Leading universities: University of Cantabria, University of Oviedo, University of A Coruña (IP, UDC Sub-project): Renée DePalma
Other members of the research team: María Barba Núñez, Laura Cruz López, Alba Patricia Digón Regueiro, Rosa María Méndez García and Araceli Serantes Pazos. Other researchers involved: José Miguel Samaniego Eguiguren and Uxía Hadaly Romero Bouzas.
Funding body: Ministry of Science, Research and Universities. Call for Proposals and Knowledge Generation 2023.
Amount of funding: €29,752.00
It is impossible to plan for the future without taking into account the new generation of young people who, for better or for worse, will inherit the planet. In a report published in 2022, UNESCO calls on universities to contribute to building the new challenges of education, to systematise learning through participatory methodologies that include youth-led research (p. 129). The global challenges established by the UN in the form of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) guide this social contract, and their relevance for education in Spain is demonstrated by the inclusion of these goals as a cross-cutting approach in the education system (LOMLOE, 2020).
The proposed research aims to address global problems such as climate change, inequalities, hate speech or xenophobia from the young people’s own perspective. Although both national and international research has identified trends of apathy and disconnection from political and civic life among young people, it is true that the adult-centred approaches of today’s society do not provide the tools to awaken their interest and encourage their participation. Through the identification, training and advice of groups of young people researching global challenges (JIRG), we aim to break their sense of powerlessness and repair their institutional exclusion from the major debates and action plans promoted by global organisations, involving these young people as global, critical and active citizens in the construction of their own future.
Our qualitative methodology is adapted to the main objectives of the project, providing the necessary depth and participation to 1) investigate the perspectives and life experiences of young people regarding global challenges, 2) design JIRG projects and document the processes, and 3) evaluate, systematise, disseminate and publicise the results. In the first phase of the project, we will review existing sources on the state of the art, including academic literature, reports and institutional frameworks at various levels (international, national and regional). Informed by this context, we will collect data through in-depth semi-structured interviews with professionals and young people participating in social movements related to the topic.
In the second phase, we will select young people to form the JIRG groups and provide the specialised training and necessary support, in terms of content and methodology, to carry out research led by them. In the final phase, we will analyse the results, comparing them with existing information frameworks, facilitating debate with experts, disseminating the information obtained at an academic level, and sharing it with interested social sectors. Our research is contextualised in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, where we have developed our track record of research and training, and established the necessary collaborative contacts and relationships to carry it out.
At the same time, as part of a Coordinated Project, the research will be strengthened through close collaboration with the other two territorial teams, via processes of internal training, interpretative dialogue and the communication of results.