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Dear readers,

We are glad to present you the newsletter n°5 of the Partispace research project. Partispace newsletter brings an update on the progress in our research and gives some insights into current and upcoming working steps of the project.

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Many say that young people do not participate enough in society - or not in the right way?

According to the Partispace project this observation starts from a too narrow understanding of participation that does not take into account what is important for young people.

We therefore ask where young people participate because we think that it may happen in other places than expected by adults and institutions.

We ask how they participate because we think that there are many other forms than voting, being members of associations or involvement in youth councils.

And we want to understand what participation means for young people.

What do they think from official possibilities of participation and what activities are really relevant for them? 

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News from the project

Partispace second public report

Partispace second public report

‘Claiming Spaces and Struggling for Recognition’

The second public report of the Partispace study, has now been published, find out the entire report here.

It draws on the most sustained empirical research that has been undertaken in this project.

Between 2015 and 2017 the Partispace research team in each city conducted 20 expert interviews, 10 group discussions or city walks, 6 case studies and 12 biographical interviews. The case studies included one setting in each city which is a Youth Forum and then five other settings which include a range of participatory activities, some supported by Youth Workers and many which are self-organised.  The meaning of “being young” and a European/global citizen in those spaces needs to be understood in each case; it may not differ significantly from the meanings which other older citizens experience, and at the same time it may indeed differ, especially in relation to the articulation of power and to enfranchisement.

Read more.

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Presentation of the main findings of the case studies in Manchester, UK

Presentation of the main findings of the case studies in Manchester, UK

You want to know more about the main findings of the case studies in Manchester?

Watch the video clip of Alexandre Pais, researcher at the Faculty of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)

 

Read more.

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Going deeper with the analysis

Potential analytical categories from first results were collected from the mapping and the case study phases of the Work Package 4. The collection of categories was clustered into emerging themes around the main concepts of styles and spaces of participation. The process resulted in 5 thematic perspectives for comparative analysis: SPACES, STYLES, BIOGRAPHIES, LOCAL CONSTELLATION and STAGING.

Focus on the biographical analysis

Young European citizens are at the heart of a ‘crisis of representative democracy’ and, according to recent accounts, distrusting of political systems, institutions, and social elites (e.g. Newton, 2001; Mishler and Rose, 1997; Seligman, 1997; Kaase, Newton and Scarbrough, 1996). However, it is plausible that this claim arises from an institution-led normative understanding of youth participation and not from an …

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Focus on the space analysis

Since space is at the heart of the PARTISPACE project, the thematic group space has a great amount of empirical data at its disposal. The group is working to develop an analytical framework that contains different concepts useful for a spatial understanding of youth participation. Reflection springs from two main research questions. The first one focuses on how young people …

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Focus on the style analysis

The style thematic group is interested in how styles of participation can be compared across the case studies of youth participation in eight European cities included in PARTISPACE. The notion of style is concerned with the performance of participation or put more simply the ‘how and the what’ of participation. The focus of analysis is primarily at the group level, …

Read more.

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Events

6th Consortium meeting in Frankfurt, 8th-10th November 2017

6th Consortium meeting in Frankfurt, 8th-10th November 2017

From 8th to 10th November 2017, the 10 teams of the PARTISPACE project met at the Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany) for the 6th consortium meeting. Five months from the end of the project, partners were glad to receive Gudrun Quenzel, reviewer of PARTISPACE for a presentation of the progress in the research especially concerning the local case studies (work package 4), the action-research process (WP5) and the ongoing analysis phase (work package 6). Discussions included sharing about how to get an impact on policy-makers and practitioners, and how the results of the project will help policy makers and youth workers to increase youth participation?

Read more.

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PARTISPACE Project vists youth Atelier in Frankfurt

PARTISPACE Project vists youth Atelier in Frankfurt

On 8th May 2017, in the frame of the 6th consortium meeting in Frankfurt, The PARTISPACE consortium visited the NaXoshalle Bornheim where Stefan Mohr – a social worker by the city of Frankfurt / Main – works with young people to create a constructive approach to deal with graffiti. A participative approach is used to work with young people, therefore projects are designed with young people together.

Read more.

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Partispace was also there …

Youth Rights Workshop in Eskişehir

Youth Rights Workshop in Eskişehir

On 9th-10th September 2017, The research team from the University of Yeditepe (Turkey) organized a workshop with the Youth Rights Association in Eskişehir with prominent names from youth work and youth participation field in Turkey: (in alphabetical order:  Burcu Oy, Evren Sener Ünal, Necmettin Yemiş, Nurdan Terzioğlu and Musa Çopur alongside with PARTISPACE researchers Demet Lüküslü and Berrin Osmanoğlu ).  …

Read more.

