REGEN|ED Seminar | Maria Ojala

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON CLIMATE RESILIENCE AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE  

In this seminar I will present research about resilience factors that potentially can promote resilient outcomes regarding facing climate change and other global sustainability problems among adolescents and young adults. Climate resilient outcomes are, for example, active citizenship regarding sustainability problems, preserved mental wellbeing, an ability to critically assess disinformation, and a view of the future as containing possibilities for change in a positive direction (hope). Resilience factors that potentially can promote climate resilience can be found at different levels (individual, inter-individual, cultural, organizational, structural, and ecological). I will give a brief overview of the resilience factors that we are focusing on in the research group SERSus (Psychological and Educational Perspectives on Socio-Ecological Resilience and Sustainability).  

In addition, I will, thereafter, give a more in-depth insight into the following resilience factors: 
 
(1) Meaning focused coping, (2) Hope as agency work, and (4) Critical emotional awareness.  

The presentation will end with a discussion about how to best promote climate resilience in education and climate communication. 
 
Keywords 
Climate resilience, environmental psychology, meaning-focused coping 

Registration 
The REGEN|ED Seminar Series (organized by the REGEN|ED research environment at NMD) brings together educators, researchers, practitioners, students, and community members interested in regenerative education, sustainability, and social-ecological transformation. We warmly welcome anyone curious about these questions to join us in a spirit of curiosity, engagement, and reciprocity as we learn with and from one another across diverse disciplines, contexts, and perspectives.  
Registration for the REGEN|ED Seminar Series 2026/2027 is now open, and you can sign up here: Registration REGEN|ED Seminar Series 2026/2027