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The report identifies a systemic gap between the numerical presence of women in local decision-making bodies and their actual decision-making power, termed 'participation de façade'. This exclusion is driven by a deeply embedded 'patriarchal habitus', significant 'time poverty' due to domestic burdens, and a lack of legal literacy. While women are central to the fisheries and agricultural sectors, they are largely excluded from the governance of these resources. The study proposes a transition from passive resilience to active environmental citizenship through a three-pillar model of legal empowerment: critical legal literacy, climate conceptualization, and transformational leadership.

The COMPACT project's action research identifies significant challenges in South African municipal planning, including the tendency for Integrated Development Plan (IDP) cycles to be treated as compliance exercises and the presence of institutional silos. While best practices in public participation and technology use exist, the research highlights a need for increased youth engagement and capacity-building for ward committees to combat community distrust caused by project implementation failures.

The report details a research project in East and Southern Africa aimed at shifting the role of youth from passive recipients of policy to active architects of 'systemic justice'. Through a hybrid approach of participatory futures and action research, the project engaged youth innovators and changemakers to develop 'anticipatory praxis'—a method of combining strategic foresight with intentional action. The findings emphasize that systemic justice requires reimagining deep-rooted economic, ecological, and social structures, moving beyond simple job creation toward regenerative economies and inclusive governance. The report identifies key 'leverage points' for change, such as shifting cultural narratives and embracing iterative learning, and provides recommendations for funders, policymakers, and civil society to institutionalize youth co-governance and support futures literacy.