(Re)Connect the Nexus: Young Brazilians' experiences of and learning about food-water-energy

最近关于粮食-水-能源关系的研究往往侧重于流量（例如生产者和消费者之间的流量）和管理这种关系的方式。然而，真实的需要审查人们（特别是年轻人）在日常生活中如何理解、了解和参与这一关系。只有这样，我们才能解决关键问题-例如巴西儿童中持续存在的高贫困水平、他们无法平等地获得核心资源、他们对核心威胁的复原力以及教育在应对未来这些威胁方面的作用。在巴西，与其他类似国家一样，青年人在人口和社会方面都是一个非常重要的群体。在巴西，年轻人（0-24岁）占人口的42%。此外，我们已经知道，在多样化的全球背景下，青年人在确保获得资源（包括核心资源）、经济生产力、社会复原力和社区生活方面发挥着重要作用。此外，青年人往往是教育方案，特别是可持续性教育方案的主要受益者，这些方案试图解决相互关联的威胁和可持续发展目标。然而，无论是在巴西还是在全球，都很少有研究关注青年人及其与这一关系的互动。这一独特的合作研究将解决这些重要的差距，该项目的主要目的是研究巴西年轻人（10-24岁）对这一关系的理解、经验和参与。它侧重于这一年龄组，因为年龄较大的儿童/年轻人是全民教育的一个关键目标群体，研究表明，他们可能比年龄较小的儿童更有能力思考这种关系。为实现这一目标，该项目将探讨三个核心研究问题（包括若干分问题）。重点放在Paraiba do Sul河流域大都市区和圣保罗州北岸（圣保罗州）作为案例研究，这些经验在青年人的不同地理（城市、郊区、农村）和社会经济定位（重点是年龄、性别、阶级和种族）方面有何不同？在粮食-水-能源关系的复杂性中，青年、其家庭和社区的主要优先事项是什么？如何让年轻人参与或（不）参与接触网络的各个部分？2：“（重新）连接”在年轻人参与网络中的作用是什么？青年人-与其他成年人-每天必须作出哪些选择，例如，在为身体提供燃料的食物、水或能源、家庭和公共服务之间作出选择？在巴西，年轻人与食物的联系“更近”或“更远”意味着什么-“重新联系”原则对EfS和其他可持续发展方案如此重要，在那里是否具有显著意义？年轻人的经历在多大程度上挑战了（也许是少数民族世界）关于什么构成“食物”、“水”和“能源”的假设？3：巴西的EfS如何解决这一关系？鉴于巴西的国家教育计划中有EfS，但不是强制性的，了解这一关系目前在多大程度上有助于年轻人理解粮食-水-能源？如何在巴西发展EfS，以支持更大的社会抵御网络威胁？研究的问题将通过产生一个基线调查的CA。对5，000名年轻人进行了详细的、多方法的定性研究，对100名年轻人进行了定性研究。该项目将由一个由英国和巴西社会科学家和工程师组成的跨学科团队进行，以牛顿研究伙伴关系赠款的工作为基础。这种合作对于实现研究和社会对（年轻人）的影响以及这一关系的逐步改变至关重要。

Recent research about the food-water-energy nexus has tended to focus on flows (e.g. between producers and consumers) and ways of governing the nexus. However, there is a real need to examine how people (especially young people) understand, learn about and participate in the nexus, in their everyday lives. Only by doing so can we address crucial concerns - such as persistently high levels of poverty amongst Brazil's children, their unequal access to nexus resources, their resilience to nexus threats, and the role of education in addressing the those threats in the future. In Brazil, as in similar countries, young people are a hugely important group, demographically and socially. In Brazil, young people (aged 0-24) make up 42% of the population. Moreover, we already know that in diverse global contexts, young people are instrumental in terms of securing access to resources (including nexus resources), economic productivity, societal resilience, and community life. In addition, young people are often the main recipients of education programmes - especially Education for Sustainability (EfS) - that attempt to address nexus threats and sustainable development goals. However, there is scant research - either in Brazil or globally - that focuses on young people and their interactions with the nexus. This unique, collaborative research will address these important gaps.This project's main aim is to examine young people's (aged 10-24) understandings, experiences and participation in the nexus in Brazil. It focuses on this age group as older children/young adults are a key target group for EfS, and research shows that they are likely to have greater capacities for reflection on the nexus than younger children. In achieving this aim, the project will address three core research questions (with several sub-questions).1: What are young people's (aged 10-24) understandings, experiences and participation in the nexus in Brazil? Focussing on the Metropolitan Region of Paraiba do Sul River Basin and Sao Paulo State North Shore (Sao Paulo State) as a case study, how do these experiences vary in terms of young people's diverse geographical (urban, suburban, rural) and socio-economic positioning (focussing on age, gender, class and ethnicity )? Amidst the complexities of the food-water-energy nexus, what are the key priorities for young people, their families and communities? How are young people included or (not) in accessing parts of the nexus?2: What is the role of '(re)connection' in young people's engagements with the nexus? What are the everyday choices that young people - with adult others - must make in, for instance, choosing between the food, water or energy that fuel 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 - and does the principle of 'reconnection', so important to EfS and other programmes for sustainable development have salience there? To what extent do young people's experiences challenge (perhaps Minority World) assumptions about what constitutes 'food', 'water' and 'energy'?3: How does EfS in Brazil address the nexus? Given that EfS is present, but not compulsory, in Brazil's National Education Plan, to what extent does learning about the nexus currently support young people's understandings of food-water-energy? How can EfS in Brazil be developed to support greater societal resilience against nexus threats?The research questions will be addressed by producing both a baseline survey of ca. 5,000 young people and detailed, multi-method, qualitative research with 100 young people. The project will be undertaken by an established, inter-disciplinary team of UK and Brazilian social scientists and engineers, building on the work of a Newton Research Partnerships Grant. Such collaboration is vital to achieving a step-change in research and societal impacts on (young) people and the nexus.