Shape-Shifting into Social Spiders: The Politics of Care in the Youth Climate Movement

The research digital book is available in Bahasa Indonesia and English.

Young people have now become key actors in the landscape of social movements, including the global climate movement. We see this context take shape directly in SIMPUL, a hub for young people that provides a collaborative and inclusive ecosystem for collectives of young people across identities and disciplines to learn from each other and voice issues of climate justice, which became the starting point of this research. From street protests and citizen journalism initiatives to independent forest fire fighting, the Jaring Kawan within SIMPUL show young people’s ingenuity in devising alternative ways to respond to the climate crisis. 

Unfortunately, although youth movements are increasingly studied globally, little attention has been paid to how these movements can be nurtured or can nurture themselves so they become stronger and able to have sustained impact. Yet youth climate movements in particular face layered vulnerabilities around burnout, holistic security risks covering physical, digital, and psychosocial safety, and a lack of funding for initiatives led and managed by young people. 

Starting from this gap, Pamflet Generasi together with Kolektif Arungkala in Yogyakarta and Dimusim in Bali carried out Youth-Led Participatory Action Research, a participatory action research led by young people to examine care practices in the youth climate movement, the role of identity layers within it, and how an intersectional and sustainable climate movement ecosystem can then be built. 

In “Shape-Shifting into Social Spiders: The Politics of Care in the Youth Climate Movement”, the findings of this research are told through the metaphor of the solitary spider which, like the youth climate movement, appears and weaves a web of care in the corners that have been left unattended. Furthermore, the analogy of the evolution from solitary spider to social spider is then used to show that the youth climate movement needs to transform from fragmented practices toward a collective, intersectional ecosystem grounded in solidarity.

Happy reading, and may you shape-shift into social spiders!

Download the digital book “Shape-Shifting into Social Spiders” in Bahasa Indonesia using the link below!

Download the English version of ‘Shape Shifting into Social Spiders’ by clicking the link below!