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

Featured Projects

Young People’s Education and Employment Aspirations in 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.

Micro-Credential for Neurodiverse Young People in 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.
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Blog

Dithering as the Holocene Collapses: The Legacy We Are Leaving Young People and Future Generations

As the Holocene collapses, and the Anthropocene appears increasingly to be baked into the next thousands of years with catastrophic consequences for earth systems and planetary life, we continue with business-as-usual and place young people's futures in peril.
15 September 2023
Geelong

Young People and the Challenge of ‘Living Well’ in the Anthropocene

In previous posts on this blog, we introduced the stories of Daisy and Elijah, two of the young people participating in our research in Geelong. In the third and final blog post in this series, we develop a discussion around some of the important themes that emerge from Daisy and Elijah's stories.
19 July 2023
More blogs

Aug 31

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🌒🌓 Brandon's story: young people's transitions and pathways in a time of COVID 🌖🌗 "Me being a graphic designer isn't really a sustainable future for me, to say the least. And I would love to, but I don't see myself doing that anymore. And that's just how the world goes. Thoughts change, aspirations change, and, you know, whatever you choose to do, it might change later in life, you know, you might not want to do that anymore." Brandon shares his thoughts on how living through a global pandemic has changed his career and life goals #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #sustainablefutures #youngpeople #aspirations #futures #education #employment #transitions #covid19

Aug 30

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🌒🌓 Brandon's story: young people's transitions and pathways in a time of COVID 🌗🌖 "It's been kind of a rough twelve months...I was stuck in a really crappy job. Like, I was doing labouring, like scaffolding labouring, for a long time and it really done a toll on my body. And I think at that point I was like, no, I can't do this anymore. I got to change it up. I got to do something about it. I got to at least go to school again or find a job I'm genuinely passionate about." Our findings, and those of other researchers, show that young people's pathways and transitions are often comprised of multiple, not necessarily linear trajectories, with frequent interruptions, slowdowns, pauses and reversals. Follow Brandon's story as his goals and aspirations change across 2021, 2022 and 2023 #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #sustainablefutures #youngpeople #youthstudies #aspirations #transitions #pathways #education #employment #covid19

Aug 28

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🌒🌓Brandon's story: young people’s transitions and pathways in a time of COVID🌖🌗⁠ ⁠ Policymakers often assume that young people will make sequential, linear transitions from school to further study and/or the labour market. But does it make sense to speak of young people’s transitions in terms of a single, linear pathway? Especially when we consider the many disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic?⁠ ⁠ Follow Brandon's story as his goals and aspirations change across 2021, 2022 and 2023⁠ ⁠ #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #sustainablefutures #youngpeople #aspirations #transitions #pathways #education #employment #youthstudies #covid19⁠ ⁠

Jul 26

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The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Challenges for Young People of ‘Living Well’ in the Anthropocene⁠ ⁠ 💪🌿 Reshaping Socio-Ecological Models: Beyond Human-Centred Perspectives 🔄🌍⁠ Socio-ecological models of development and well-being are useful because they consider not only the individual young person and their family, but also the larger social networks in the place where the individual lives and is rooted. However, these models remain human-centred in their focus. ⁠ ⁠ The concepts of the Chthulucene and Gaia recognise the entanglement of the human and the more-than-human, allowing us to tell different stories about young people, health, well-being and resilience in the Anthropocene. ⁠ ⁠ Link in bio⁠ ⁠ #covid19 #lockdown #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #sustainablefutures #wellbeing #health #RethinkingModels #chthulucene #anthropocene #entanglement⁠

Jul 24

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The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Challenges for Young People of ‘Living Well’ in the Anthropocene⁠ ⁠ 🌟✨ The Chthulucene and Gaia: concepts for reimagining health and well-being 🌍🤝⁠ The term 'Anthropocene' has faced criticism for focusing solely on humans and neglecting the underlying causes of global crises. ⁠ ⁠ In rethinking young people's health and well-being, we utilise the concepts of 'Gaia' and the 'Chthulucene'. These concepts allow us to view young people such as Daisy and Elijah as being entangled, or as making kin with multiple-species and other organisms. ⁠ ⁠ Read more on our blog. Link in bio⁠ ⁠ #covid19 #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #sustainablefutures #wellbeing #health #Gaia #Complexity #MakingKin #anthropocene #Chthulucene⁠

Jul 19

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🌍🌱 Young People as Biocultural Creatures 🧩💚⁠ In a new post on our blog we consider 'living well' as a concept that extends beyond individual health and well-being. We explore how young people like Daisy and Elijah are entangled with diverse others—human, non-human, material, and immaterial—in biocultural habitats, and what such a perspective might offer us for thinking about young people's health and well-being in the Anthropocene. ⁠ ⁠ Link in bio ⁠ ⁠ #covid19 #lockdown #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #sustainablefutures #wellbeing #health #mentalhealth #IsolationStruggles #HumanConnections #BioculturalCreatures #Entanglement #BeyondIndividuals #CollectiveWellBeing⁠

Jul 12

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The COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges for young people of 'living well' in the Anthropocene⁠ ⁠ 💔😕 Disruptions and the "Why Bother?" Mentality 🌧️💡⁠ ⁠ In the midst of the lockdowns Elijah navigates feelings of disconnection and de-motivation, as he questions the point of everyday actions without the ability to engage with the world. ⁠ ⁠ Read more on our blog. Link in bio⁠ ⁠ #covid19 #lockdown #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #sustainablefutures #wellbeing #health #mentalhealth #IsolationStruggles #HumanConnections ⁠

Jul 5

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The Pandemic and the Challenges for Young People of ‘Living Well’ in the Anthropocene ⁠ ⁠ 🙌🤝 Building Connections in Isolation 😔🏠⁠ Explore Daisy's story of feeling isolated during lockdown and how her well-being is shaped by the importance of connecting with others. ⁠ ⁠ Read more on our blog. Link in bio⁠ ⁠ #covid19 #lockdown #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #sustainablefutures #wellbeing #health #mentalhealth #IsolationStruggles #HumanConnections⁠

Jul 4

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Over the coming weeks we'll be sharing some insights from our new paper, in which we explore the pandemic and the challenges for young people of ‘living well’ in the Anthropocene. This paper draws on our research with young people in Geelong. ⁠ ⁠ 🌍✨ Living Well in the Anthropocene: Young People's Perspectives 🌱💭⁠ Discover the deeper meaning behind terms like 'mental health' and 'well-being' as we delve into the experiences of young people during the pandemic #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #sustainablefutures #wellbeing #health #mentalhealth #YouthPerspectives⁠ #covid19⁠ #anthropocene⁠

Jun 29

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COVID-19 and Disadvantaged Young People’s Education and Employment Aspirations: A Longitudinal Study of Young People’s Transitions in Geelong⁠ ⁠ 🌟 The Complexity of Aspiration ✨ 🌱 James and Emilie's stories represent the entanglement of their pasts, presents, and futures. 💭 They navigate conflicting emotions and uncertain imaginings of what lies ahead. ⏳ Their lives are influenced by various elements that create the conditions for living. 🌟 As we explore young people's aspirations, we acknowledge the complexity of their experiences.⁠ ⁠ #postpandemicGeelong #Geelong #youngpeople #youthstudies #aspiration #transitions #education #training #employment #covid19 ⁠ ⁠ Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/DNkoNXQti3c⁠ Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash