Heather L. Ramey, Adjunct Professor of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University, co-wrote a piece in The Conversation with Heather Lawford, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology at Bishop’s University about what we don’t understand about young people’s motivations.

They write:

“Young people are demanding change. In the last few days, young Indigenous activists and their supporters blocked parliamentarians in Victoria, B.C., from accessing the provincial legislature and led waves of protest across the country.

For some young people, climate change is urgent. For others, gun violence is a crisis. From truth and reconciliation to inclusion and diversity and mental health, young people are bringing awareness to societal crises and making headlines along the way.

Historically, this is really nothing new. Young people have long been leaders and catalysts of important movements. Unfortunately, these change-makers are often thought to be outside of what is considered typical of this age group.”

Continue reading the full article here.