“These Are the Very Small Things That Lead Us to That Goal”: Youth Climate Strike Organizers Talk about Activism Empowering and Taxing Experiences

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues we face, and the Fridays for Future wave of protests is unique both in its youth character and global reach. However, still not enough is known about how young activists experience their involvement and how the experience of climate activism connects to their personal development and psychological well-being. To gain an enhanced understanding of this issue, we conducted a qualitative study based on eight in-depth interviews with individuals deeply involved in the Youth Climate Strike in Poland. We analyzed the interviews using a rigorous multi-stage thematic analysis. Results showed that the empowering aspects of activism were associated with a heightened sense of agency, a sense of belonging to a community, a sense of duty and ethical integrity, of finding one’s voice and learning new skills, and a sense of personal growth. Activists also indicated aggravating aspects of involvement, such as involving the struggle for balance between activism and other spheres of life, overwork, and conflicts within a peer group. In conclusion, in contrast to the pressing nature of the climate change conundrum, climate activism is often experienced by its young participants as a mostly empowering experience.