAL-ILLUSTRATED.pdf |
| Description | Member of reviewer panel for the UNICEF/ UN Habitat/ WHO Public spaces for children |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Emergency Food Planning, Food and Health Justice and Resilient Communities and Places |
| Amount | £1,996,875 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ESRC IAA 2023-28 KEI2024-01-51 |
| Organisation | ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Cambridge |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2024 |
| End | 06/2025 |
| Description | Collaboration with Association of Colleges |
| Organisation | Association of Colleges |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We have engaged with the Association of Colleges to share insights from Panex-Youth. We are currently developing with them a research proposal (Nuffield Research). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Insights into issues of transitions to colleges for vulnerable young people due to the pandemic impacts. |
| Impact | no yet |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with B4 Project - Institute of Development Studies |
| Organisation | Institute of Development Studies |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Both teams have met several times and exchanged insights from our respective research, both funded through the same TAP scheme. |
| Collaborator Contribution | We have submitted a proposal for an ESRC IAA on "Emergency Food Planning, Food and Health Justice and Resilient Communities and Places" through UCL |
| Impact | We secured an ESRC - IAA - KEI2024-01-51 project Emergency Food Planning, Food and Health Justice and Resilient Communities and Places with the Institute for Development Studies (Alex Shankland - B4 PI) as project partner |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with Unesco Learning and Community Hubs for the Evolving Right to Education in Times of Crisis UNESCO Working Paper on Education Policy |
| Organisation | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We are collaborating with Unesco to join efforts in understanding the impact of the pandemic towards young people with a specific focus on education - one of our pillars in our nexus. As part of this, we are sharing relevant data matching Unesco key programmes (i.e. Right for Education, Happy Schools). We are currently jointly finishing a UNESCO Working Paper on Education Policy on "Learning and Community Hubs for the Evolving Right to Education in Times of Crisis" |
| Collaborator Contribution | Unesco is sharing data and has joined the project Community of Practice |
| Impact | nothing to report as yet as paper is currently being finalised. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Collaboration with Unicef |
| Organisation | UNICEF |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We met with the Global Lead Urban of the United Nations Children's Fund Headquarters. We included in our data collection a set of questions to shape recommendations in regard to children's access to key services (in terms of programming and crisis preparedness as well as access of public spaces and play). We organised a joint Webinar on Thursday 11 July 2024 on "Providing better services and public spaces for urban children and young people: key recommendations for planning and crisis preparedness" |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are finalising a Call For Action which is going to be released shortly: Strengthening Urban Resilience and Sustainable Neighbourhoods for Children in Times of Crisis This call for action aims to raise attention to the urgent need to strengthen children's urban resilience in the light of unprecedented challenges and crises affecting their everyday lives. There is overwhelming evidence that (especially marginalised) children face compound social, economic and environmental challenges in cities: what UNICEF calls an 'urban paradox' , whereby cities have generally better opportunities, services and infrastructures than rural places, yet (especially marginalised) children struggle to access them. Children's urban resilience relies on the provision of fundamental services at the local level which relate to key administrative tasks (e.g. birth registration), health (including mental health), education and training, leisure and play, and food provision. It also rests upon better and safer public spaces, specifically for girls and young women. This is about ensuring that children can grow and thrive in sustainable neighbourhoods, designed and equipped to meet their evolving rights and needs. |
| Impact | Presentation at the World Urban Forum Forthcoming Call for Action |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | SPACES - A guide to creating public spaces for urban children |
| Organisation | World Health Organization (WHO) |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Lauren ANDRES PI and Peter Kraftl UoB Co-I acted as reviewer experts for the SPACES Guide produced by the United Nations Human Settlement programme (UN Habitat), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO). SPACES is aimed at helping national and subnational authorities and other stakeholders create quality public spaces for urban children, and to help meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.7 |
| Collaborator Contribution | We were contacted by UNICEF / WHO to provide comments ahead of revising and releasing the SPACES guide. |
| Impact | Guide about to be released |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | BiteBack2030 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Panex has engaged with BiteBack2030. Plan is to explore further collaboration after data analysis in relation to YP/Food/Healthy Food |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Celebrating T-AP Successes' Trans-Atlantic Partnership Forum Friday 26 April 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Lauren Andres (Bartlett School of Planning, University College London) and Alex Shankland (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex) presented to the main results of their projects to the Celebrating T-AP Successes' Trans-Atlantic Partnership Forum Friday 26 April 2024. This led to further collaboration between the two teams (ESRC IAA) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Conference paper at Covid, Adaptation, Representation - Online Workshop (UoB) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Covid, Adaptation, Representation - Online Workshop Marginalised young people's adaptations during COVID-19 lockdowns in the UK, Brazil and South Africa |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Interview - Young People and the Pandemic 26 Jun 2023 Times Radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview on 26 Jun 2023 on the impact of the pandemic on young people in line with the Covid Enquiry. Times Radio |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Interview BandNews FM Brazil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview for BandFM further to the release of our International Report |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.band.uol.com.br/bandnews-fm/rio-de-janeiro/noticias/governos-nao-atenderam-necessidades-... |
