Science to Society: Youth, Digital Platforms and Trusted Communication for Climate and Food Security

Carlos argues that scientific information only becomes socially useful when it is translated into formats that non-specialists can understand. He presents WMO’s role as not just producing science, but packaging it through accessible tools so decision-makers, communities and businesses can use it in practice.

He explains that WMO produces annual State of the Climate reports and complements them with an interactive StoryMap website where users can view key messages, pictures, videos and links in a more accessible format for audiences beyond scientists . He also cites a survey of 9,500 people in which 97% reported a better understanding of the climate report and 94% said they felt more inspired to take action, showing the effect of translated communication formats . He further mentions the PrimeWeb platform, developed with NORCAP, as a way for African countries to present weather and climate information more simply to citizens and companies, and notes that it received UN 2.0 Innovation Awards .

Carlos says the key problem is no longer the existence of climate information, but whether it reaches people in a form they can understand and use when decisions must be made. He emphasises language, platform choice and timing as essential factors in making information actionable.

When asked about the gap between information and action, he states that information already exists and is robust, but the remaining challenge is translating it into language people understand, placing it on platforms they can use, and delivering it at an opportune time for decision-making .

Carlos argues that climate communication is not abstract; it directly helps farmers manage risks and protect livelihoods. He connects effective communication of forecasts and warnings to concrete agricultural decisions such as harvest timing and preparation for floods or droughts.

He says farmers need to know whether floods or droughts are coming and when to pick their crops so they can protect investments and avoid losses . He adds that accurate information communicated well can save millions of dollars and lives, showing the practical value of climate services .

Carlos presents trust in digital science communication as a systems issue rather than a matter of one single platform or format. Reliable communication depends on infrastructure, international data sharing, robust modelling and delivery mechanisms that turn data into useful services.

He illustrates this with the everyday example of weather apps, noting that such services depend on infrastructure across the world and on countries sharing information on precipitation and temperature so better predictive models can be built . He then extends this logic to sea-level rise planning and farmer support, arguing that having the right information and communicating it properly can shape infrastructure decisions and reduce losses of money and life .

Carlos argues that environmental data systems are sustained by an entire chain of cooperation, equipment, funding and skilled personnel. If any of these weaken, especially across borders, the quality and availability of data will be threatened.

In response to a question on geopolitics and shrinking finance, he says international cooperation is essential to maintain enough data for good models . He also stresses the need for finance, sensors, people to manage them and trained professionals, noting that this capacity is lacking in many parts of the world .

Carlos argues that because public climate information must remain openly available, public institutions cannot rely on market logics alone to sustain it. He therefore supports wider partnerships to secure the resources needed to maintain high-quality services for everyone, especially vulnerable groups.

He explains that WMO and the World Climate Research Programme are seeking support from foundations and companies that use WMO information for free, because as a UN organisation they must provide information openly to every country and every person . He warns that if resources are insufficient to produce this information, the most vulnerable people will suffer most, which is why broader partnerships are necessary .

Carlos argues that strong environmental data systems are foundational to early warning services. Without reliable data, tools and resources, people cannot be warned in time to protect themselves and their property from hazards.

He links the need for more data, robust standards and cooperation to advancing objectives such as Early Warnings for All . He then defines early warnings as alerts that tell people in advance about events such as floods or fires so they can leave, protect their homes or prepare appropriately before the hazard occurs .

Angela argues that the main barrier today is not lack of data, since highly granular information already exists. The real problem is that people still do not know how that information relates to their own lives or what concrete actions it implies.

She says that by 2026 there is granular data on almost everything, yet people still cannot answer basic questions such as what the information means for them personally and what they should do about it .

Angela argues that youth can make systemic problems actionable by linking them to everyday choices people already make. Rather than only simplifying information, they can create a practical chain between behaviour, cause and consequence so people know how to respond.

