Children and adults’ perception of risk and risk management: Insights from long-term participatory data and implication for child-centric climate and disaster risk reduction

Using participatory and qualitative methodologies, such as participatory risk assessment, mind mapping, risk ranking matrix, risk prioritisation and personal interviews, this research explored two domains of change: risk and risk management perceptions among three key stakeholders: children, their caring adults, and local public officials in a village in Central Java, Indonesia. The study focused on how these groups perceive and prioritise climate and disaster risks over time and their views on the roles of boys and girls in managing climate risk through time. The research compared responses from children and adults in a village in Central Java, Indonesia, from the 2008 and 2019 cohorts. This research contributes to the literature at two levels. At a conceptual level, this paper discusses changes in children’s and adults’ perceptions of disaster and climate risk over time. At the methodological level, we introduced new ways of risk perception studies by using participatory methods to allow children and their caring adults to participate in qualitative risk assessment in the context of child-centric climate and disaster risk reduction. The findings suggest why adults and children's perceptions of the agency of boys and girls in disaster and climate risk reduction remain (un)change through time.