Friday 24 July 15:40
- 17:10
Hall: 21 - Room 18
Chair and Presenter:
Fedi Angela
Division: Division 3: Psychology and Societal Development
Marginalized groups (who are traditionally underrepresented) are by definition or by their impact - more often
or more than other groups - victims of social injustice and climate change. Minorities are particularly
vulnerable to environmental and social justice challenges, and their participation in these struggles is not only
a matter of fairness, but also critical to their effectiveness. The civic opportunity gap is rooted in ethnic, age,
gender, sexual, socio-economic and geographic differences, which mean that the more affected groups are
less likely to be heard.
The full participation of marginalized groups in the struggles for social and environmental sustainability is
essential to understand motivations, resources, constraints and decision-making processes and to develop
truly inclusive sustainability programmes that genuinely contribute to social, economic and environmental
equity and cultural vitality in minority communities (Lakhan, 2024).
As explicitly addressed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, special attention should be paid
to the participation of vulnerable groups and developing countries (SDG target 10.6) in the decision-making
process to "ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels" (SDG
target 16.7).
If we know that we can work towards a future that is not only environmentally sustainable, but also socially
just and culturally vibrant by placing the voices, knowledge and leadership of minority communities at the
centre of our sustainability efforts, then the way we go about working out problems and co-creating solutions
should not only be more equitable, but also more effective and resilient in the face of global challenges.
Therefore, an intersectional perspective can be useful to link social and environmental sustainability, but also
to address the challenges of participation of marginalized groups (migrants,Fernandes-Jesusetal.,youth,Menezes et al.,LGBTQ+persons,Rollèetal.)andin educationalorparticipatorycontextsasprivilegedenvironmentsforparticipation(e.g.active participation,Fedi et al., school, Albanesi et al.). The symposium offers the opportunity to analyse different research and experiences with regard to the
question:Howsustainableisparticipationforsustainabilityrecognisingthatonlythroughequitableengagementcantrulyviablesolutionstoglobalchallengesbefound.