She describes how in Skopje people had lived with severe air pollution for 18 years and knew that 8,000 people died each year because of it, but still did not know what action to take . Her initiative connected fast fashion factories to city pollution and then linked consumer shopping behaviour to those factories, which gave people a tangible route to act; she says this model was later replicated in other countries and reached over 500,000 people who changed small behaviours .

Angela sees youth not as replacing experts but as building the missing bridge between expert knowledge and public action. Their role is to make information relatable, trusted and linked to concrete steps people can take.

She says experts have long been providing information, but youth are now building the link that makes the difference between content people simply scroll past and information that leads to action . She also explains that her current health-related work uses technology and models to show people where they are, what likely risks they face and what actions they might take, thereby making complex data personally actionable .

Angela argues that rapid technological capability, especially with generative AI, can encourage superficial solutionism. She recommends starting with a clearly identified problem, listening to communities and building only the smallest useful intervention before scaling.

She says that today it is very easy to create a solution first and then go looking for a problem, because technology makes it fast to put something out . She adds that what helped in her own research was building from first principles, talking to communities and finding the minimal correct thing before building further, warning that solutions that merely sell but are not truly wanted have a short lifespan .

Angela argues that direct community engagement improves the quality of technical modelling because lived experience reveals contextual variables absent from literature or lab work. Without that engagement, technical solutions risk being inaccurate or misleading.

She gives the example of a deforestation project where a lab-based team lacked practical exposure to how deforestation unfolds on the ground . The team therefore spoke with people whose forests had burned or been converted into farms in order to understand soil changes and local details, which were then turned into variables and models; she concludes that otherwise research alone would have produced false solutions .

Angela argues that some environmental datasets are sensitive and require safeguards around access and use. She frames secure handling as necessary to prevent misuse and ensure data is applied only to legitimate, agreed purposes.

Referring to a collaboration involving ocean data, she says such information is fragile and that countries try to ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands . She adds that each time they work with a country, they must ensure the data is being used for a specific purpose, making security a major consideration .

Clinton argues that communication efforts fail if users cannot interpret the information or if providers never check whether it influenced behaviour. He therefore stresses both understandability and follow-up as necessary for meaningful impact.

He says the bigger problem is interpretability: ensuring that data sent to people is useful and helps them make decisions . He also stresses closing the feedback loop by monitoring whether initiatives that send information are actually being used correctly and leading to decisions in practice .

Clinton argues that even the best data and platforms are insufficient if people lack the connectivity infrastructure to receive them. He emphasises affordable and accessible digital connectivity as a precondition for inclusive climate communication.

He notes that discussions often focus on data and dissemination platforms while forgetting the infrastructure gap through which that information is supposed to reach people . He then says ITU is working on standards to make digital connectivity affordable and accessible to everyone .

Clinton argues that standards help protect the public by making data providers accountable for the reliability and purpose of the information they distribute. In his view, standards are not just rules but mechanisms for credibility and public interest protection.

He says people often think standards are only about regulation, but in fact they bring accountability to the information being passed on because many platforms are now providing data . He asks how to ensure that providers follow agreed rules so the information is useful to people and not merely produced for capitalistic gain or profit .

Clinton argues that agricultural technology design must begin with farmers’ actual practices and priorities, not with developers’ assumptions. Tools are only valuable if they solve a problem users recognise as real.

In response to a question about involving end users, he recounts a case where a proposed farming solution was meant to tell farmers when to grow or hold back, but farmers said they did not need it because they could predict rain by looking at the sky and cloud patterns . He says this experience showed the need to share proposals early, gather feedback from the start and validate the problem before writing code or building an application .

Clinton argues that the success of youth digital work should not be measured by audience size or visibility metrics alone. What matters is whether the information changes decisions and whether that effect can be tracked through feedback.

He says that when youth use social media, the first thing people think about is content creation for reaching large numbers, but that this is not enough . He insists that success should instead be measured by whether the information shared is used to make decisions and by collecting feedback to verify that the platforms are useful to those consuming the information .

