Youth Action, Activism and Education: Continuities, Changes and Possibilities Conference
Posted on 9 February 2018
Funded by the Leverhulme trust, CRESJ at The University of York has been one of several network institutions for a project surrounding: Youth Activism, engagement and the development of new civic learning spaces. An international team was established to explore key ideas and issues about the ways in which young people participate in society and what implications that has for education. Funded from a Leverhulme Network Grant of £170,000 for three years from July 2016. From this, an upcoming conference has emerged that we would be delighted to invite you to "Youth Action, Activism and Education: Continuities, Changes and Possibilities."
We will explore the meanings of youth activism and engagement to young people, professionals/policymakers; patterns of participation across individuals and groups; and, how education may promote forms of civic activism and engagement congruent with democratic pluralism in a range of different socio-political contexts. This will be done using comparative perspectives with insights derived from Australia; Canada; Singapore; Hungary; Lebanon and the UK. The changing experiences of youth activism and how these experiences influence education and youth policy and practice will be discussed. During the life of the project, we will organize academic seminars, workshops and events involving a range of contributors (politicians, activists, teachers, community-based educators and academics).
Youth action, civic activism and education stands at an important crossroads. A number of recent political events across the world have evidenced the importance of, and need for, young people to play an active role in their communities – and to do so in critical and creative ways. While there is now a body of literature which refutes the view that young people are disengaged in political processes, there remain questions about precisely why and how young people experience social action and activism, and whether they do so in equitable ways.
Viewing such questions as vital, this free one-day conference will explore international, national and local perspectives on the changing nature of youth action, activism and the associated implications for education.
Places at the conference are limited. To register and save your place, please contact Professor Andrew Peterson (andrew.peterson@canterbury.ac.uk) providing your institutional/ organisational affiliation and details of any dietary and accessibility requirements.
The conference will be held at The Spitfire Ground, St. Lawrence, Canterbury, Kent from 9am-4pm on Thursday 15th March, 2018