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Presentation at the X ESPAnet-Italia Conference

In the X ESPAnet-Italia Conference, Forlì, 21-23th September 2017, Nicola De Luigi and Valeria Piro presented a paper titled Volontariato e attivismo. Due logiche a confronto nelle esperienze di mutualismo all’interno degli spazi sociali auto-gestiti (Volunteering and activism. Comparing two logics in the mutualistic experiences inside self-organized social centers).

Find out the abstract below:

Since 2011, under the pressure of the economic crisis and the new global trends, anti-austerity movements have emerged throughout Western countries. While on the one hand they have been working towards the creation of international solidarity linkages, on the other hand they have been also very active in the local communities, promoting practices of mutual and self-help aimed at providing an answer to the emerging material and immaterial needs of a growing share of population. Beyond conveying a strong antagonistic potential, these practices (provision of shelters, food, income opportunities, etc.) have extended the possibilities of involvement into social movements to other actors “traditionally” engaged in the “galaxy” of the organized civil society: the volunteers. Read more.

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Conference on multiculture and integration in Sweden

On 2nd November 2017, Zulmir Becevic, PhD in Childhood Studies, lecturer and researcher at the Department of Social Work, University of Gothenburg was invited speaker at a conference on multiculture and integration, hold by the city of Sundsvall. The presentation was entitled "Prerequisites of youth participation in Europe - critical perspectives" - where he talked about the project, findings so far, and some of the critical issues facing young people of Europe today.

Find out more information about the conference here

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Youth Day and Stakeholder Event in Frankfurt

On the 2nd of November 2017, the Frankfurt PARTISPACE team invited young people to the University for a Common Discussion of the project findings and to collect young people’s wishes for youth policy. About 40 young people arrived alone or accompanied by youth workers at the university, the PARTISPACE team and the action research project participants presented their work to brainstorm afterwards with the young people concerning their needs in the city of Frankfurt. The picture below is representing the claims which were mostly approved by young people.

The PARTISPACE Team invited all young people to represent themselves during the stakeholder meeting on the 7th of November and two volunteers showed up on this date. This event addressed professionals from youth work, youth policy and students to discuss the results of the local mapping, case studies and some claims to youth policy. Two unaccompanied minor refugees living in residental care volunteered to present their claims and wishes to 50 stakeholders. Furthermore the deputy head of the youth and welfare office was present to discuss with the practioneers and other politicians.

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Presentation of Yeditepe University team at the French Institute in Istanbul

On 22th November 2017, Demet Lüküslü and Berrin Osmanoğlu had presented the findings of their PARTISPACE research conducted in Eskişehir at the French Institute in Istanbul, IFEA (Institut Français d’Etudes Anatoliennes) in French. The title of their presentation was: “Repenser la participation des jeunes en Turquie-Rethinking young people’s participation in Turkey”.

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Presentation of the Yeditepe University team at the Mission Responsible Final Conference and Evaluation Meeting in Athens

On 1st December 2017, Demet Lüküslü and Berrin Osmanoğlu are presenting their PARTISPACE research conducted in Eskişehir during the Mission Responsible’s Final conference and evaluation meeting entitled "The Future of Education and Youth Work: Approaches and Practices around the World" which will take place at the Goethe Institute in Athens, Greece on 30th November-2nd December 2017.  The title of their presentation is: “Youth work in Turkey: A new sector marked by ‘European touch’ and political competition”. 

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Forthcoming events

PARTISPACE final meeting in Paris, 18th April 2018

PARTISPACE final meeting in Paris, 18th April 2018

The PARTISPACE consortium is pleased to announce the final conference meeting of the project that will be held the 18th of April 2018 at the High School of Public health campus located in Paris. For directions to the venue, click here. In the presence of the European Commission (REA), European research stakeholders, policy makers and practitioners in the field of …

Read more.

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Youth participation in the city: an intercultural approach

The 6th December 2017 at the University of Bologna, PARTISPACE results will be presented to students and young people. Contribution from: prof. Morena Cuconato, project coordinator; Dr. Valeria Piro, researcher; Members of the association Giovani Musulmani d’Italia, participating in the project.

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A New Democratic Youth: Citizen participation revitalized?

A New Democratic Youth: Citizen participation revitalized?

On 14th December 2017 at the meeting of the National Institute of Youth and Community Education (INJEP) in Paris, Céline Martin, University of Cergy-Pontoise, EMA, will present the first findings of PARTISPACE research, with a focus on public concerned and European perspectives from the comparative case study report of the research project. Find out the whole programm (in French) and …

Read more.

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City, politics and public space: the challenge of participation

The 19th December 2017 at the University of Bologna, the Partispace team of Bologna will coordinated a roundtable and present Partispace results to young people and scholars in the seminar Città, politica e spazio pubblico: la sfida della partecipazione (City, politics and public space: the challenge of participation). Interventions by prof. Dario Tuorto and Partispace team-Bologna.

The partispace consortium partners

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This project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 649416. The views expressed in this newsletter are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EC

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