Extractivism youth as participant in community strengthening

Abstract

The youth and the younger generations have been gaining increasing recognition in the development of nations. In Brazil youth-related issues have been on the rise throughout the twenty-first century. A range of programs have been introduced by the federal government in order to create youth leaderships and value the youth. Although we are enjoying a good moment of demographic potentialities for the youth, there is a need for participatory research aimed at strengthening youth participation in protected areas. The aim of this article was to analyze the participation of the youth from Tefé National Forest (Floresta Nacional de Tefé), in the State of Amazonas, Brazil, regarding the educational challenges for popular participation. Thus, we believe that we can engage in dialogue with a view to finding viable alternatives that make training conditions possible as well as encouraging autonomy in the youth, which will help in strengthening the protected areas through collective youth empowerment.