Hopelessness and helplessness concerning the global future, not least regarding climate change, seem to increase among young people. In the worst case, this tendency could lead to reduced motivation both to learn and to be an active citizen. Therefore, many argue that there is a need to promote hope in the face of climate change and other sustainability problems. In this presentation, I see hope as a complex concept consisting of both emotional and cognitive aspects and as something that could be both constructive and less constructive. I will present different aspects of the hope concept: hope based on denial, existential hope, hope by facing the negative, hope as utopia, pathways to hope, and hope as agency work. I will focus on new research on climate change hope as agency work and the implications for climate-change education and communication.

Presenter: Maria Ojala, Professor in socio-ecological resilience, University of Oulu Finland, PhD and Docent in Psychology, Örebro University, Sweden

This webinar is geared towards educators of all levels and environments. Educators who attend synchronously can receive certification for professional development time.

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