This paper reflects upon the everyday agency of marginalized youth in the Brazilian urban periphery in responding to the climate crisis. In the context of the global covid-19 crisis, which has exacerbated patterns of social exclusion between urban centers and peripheries, we reflect on the extent to which current theorizations of youth activism are appropriate for understanding youth agency in the periphery of Sao Paulo. We seek to ‘blur the -ism’ in climate activism by introducing more multi-faceted understandings of agency based on young people’s everyday (inter-)actions with their environment as well as their contradicting emotions regarding their vulnerabilities and potential.

Based on the shift from face-to-face participatory action research (PAR) with groups in situations of vulnerability to digital methods during COVID-19, we reflect on how we can go beyond compensating for the physical absence of the researcher from the field. We argue that instead of simply aiming to replace face-to-face research with a digital equivalent for maintaining ‘participatory’ and ‘inclusive’ research practices, remote practices have the potential of being more-than compensatory. We suggest that when producing multi-method digital approaches, we need to go beyond a concern with participant access to remote practices. By rethinking remote PAR in the light of expressive rather than participatory research practices, we critically reflect on the (sometimes experimental) process of trying out different digital research method(s) with Brazilian youth in situations of digital marginalisation, including the initial ‘failures’ and lessons learned in encouraging diverse forms of participant expression, and ownership using WhatsApp.

The objective of this study was to explore Mexican adolescents' perceptions of environmental health risks in contaminated urban areas, and to test the environmental photography technique as a research tool for engaging adolescents in community-based health research. The study was conducted with 74 adolescents from two communities in the city of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Participants were provided with disposable cameras and asked to take photographs of elements and situations which they believed affected their personal health both at home and outside their homes. They were also asked to describe each photograph in writing. Photographs and written explanations were analyzed by using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Risk perception plays a crucial role in the development of Risk Communication Programs (RCPs) aimed at the improvement of community health. The photography technique opens up a promising field for environmental health research since it affords a realistic and concise impression of the perceived risks. Adolescents in both communities perceived different environmental health risks as detrimental to their well-being, e.g. waste, air pollution, and lack of hygiene. Yet, some knowledge gaps remain which need to be addressed.

The wellbeing of young people in Brazil is significantly impacted by interconnected challenges such as local and global inequalities, violence, the climate emergency, a loss of ancestral identity, and the increasing precarity of education and employment. These overlapping crises influence how young people make sense of their everyday lives, envision their futures, and adapt to wellbeing challenges. Public policies continue to inadequately address immediate and long-term wellbeing needs and local realities of youth in situations of vulnerability. Combining data from two research projects in São Paulo and the Brazilian Amazon, we explore the lived experiences and adaptive wellbeing strategies of marginalised Brazilian youth across urban and Indigenous communities during and after COVID-19 pandemic, based on youth-led survey data and participatory research. The article makes an important contribution to the field by proposing a decolonial counter-narrative to dominant Western understandings of youth wellbeing. Guided by the confluence of diverse worldviews from the margins, specifically Indigenous and urban Brazilian youth from the periphery, the article advances understandings of youth-led mental health from the perspective of the relational concept and practice of “bem viver” (“good life”). Results indicate that although youth mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression, were exacerbated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Youth however developed individual and collective youth-led self-care strategies. These were grounded in local realities recognizing solidarity, reciprocity, and interconnectedness as important pillars to maintain emotional stability and feel connected to others and the world around them. We recommend that interventions and policies to improve young people's inner states of wellbeing need to go hand in hand with community-oriented wellbeing strategies led by the principles of bem viver for collectively reimagining their futures.