Possibilities for Unemployed Youth in the Green Economy: An Ecological Social Work Perspective

Abstract

This article considers the question: What are the existing guidelines for community-based strategies to empower youth to participate in a green economy? South African youth is a particularly vulnerable group due to sociopolitical and economic reasons including systemic marginalisation, high unemployment rates, insufficient opportunities, and environmental degradation that threaten their and future generations’ well-being. Currently, most South African youth are faced with high levels of early school dropout, unemployment, substance use and abuse, crime and violence, high-risk behaviours, and socioeconomic challenges that limit their development. This is true for youth in both urban and rural areas, who have been challenged by, among other factors, a long-standing lack of access to resources and support services that have resulted in self-destructive behaviours. Drawing a link between social and environmental justice, social work places value on the empowerment of marginalised youth, as well as on the importance of participatory environmental initiatives through collaborative action for sustainable change with youth as change agents. Social work practice guidelines to effectively facilitate youth participation in environmental initiatives are, however, lacking. This includes various skills and enterprise development programmes focused on schools, youth, and the community at large. Using a scoping review, evidence of existing international and local guidelines for a community-based strategy aimed at youth participation in the green economy are presented and recommendations made for ecological social work practice and education.