Get Involved

We are a collaborative research lab for co-designing young people’s sustainable futures in times of crisis and disruption.

Featured Projects

Greater Geelong

The project will provide Geelong region stakeholders with a strong evidence base over 3 years to co-design innovative interventions to foster the education and employment aspirations of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Geelong.

Whittlesea

This project supports neurodiverse young people in completing a Micro-Credential in Co-Design for Diversity and Inclusion and to evaluate their progress in successfully achieving this in Whittlesea.
More Projects

Blog

Young People and the Climate Crisis

Intergenerational Justice, the Climate Crisis and Young People’s Futures

In the context of the climate crisis, current ideas about intergenerational justice are focussed on contemporary populations of young people, and as yet un-born generations, and the futures that our past and present actions will visit on these generations.
8 September 2022
Geelong

Young People’s Voices and Participation and the Beginnings of ‘Co-Design’

In their recent book – Youth rising?: The politics of youth in the global economy – Mayssoun Sukarieh and Stuart Tannock (2014, p. 143) reflect on the problematic character of young people’s voices and participation in movements against such things as the climate crisis, war, and racism, and their encounters with the institutionalised promise of ‘youth participation’.
10 March 2022
More blogs

Sep 30

Open
@damon.gameau screen director of his new film #regeneratingaustralia imagining the world’s problems solved. The film is set in December 2029, a mix of mockumentary and documentary that looks back on a decade where the economy is booming as Australia runs on 90% renewables and exports green steel, individuals communities have energy security and cheap power from their own micro-grids, tenants lower their power bills by renting solar panels for other roofs; and electric vehicle owners earn cash by using their batteries as storage for the grid. Is this what hope looks like for young people?⁠ ⁠ See: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/03/the-hope-and-climate-catastrophe-roadshow-theres-just-this-thirst-for-optimistic-story⁠ ⁠ #intergenerationaljustice #intergenerational #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #sustainablefutures #sustainable #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #generationrestoration #actnow #biodiversity #regeneration #regenerative #regenerativefutures⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/5c8fczgvar0⁠ Photo by Manuel Meurisse on Unsplash

Sep 27

Open
Building on our September theme of intergenerational justice, our story in October/November is about young people and regenerative futures, and thinking about what might come after the concept of sustainable development.⁠ ⁠ #intergenerationaljustice #intergenerational #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #sustainablefutures #sustainable #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #generationrestoration #actnow #biodiversity #regeneration #regenerative #regenerativefutures⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/mErj011Eoqg⁠ Photo by Pat Whelen on Unsplash

Sep 25

Open
Optimism? Pessimism? Hope?⁠ Rosi Braidotti -@rosibraidottiofficial - has argued that hope is an ‘anticipatory virtue’ that can be used to structure an affirmative ethics and politics that can reimagine regenerative, sustainable futures⁠ ⁠ So, let’s stop using words such as pessimistic and optimistic when we discuss futures and the promise of intergenerational climate justice – and frame the conversations and actions that might deliver on that promise for young people through a radical politics of hope!!⁠ ⁠ #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #innovation #sustainablefuture #sustainable #sustainability #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #education #optimism #pesimism #hope⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our current projects and blogs at the Young People Sustainable Futures Lab, link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/_AjqGGafofE⁠ Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash

Sep 23

Open
Building young people’s capabilities to deal with these entanglements of pasts, presents and futures seems fundamentally unjust! We are saying to them, You live with and clean up our mess!⁠ ⁠ So, any education for sustainable, or regenerative, or environmentally just futures should think about a number of things, including:⁠ ⁠ Moving beyond human exceptionalism – the ideas that humans occupy a privileged place in thinking and acting as we deal with the legacies of our pasts and presents and imagine our futures ⁠ ⁠ Exploring what lies beyond a methodological individualism – moving from the idea of individuals as discrete, autonomous, responsible organisms to consider what it means to be ‘entangled’ with others – the human, the biotic and the abiotic stuff of the bio-sphere and the cosmos.⁠ ⁠ #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #innovation #sustainablefuture #sustainable #sustainability #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #education #environment #generationrestoration #actnow #biodiversity⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our current projects and blogs at the Young People Sustainable Futures Lab, link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/gPnHi8AmO5k⁠ Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Sep 21

