Advancing inclusive climate adaptation through participatory action research with young people with disabilities in Zimbabwe

The intersection of climate change and disability remains underexamined in low- and middle-income contexts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Zimbabwe, dominant policy and research frameworks continue to construct young people with disabilities (YPWD) primarily through deficit-based narratives of vulnerability, obscuring their role as active agents in climate adaptation. This study addresses this gap by examining how disability and climate adaptation are socially represented and how these representations can be transformed through participatory processes. A qualitative Participatory Action Research design was employed in February 2025 in Harare, Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the Danhiko Project. Over 30 young people with disabilities aged 18–24 participated as co-researchers. Data were generated through storytelling, participatory mapping, focus group discussions, and consensus-building exercises. Analysis was guided by Social Representations Theory, focusing on processes of anchoring and objectification, and conducted using thematic analysis with iterative participant validation. Findings indicate that disability is initially anchored to dominant representations of dependency, vulnerability, and invisibility, which are objectified through exclusionary policies, inaccessible healthcare systems, limited communication infrastructures, and restricted participation in governance. Through participatory engagement, these representations were actively contested and reconfigured. Participants re-anchored disability as a source of resilience, innovation, and leadership, and co-developed contextually relevant solutions, including community-led data systems, inclusive communication strategies, adaptive livelihood practices, and youth-led advocacy structures. This study demonstrates that young people with disabilities are not peripheral to climate adaptation but central to its reconfiguration. By integrating Social Representations Theory with Participatory Action Research, the study shows how participatory processes can transform dominant narratives of vulnerability and enable more inclusive and equitable adaptation pathways. Embedding the knowledge and agency of YPWD within climate policy and practice is essential for advancing climate justice.