Reconectando os nexos: experiências e aprendizado de jovens brasileiros sobre alimentos-água-energia

• Grant number: 17/06876-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2017
• End date: April 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Agreement: CONFAP ; Newton Fund, with FAPESP as a partner institution in Brazil ; ESRC, UKRI
• Principal Investigator: Mauricio Cesar Delamaro
• Grantee: Gabriel da Silva Silveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/50226-0 - (re)connect the nexus:young brazilians experiences of and learning about food-water-energy. (fapesp-nf-esrc), AP.TEM

Abstract

Recent research about the foodwaterenergynexus has tended to focus on flows (e.g. of food betweenproducers and consumers) and ways of governing the nexus. However, there is a real need to understand howpeople understand, experience, learn about and participate in the foodwaternexusin their everyday lives. It isonly by doing so that we can address crucial questions interms of equality of access to nexus resources,resilience to nexus threats, and the role of education in addressing the needs and aspirations of diversecommunities. In Brazil, as in other similar countries, young people are a hugely important group, bothdemographically and socially. In Brazil, young people (aged 024)make up 42% of the population. Moreover, wealready know that in diverse global contexts, young people are instrumental in terms of securing access toresources (including nexus resources), economic productivity, social cohesion, societal resilience, andcommunity life. In addition, young people are often the main recipients of education programmes especiallyEducation for Sustainability (EfS) throughwhich both threats to the nexus and broader sustainabledevelopment goals are frequently addressed. However, there is scant research eitherin Brazil or globally thatfocuses on young people and their interactions with the foodwaterenergynexus. This project's main aim is toexamine young people's (aged 1024)understandings, experiences and participation in the 'foodwaterenergy'nexus in Brazil. It focuses on this age group as older children and young adults are generally the main targetsfor EfS, and as they are likely to have greater capacities for engagement with and reflection on the nexus thanyounger children. In achieving this aim, the project will address three sets of research questions with hugepotential for both academic and societal impacts. 1: What are young people's (aged 1024)understandings,experiences and participation in the foodwaterenergynexus in Brazil? Focussing on Sao Paulo State as a casestudy, how do these vary in terms of their diverse geographical (urban, suburban, rural) and socioeconomicpositioning (focussing on age, gender, class and ethnicity )? Amidst the complexities of the foodwaterenergynexus, what are the key priorities for young people, their families and communities? How are young peopleincluded or (not) in accessing parts of the nexus? 2: What is the role of embodiment and reconnection in youngpeople's engagements with the foodwaterenergynexus? In other words, what are the everyday choices thatyoung people withadult others mustmake in, for instance, choosing between the food, water or energy thatfuel their bodies, homes and public services? What does it mean for young people to have 'closer' or 'more'distant connections with food in a Brazilian context anddoes the principle of 'reconnection', so important to EfSand other programmes for sustainable development have salience there? To what extent do young people'sexperiences challenge (perhaps Minority World) assumptions about the status of components of the nexus~ i.e.what are food, water and energy, in those contexts? 3: How does Education for Sustainability in Brazil specificallyaddress the foodwaterenergynexus? To what extent can learning about the nexus support young people's ownunderstandings, experiences and participation of foodwaterenergy?