Clinton argues that good digital design starts with the outcome one wants to enable and then works backwards from that goal. He stresses involving users at the earliest stages so the problem itself is correctly defined before building begins.

He says technologists often become too obsessed with the capabilities they are bringing to users . He recommends thinking first about the outcome to enable and then working backwards, with users involved in the early stages of defining the problem rather than being handed a finished solution .

Clinton argues that designers must test whether their assumptions about user needs are even correct. Community knowledge may already solve the problem a proposed tool aims to address, making the tool unnecessary.

He recounts that when his team proposed a tool to help farmers decide when to grow or hold back, the farmers responded that they did not need it because they could infer rain from cloud conditions and the sky . He says this lesson pushed them to show proposals earlier and gather user feedback before coding or building the application .

Mayicel argues that the usefulness of information depends on whether end users can understand it well enough to act. She emphasises that support mechanisms are often needed to help farmers interpret information and turn it into decisions.

She says the most important thing is how people receive information and how they can translate it into decisions . She adds that support is necessary to help farmers understand that information, because without such help it will not be useful to them .

Mayicel argues that agricultural information systems should be designed around the actual access realities of smallholder farmers. Structured data delivered through simple, familiar channels can help farmers make pricing decisions and participate more fairly in supply chains.

She describes Quimero as a platform that organises agricultural production data from smallholder farmers in Colombia so agro-industries, institutions and government can identify where farmers and products are located . She says many platforms already exist, but smallholder farmers often cannot access them, so the key is presenting information in an easy way . As an example, she explains that Quimero provides current product prices through a WhatsApp chatbot, sends weekly reports and helps farmers calculate the minimum sale price needed to recover their production costs .

Mayicel argues that young people are uniquely positioned to connect different social worlds within agri-food systems. Their role is to carry knowledge, tools and opportunities across generational and geographic divides in ways that are empathetic and practical.

Drawing on her own story as a farmer’s daughter from rural Colombia, she says young people can bridge dreams, experiences and opportunities between rural and urban contexts . She explicitly describes youth as a bridge between older generations, new generations and new opportunities, and says the task is to simplify opportunities and make information human, empathic and relevant for those who need it .

Mayicel argues that agricultural solutions must be co-created with farmers from the beginning. Understanding their problems, needs and willingness to adopt a tool is essential to avoid building products that are costly but irrelevant.

She says that when Quimero began piloting its solution, the team built it together with her parents and farmers who directly needed it, starting by asking what they needed, wanted and saw as their biggest current problems . She explains that this approach has shaped the whole solution-building process because farmers may reject even an impressive tool if it is not useful to them, and in that case developers lose time and money . She also notes plans to involve farmers’ sons and daughters because engaging the whole family can make adoption easier .

Grecia frames the entire discussion around the role of young people in connecting technical knowledge to practical action in society. Her argument is that youth can serve as the bridge across climate science, food security, digital platforms and public engagement.

At the start of the session, she says the conversation is intended to explore how young people can help bridge the gap between technical information and real actions in society . She also introduces the panel as bringing together expertise across climate science, AI policy, digital technology, agriculture and entrepreneurship, reinforcing the cross-sector bridging role of youth .

The audience member argues that digital initiatives often overemphasise building tools, networks and portals without enough attention to whether people want or value them. They suggest that uptake depends on cultivating curiosity, interest and relevance rather than assuming users will come automatically.

The speaker warns that discussions about digital often focus too much on the supply side by developing tools, networks and portals . They then ask how to ensure these are actually used and how to build curiosity and interest instead of assuming that if something is built, users will naturally come .

The audience member argues that environmental sciences depend heavily on data, but current geopolitical tensions and declining financial support threaten the continuity of those systems. They specifically highlight concerns about sustaining cross-border data availability.

The speaker states that ocean science and climate science rely heavily on data . They then note increasing geopolitical instability and shrinking financial support, and ask how data can still be ensured, especially across borders .