Abstract
Over the past decade and more, there has been a significant emphasis in western societies on policy processes to engage youth in civic and political life. Concerns about the extent to which marginalized urban young people in particular have become disengaged from civic and political life has been a common, and contested, theme in youth policy. Currently, there is a dearth of literature exploring how policy provisions have been translated into practice on the ground. In this paper, we draw on semi-structured interviews with 66 policymakers, public officials, and youth work practitioners in London, Belfast, and Dublin to explore the strategies used to engage urban youth and to identify the key challenges associated with these efforts. The strategies used in youth engagement efforts include youth work, deliberative forums, volunteerism, arts, sports and media, non-formal education and technology and social media. Challenges associated with youth civic and political engagement include youth alienation from their communities and institutions, capacity and resource limitations, ritual rather than real engagement and challenges of inclusion.
Highlights
Since the publication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1990) there has been an increasing policy focus on the participation of young people in civic and political life, driven by beliefs regarding the fundamental right to such participation and concerns regarding declining levels of political and civic engagement across society in general and among younger generations in particular (Flanagan & Christens, 2011; Flanagan & Levine, 2010; Henn & Foard, 2014; Shaw, Brady, McGrath, Brennan, & Dolan, 2014)
The strategies emphasized to promote youth civic and political engagement include a range of traditional approaches, such as youth work and volunteerism, alongside somewhat newer policy innovations, such as dedicated youth parliaments and youth councils, that are designed to allow young people to influence decision-making at all levels of governance, from the local to the supranational
This paper has provided a ‘mapping’ of the strategies used to engage marginalized young people in civic and political action in London, Belfast and Dublin and explore the key challenges associated with this work
Summary
Since the publication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1990) there has been an increasing policy focus on the participation of young people in civic and political life, driven by beliefs regarding the fundamental right to such participation and concerns regarding declining levels of political and civic engagement across society in general and among younger generations in particular (Flanagan & Christens, 2011; Flanagan & Levine, 2010; Henn & Foard, 2014; Shaw, Brady, McGrath, Brennan, & Dolan, 2014). Beliefs, and skills developed during adolescence and young adulthood have been found to influence ongoing civic participation across the lifecourse (Finlay, Wray-Lake, & Flanagan, 2010), proponents of youth participation argue that young people should be given opportunities to identify issues and priorities, deliberate and advocate for addressing societal problems, and contribute to the common good (Chaskin, McGregor, & Brady, 2018a). There has been a similar focus at the national level in some states, in Europe, including the Republic of Ireland, Britain, and Northern Ireland (ibid.) Within these policy frameworks, the strategies emphasized to promote youth civic and political engagement include a range of traditional approaches, such as youth work and volunteerism, alongside somewhat newer policy innovations, such as dedicated youth parliaments and youth councils, that are designed to allow young people to influence decision-making at all levels of governance, from the local to the supranational.
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