Mobilizing Scandinavian Children and Youth for the Environment: Launching a Transnational Campaign 1968–1971

In 1968, Swedish insurance company Folksam launched the information campaign Front mot miljöförstöringen (“Front against Environmental Degradation”). The campaign culminated in 1969 with large public hearings where young people addressed local politicians and industry leaders about environmental problems. Throughout this campaign, the aim was to activate youth and make them co-creators of large-scale social change. Within a year, initiatives were taken to launch the campaign in other Nordic countries as well. In this chapter, we explore this early transnational Nordic initiative to raise environmental awareness and the role of children and youth in advancing these issues in the Swedish and Norwegian editions of the campaign. By analysing the various media involved, we specifically discuss the interplay between information and activation