Kids4Change Children’s Citizen Science Clubs Around the SDGs
Education, Communication and Language Sciences colleagues are involved in a large project aiming to influence the knowledge and aspirations of young people across the globe.
About the project
Colleagues within Education, Communication and Language Sciences are part of this large GCRF funded project (PI Professor Richard Dawson).
There are just 10 years to go to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030. The United Nations (UN) has called this “The Decade of Action” to accelerate sustainable solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. The goals go hand in hand to reduce poverty, address social needs (including education, health and job opportunities) while tackling climate change and environmental protection.
This Kids4Change project encourages children to become the eyes within their communities. They'll carry out citizen science investigations that highlight their own community’s issues around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for:
- environment
- climate
- water
- sanitation
- pollution
The children are involved in multiple stages of the scientific process. They co-create their own research questions relevant to their own community. Through the dissemination of findings, including blogs, videos, plays, artwork and media reporting, the children contribute to the scientific evidence that has the potential to influence future policy.
This research is part of Newcastle University UKRI GCRF ESRC Water Security Hub grant (£17 million). It is based in India, Colombia, Ethiopia and Malaysia. It aims to create long-term systemic shifts in the knowledge and aspirations of young people addressing societally relevant challenges.
People
- Professor Pauline Dixon - Co-Investigator
- Dr Gopal Iyer - Research Associate
Visit the water security hub website for more information