Department of Development Studies

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Department: Department of Development Studies
Qualifications: MSc Violence, Conflict and Development (SOAS)
BA Creative Industries (Vilnius Tech)
Subject: Development
Email address: 657607@soas.ac.uk
Thesis title: Do EU-funded Youth initiatives advance Development and Climate justice? Participatory Research accounts from Africa, the South Mediterranean and Eastern Europe on Imaginaries, Resistance and Compliance in the pursuit of Decolonial epistemologies and actio
Internal Supervisors: Dr Subir Sinha & Professor Michael Jennings

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Neringa Tumėnaitė specialises in international cooperation within the field of education and youth.

Her current research examines whether EU-funded youth initiatives advance development and climate justice, with a particular focus on the role of participatory governance in shaping these efforts. During her PhD at SOAS, Neringa conducted fieldwork in both institutional (e.g., UN, Union for the Mediterranean, EU) and youth-led spaces across Europe and Africa, concentrating on climate action and intercultural dialogue under Erasmus+.

Neringa uses innovative participatory research methods and elements of auto-ethnography to explore the impact of institutional funding on decolonial youth climate action, where she aims to find a balance between a radical transformative approach to meaningful youth participation and her own engagement in institutional spaces.

Her work also draws inspiration from ancient traditions from her own region, the Baltics (in Eastern Europe), highlighting how these epistemologies could contribute to decolonial environmental action and thinking. As part of her doctoral studies, Neringa was awarded a Fulbright Schuman Fellowship at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, where she contributed to the Roma Rights programme and supported public deliberations on confronting state violence across the globe.

In addition, Neringa is a member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers and has co-led research on youth-led climate litigation for the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership. She is also Advocacy Advisor for the human rights network, UNITED for Intercultural Action, and Climate Action Advisor for the Mediterranean Youth Foundation. Neringa is also the founder of the community interest company, Humanity Consulting CIC.

Her earlier research focused on the role of critical media literacy of Buddhist monks in Myanmar in advancing reconciliation. Previously, Neringa interned at the EU Delegation to Myanmar and later served on the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe, where she focused on Roma youth participation and North-South cooperation.

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Tumėnaitė, Neringa, Eberz, Isabelle, Apeh, Richard Francis, Benani, Manal, DasGupta, Amrita, and Nair, Nilendra (2024).
Redefine and Re-engage: The Role of the Youth Sector in Empowering Young People to Advance Just Climate Action. Edited by Gorman, Jamie, Kiilakoski, Tomi, Pasic, Lana, and Vallado, Esther. Strasbourg: Council of Europe and European Commission. ISBN 978-92-871-9239-4, Bárta, Ondřej, and Tumėnaitė, Neringa (2024).
Young People and Climate Litigation: Situation Mapping and Recommendations for the Youth Sector. Edited and co-ordinated by Bergholtz, Alice, and Pasic, Lana. EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership. July 2024