From 'Flood Stories' to 'Flood Actors': Children as Change Agents in Disaster Risk Education

Lloyd Williams, Alison; Parsons, Katie

Abstract

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2022) emphasises the urgent threat of climate change and the need to adapt societies in order to enhance resilience. In England, 1 in 6 households are at risk of flooding and this is set to increase into the future. It is vital that communities, including youth, learn how to live with increasing flood risk.

Our team has researched with flood-affected children to understand their experiences and promote their voice in flood risk management (Mort et al., 2018). The work revealed ways in which children can be ‘actors’ during and after a flood and how their insights can influence the way societies manage flood risk. The children produced Flood Manifestos that called for change in policy and practice, including the introduction of flood education for all children.

Our recent work has responded to this call through drawing on the voices of those flood-affected children to engage the next generation of children as ‘flood actors’. Our animated 360 ‘flood story’ videos represent data from our research that immerse the viewer in the experience of flooding from a child’s point of view. We have worked with new groups of young people to evaluate these 360 videos and co-create with them related educational resources which support children to further their understanding of flooding and identify ways of taking action in their local community.

This work has demonstrated the power of peer-to-peer learning on disasters, whereby children learn about flooding directly from other children who have experienced it. This creates an empathic response that motivates children to want to know more about the issues raised, as well as inspiring a sense of solidarity and agency (De Meyer et al, 2021). We are just starting to explore how these ‘flood stories’ can translate across different cultural and geographical contexts to create new forms of global solidarity and action among children on the frontline of climate change.

Citation

Lloyd Williams, A., & Parsons, K. (2023, June). From 'Flood Stories' to 'Flood Actors': Children as Change Agents in Disaster Risk Education. Presented at XX ISA World Congress of Sociology, Melbourne, Australia

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Abstract
• Conference Name: XX ISA World Congress of Sociology
• Start Date: Jun 25, 2023
• End Date: Jul 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2023
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4316442
• Publisher URL: https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2023/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/145974