| Description | Joint Webinar with Unicef Providing better services and public spaces for urban children and young people: key recommendations for planning and crisis preparedness |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | We ran a joint Webinar with Unicef on Thursday 11 July 2024 entitled Providing better services and public spaces for urban children and young people: key recommendations for planning and crisis preparedness. This was attended by over 70 participants from various Unicef local offices. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Learning from COVID-19 and planning cities in the post-pandemic: youth agency and vulnerable communities, Institute of Advances Studies of the University of Sao Paulo. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Participation to an event on 'Learning from COVID-19 and planning cities in the post-pandemic: youth agency and vulnerable communities', Institute of Advances Studies of the University of Sao Paulo. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | PANEX-YOUTH INTERNATIONAL CAFE |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | We ran on 23 November 2024 an international cafe which gathered young people representatives from Brazil, England and South Africa as well as Unicef. This even offered to opportunity to participants to share their experiences and adaptations during the pandemic and reflect on the co-design recommendations developed out of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | PANEX-YOUTH Recommendations co-produced by researchers and young people STAKEHOLDER EVENT |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was used to present the recommendations co-produced by researchers and young people with a range of stakeholders (including members of our community of practice) working with children and young people in the area of education, food and play/leisure. Participants were asked the following questions to inform our final report: Having heard the key themes that we identified, what do you think? What is most important? What is missing? If we had another pandemic, what should be done differently? Having learned the lessons of COVID-19, what would improve young people's lives now and in the future? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Podcast: The kids aren't alright: How pandemic policies are still failing young people |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Media Request to record a podcast for the Bunker: The kids aren't alright: How pandemic policies are still failing young people |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-bunker-1000341/episodes/the-kids-arent-alright-how-pan-185339... |
| Description | RGS IBG 2023 Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Conference Paper given on Nexus Thinking and the Adaptations of Vulnerable Young People in Surviving and Recovering from COVID-19 and Associated Lockdowns |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Radio Agencia - Brazil |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview for Radio Agencia Brazil on "Pandemia agravou a vulnerabilidade de jovens e crianças pobres" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/radioagencia-nacional/geral/audio/2023-06/pandemia-agravou-vulnerab... |
| Description | Royal Academy of Engineering Digital and Physical Infrastructures Community of Interest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Peter Kraftl has been invited to join the Royal Academy of Engineering's 'Digital and Physical Infrastructures' Community of Interest. Feeding into the work of the National Engineering Policy Committee, the new Community of Interest is described as "a platform to bring together an impressive cross sector group including Academy Fellows across industry and academia, partners from Professional Engineering Institutions and wider expertise from the built environment, data and AI, and infrastructure systems. Together this group will help the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) to bring expert insights to the challenges posed by connected digital and physical infrastructures" to national Government departments, local authorities, and industry. Peter attended the launch of the Community of Practice at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London on 26th January. Building on several UKRI-funded projects on children and young people, and their experiences of and learning about environmental processes, resources and challenges, Peter advocated for policy influence in two areas. Firstly, engaging children and young people in creating infrastructures that are inclusive for diverse children and young people. Importantly, the Community's Terms of Reference explicitly reference the inclusion of children, young people and other groups often marginalised in evidence and policy about infrastructures. Peter outlined priority areas within this: augmenting efforts to create child-friendly infrastructures, reflecting the needs of diverse children in terms of their rights, play, health, engagement with 'natural' environments, mobilities and education; advocating (and further improving) 'what works' in terms of children and young people's involvement in decision-making on infrastructures; ensuring children and young people, and their needs, are understood in relation to other generations - i.e. in intergenerational, future-proofed infrastructures. Secondly, and more broadly (given the weighting of the Community's membership is necessarily towards engineers), the role of the social sciences, and arts & humanities, as part of interdisciplinary evidence for informing policy on digital and physical infrastructures. This could include: cutting-edge methods for public involvement/engagement with research/policy; approaches to visualising/communicating key message/examples of best practice; integration of qualitative and quantitative datasets from relevant domains - for example applied public health research; drawing in experts on behaviour change; and far more besides. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Unesco - MGIEP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with Fazolatkhon Nasretdinova - UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) - to present the Panex project and explore collaboration Opportunities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Unicef |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with Unicef - NYC - to present the Panex Research and Explore collaboration opportunities - Thomas George / UNICEF global Urban Lead and his team (United Nations Children's Fund Headquarters). Follow up meeting scheduled for mid March 2023 to discuss next steps. Meeting with UNICEF Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight - Matt Brossard Chief | READ (Research on Education And Development) - Presentation of Panex Project/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Work cited in the Telegraph |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Panex Report quoted in a Telegraph article. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/26/children-forgotten-covid-policymakers-rarely-ill-virus/ |
| Description | Youth employment UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with Youth Employment UK - Panex will reach out in 6months time in order to share data and engage with ongoing activities as to make young people's voices heard. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | eNCA Interview - COVID-19 policies ignored young people's needs - study |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview for eNCA presenting our international report on the impact of the pandemic on children and young people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmrDe1kGPKM |