Participation in climate action: Youth perception and engagement in Switzerland and Vietnam

Climate change has been accepted as a serious global issue in the agenda of many countries, but how it affects different parts of the world varies. In a 2021 report by German Watch, most countries with the highest climate risk index are in South/Southeast Asia and Africa (Eckstein, et al., 2021). While Switzerland is listed among countries less affected by extreme weather events, it is clearly affected by rising temperatures—most visibly in the melting of glaciers. As a Vietnamese master’s student with an interest in environmental issues, climate change and sustainability, Linh Luu compares how Swiss and Vietnamese youth engage in climate response and action based on her observations during her work placement at the University of Zurich Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies (ISEK) in the spring semester of 2021.