Evaluating the effectiveness of climate change communication to young people across Southern Africa

Climate change communication plays an essential role in fostering youth engagement in environmental issues. However, previous research suggests that climate change has not been effectively communicated to young people in Southern Africa, particularly through mainstream institutional channels. This study set out to investigate the extent to which climate change communication reaches young people and the barriers that hinder it. Climate change is understood here in two related senses: as a long-term, human-induced change in the climate system, distinct from day-to-day weather and from natural climate variability such as El Niño, and as a socially constructed issue that acquires plural scientific, experiential, cultural, and moral meanings. Two empirical questions guide this study: Why has climate change communication failed to engage young people in Southern Africa? and How can institutional communication strategies be improved to better inform youth about climate change? Data for this study were collected across eight SADC countries using group interviews discussions (FGDs) with over 400 media, communication, and climate change students from twelve universities. Participants were purposively recruited through university contacts and selected using eligibility criteria based on enrolment in media, communication, journalism, or climate-related programmes. The transcripts were coded manually by the researchers, without specialized analytical software, using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis. Final themes were interpreted through the study's integrated reception, framing, uses and gratifications, and development communication framework. The study argues that the failure of climate change communication is not primarily due to a lack of information but to a structural misalignment between institutional communication strategies and youth lived realities, media practices, and interpretive contexts. The findings reveal that young people hold plural and situated understandings of climate change, combining scientific, experiential, and cultural meanings, but that institutional communication rarely helps them connect these meanings or distinguish long-term climate change from weather events and natural variability. Engagement is further shaped by abstract scientific framing, competing socio-economic priorities, and limited relevance to everyday experiences. Institutional communication is further constrained by inaccessible language, weak media prioritization, and poor adaptation to youth-centered digital platforms. The results suggest that effective communication requires a paradigmatic shift toward hybrid, participatory, and culturally grounded approaches. Climate change must be reframed through relatable narratives, local languages, and experiential contexts, while communication systems must integrate digital media, entertainment formats, and community-based engagement. These findings underscore the need to reposition youth not as passive recipients, but as active participants in climate communication processes.