Open
Nick Cave - @nickcaveofficial - talks about the ‘indifference of the universe’. So much of the stuff of the bio-sphere and the cosmos – from the quantum scale to the forces driving the increasingly faster expansion of the universe - is ‘indifferent’ to how we think and feel about some of these issues.⁠ ⁠ So, we are faced with the fundamental challenge of scale. What temporal and spatial scales are we working with in thinking about pasts, presents and futures, and the relationships between places, eco-systems, earth systems, the bio-sphere, and the planet - 7 generations? 2050? 1000 years?⁠ ⁠ #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #innovation #sustainablefuture #sustainable #sustainability #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #education #generationrestoration #actnow #biodiversity #nickcave⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our current projects and blogs at the Young People Sustainable Futures Lab, link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/tJPrz7S-dsE⁠ Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Sep 19

Open
Philipa Duthie, of the RSA, observes that these young people ‘are the vanguard of a global youth-led environmental justice movement. Their efforts have firmly established climate action as an issue of intergenerational ethics; part of the current generations’ duty toward future generations.’ Current generations are ‘trustees with an obligation to preserve its natural resources and ecology so that future generations can benefit from them’.⁠ ⁠ #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #innovation #sustainablefuture #sustainable #sustainability #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #education #environment #generationrestoration #actnow #biodiversity⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our current projects and blogs at the Young People Sustainable Futures Lab, link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/y5d2fT1srs8⁠ Photo by Bethany Zwag on Unsplash

Sep 17

Open
In a recent blog, Reclaiming the future, Philipa Duthie, the Oceania Director for the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) highlighted the ways in which groups of young people in Australia, Portugal, Canada and elsewhere, have taken legal action (often unsuccessful) to try to force governments to recognise the ethical, moral and governmental ‘duty of care to protect young people against future environmental risks’.⁠ https://www.thersa.org/blog/2021/04/reclaiming-the-future ⁠ ⁠ #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #innovation #sustainablefuture #sustainable #sustainability #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #education #environment #generationrestoration #actnow #biodiversity⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our current projects and blogs at the Young People Sustainable Futures Lab, link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/2hM5_1i2k3U⁠ Photo by Sam Ladley on Unsplash

Sep 15

Open
A blogpost on Future Planet outlines how ‘The Seventh Generation Principle is based on an ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future.’⁠ As that post suggests: ‘Think about that for a minute, if you were to consider how your actions today would impact the world 7 generations hence, how would that change what you do? Think about it.’⁠ ⁠ #intergenerationaljustice, #climatecrisis, #sevengenerations, #Haudenosaunee, @FuturePlanet #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #innovation #sustainablefuture #sustainable #sustainability #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #education⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our current projects and blogs at the Young People Sustainable Futures Lab, link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/REL986jyuX4⁠ Photo by Adrien Converse on Unsplash

Sep 15

Open
In Victoria, Australia the @danielandrewsmp government has announced that Nursing and Midwifery programs will become free for those enrolling in 2023 and 2024. Including, scholarships to support students with study and living expenses.⁠ ⁠ Hannah is currently studying Nursing in regional Victoria. Hannah has her say. ⁠ ⁠ The COVID-19 pandemic, uncertain futures, anxieties, fears, hopes and aspirations. For further stories, articles and videos, check out the link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ #youngpeople #youthvoice #geelongyouth #codesign #ethicalinnovation #sustainablefutures #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #geelong #anthonycostafoundation #skillingthebay #2021 #youthled #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #nursing #midwifery⁠

Sep 13

Open
William Mackaskill suggests that long term thinking - which is the basis of intergenerational justice - goes against the grain in rapidly changing, short-term cultures such as those shaped by global capitalism. But in different First Nations contexts, which have long held traditions, there is evidence of longer term thinking: ‘The Iroquois in their oral constitution advocated concern for future generations…It seems like this was true for many Indigenous philosophies in Africa as well’. @Guardian⁠ ⁠ #intergenerational #generations #socialjustice #culturaljustice #climatejustice #politicaljustice #justice #climate #youngpeople #youth #youthvoice #anthropocene #socioecology #futures #codesign #ethical #innovation #sustainablefuture #sustainable #sustainability #covid19 #diversity #inclusion #covid19recovery #youthled #education #environment #generationrestoration #actnow #biodiversity⁠ ⁠ Find out more about our current projects and blogs at the Young People Sustainable Futures Lab, link in Bio.⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/Z4RvGiREzKA⁠ Photo by gryffyn m on Unsplash