Summary
The challenges faced by young people across Europe have been the focus of public, political and academic debates at local, national and international levels. Young people face tough choices in key areas of social life that affect their participation in society, and their potential marginalisation from it: from structural issues of unemployment, lack of access to affordable housing and debt problems, to information overload on big questions like the environment, identity, faith and radicalisation, and negotiating the moral challenges of illegal markets and an increasingly sexualised social-media generation. While there are wide variations in opportunities and challenges between and within countries, young people today face tough choices in negotiating this moral maze.
The PROMISE project investigated how young people’s, often negative, responses to these problems create conflict, and how, instead, their responses can provide opportunities for positive social engagement. By addressing the experiences, values and attitudes of European youth seen to be in conflict with older generations, authorities and social norms PROMISE got to the heart of barriers and opportunities for social engagement.
Project Results
PROMISE has produced a comparative ethnography of young people in 10 European countries, a comparative quantitative analysis of attitudes, values and control, and policy papers and positive engagement strategies.
Here an overview of the project results the YES Forum was most involved in:
European Policy Brief
The European Policy Brief shows how policy makers at the European level can promote the social engagement of young people, especially those dealing with conflict and marginalisation by giving four key recommendations. Read on about the importance of recognising diverse life paths, creating safe spaces for young people and more in our European Policy Brief here and our special edition newsletter here. The four key recommendations were also made into an engaging video by YES Forum in cooperation with Framework. Check out the video here and our poster presenting the recommendations here.
Video Montage
Young people from the YES Forum secretariat and members worked together with the small media business Framework to produce a video montage from the data received from the partners presenting a cross-national picture of young people’s experiences. Videos and photos produced by the young people in each country yielding reflections on the substantive topics and the process from the young people’s point of view were compounded into one video, which you can find here.
Final Conference
Three years of intensive work with and about young people came to an end at the Final Conference held at the University of Manchester from 8-9th April 2019. PROMISE researchers, policy makers, practitioners and of course young people from all around Europe came together to present and discuss the findings under the title "Young People and Social Change: Action, Reaction and Inaction”. A full and ambitious programme of activities took place including discussions, creative performances and exhibitions. Find out more in the programme here and our special edition newsletter.
More detailed information about the project results can be found in the respective reports here.
The project ran from May 2016 to April 2019 and involved 12 collaborating centres in 10 different European countries. It was coordinated by a research team of the University of Manchester led by Dr. Jo Deakin (Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice | School of Law | University of Manchester | Manchester.
For more information please visit: www.promise.manchester.ac.uk
