Barriers and enablers to youth activism in Scotland

Following recent health, socio-economic and climate crises, youth activism has become critical in generating social change. However, activists from disadvantaged backgrounds experience multiple barriers to participation. This pilot project will explore the barriers/enablers that support disadvantaged youth activists’ involvement in social movements for change. By exploring lived experience, we aim to build towards a larger grant application by a) shaping a collaborative research design, and b) building collaborative relationships with youth activists.

The proposal offers three areas for collaboration:
Build an interdisciplinary/inter-institutional research collaboration between two ECRs involved in youth research at Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Build a collaborative network with partners beyond academia with expertise in youth work/activism.
Build an ongoing research collaboration with youth activists to enable lived experience to take primary role in shaping all aspects of the research.

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds face multiple disadvantages but are also disadvantaged in their participation as activists for social change. This project explores what supports and hinders these youth activists.