Youth Active Citizenship in Europe

Youth Active Citizenship in Europe
Author: Shakuntala Banaji
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2020-04-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3030357945

This volume engages with the contested concept of ‘active citizenship’. It analyses the use and understanding of active citizenship in youth civic and political initiatives in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the UK. Using ethnographic data and insights from the cross-European project CATCH-EyoU, the contributors to this collection illuminate the experiences of young people taking action for social change. It does so at a unique moment when a resurgent populist political right is deploying racial prejudice and neoliberal protectionism in both established media and new digital media to fuel xenophobic nationalism. The book asks a range of questions, including: What is life like for active young citizens with an interest in the civic and political spheres? What practices, relationships and motivations characterise their participatory movements, organisations, initiatives and groups? The chapters use case studies to analyse how friendship and emotion, social media, diversity-work, racism, precarity and burnout feed into motivating and developing or curtailing sustained pro-democratic activism. Youth Active Citizenship in Europe will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines including politics, sociology, education and cultural studies.

Youth Citizenship and the European Union

Youth Citizenship and the European Union
Author: Elvira Cicognani
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2020-06-29
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 100000791X

This book applies a number of different disciplinary and geographical perspectives to ascertain whether and how European youth identify with the EU, trust EU institutions and engage in EU issues. It investigates the factors and processes that predict the different ways in which young Europeans engage (or do not engage) with social and political issues and become active European citizens. The volume is based on results from the first two years of the Horizon 2020 CATCH-EyoU project (“Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions”). It addresses different dimensions of active citizenship in the EU and different processes and contexts that explain the construction of youth active citizenship, including societal-level factors such as policy context and media; interaction-level contexts such as school and family; and individual-level factors. The final chapter emphasizes the impact of the current historical context on the development of young Europeans’ civic identity and their understanding of the social and political reality. With contributions from a variety of disciplines including psychology, political science, communications and education, and spanning geographic contexts across Europe, this book will be of interest to researchers studying contemporary European youth and the construction of young people’s identity. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Developmental Psychology. Chapters 1 and 5 are available Open Access at https://www.routledge.com/products/9780367236557.

Learning mobility and non-formal learning in European contexts: Policies, approaches and examples

Learning mobility and non-formal learning in European contexts: Policies, approaches and examples
Author: Günter J.Friesenhahn, Hanjo Schild, Hans-Georg Wicke, Judit Balogh
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2014-01-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 928717833X

Mobility is considered to be important for the personal development and employability of young people, as well as for intercultural dialogue, participation and active citizenship. Learning mobility in the youth field focuses on non-formal learning as a relevant part of youth work, with links to informal learning as well as to formal education. Different stakeholders at European level, particularly the Council of Europe and the European Commission, but also individual member states, foster programmes and strategies to enhance the mobility of young people, and particularly the learning dimension in mobility schemes. This book on learning mobility is a joint Council of Europe and European Commission publication, and provides texts of an academic, scientific, political and practical nature for all stakeholders in the youth field - youth leaders and youth workers, policy makers, researchers and so on. It should contribute to dialogue and co-operation between relevant players and to discussion on the further development and purpose of youth mobility schemes and their outcomes for young people.

T-Kit 7 - European Citizenship in youth work

T-Kit 7 - European Citizenship in youth work
Author: Mara Georgescu
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2017-12-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9287185646

At what level should young people engage in society? What impact can local youth organisations have, when faced with massive European or even global issues? The concept of European Citizenship is deeply connected with the ideals of democracy, participation and human rights in Europe and beyond. On the one hand, many young people express those ideals in multiple ways, as active citizens, outside and inside formal democratic structures. On the other hand, it is still a challenge to stimulate many young people to engage more in society and feel concerned by wider European or global processes. This T-Kit was written to find ways to stimulate young people to engage more in society, thus exploring citizenship, and to support them as they develop their sense of belonging to the wider community, Europe, as they become concerned about, and committed to, its values, its present and its future.

Active Citizenship in Europe

Active Citizenship in Europe
Author: Cristiano Bee
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1137453176

The book provides an overview of key issues in the debate concerning the emergence of active citizenship in Europe. The specific focus of enquiry is the promotion of patterns of civic and political engagement and civic and political participation by the EU and the relative responses drawn by organizations of the civil society operating at the supranational level and in Italy, Turkey and the UK. More specifically, it addresses key debates on the engagement and participation of organized civil society across the permanent state of euro-crisis, considering the production of policy discourses along the continuum that characterized three subsequent and interrelated emergency situations (democratic, financial and migration crises) that have hit Europe since 2005. Active Citizenship in Europe will be of interest to students and scholars in a range of fields, including sociology, politics, European studies and international studies.

Framing Civic Engagement, Political Participation and Active Citizenship in Europe

Framing Civic Engagement, Political Participation and Active Citizenship in Europe
Author: Cristiano Bee
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2017-12-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 131757317X

This book evaluates the role that civic engagement, political participation and active citizenship can play in promoting the establishment of a European polity. The chapters included here examine how the practice of active citizenship is managed and constructed in the context of a European drive to increase civic engagement and political participation in three member states (Portugal, Italy and the UK) and one accession country (Turkey). Looking at both processes and policies promoting active citizenship at the European and national levels, this book uncovers current discourses as well as political priorities and values that surround the activities of non- governmental organizations (NGOs). Of particular interest are debates about the nature and level of civic and political participation and engagement of marginal groups (women, youths, migrants and minorities) as they are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion. The book focuses on the interaction between institutions and civil society actors, addressing a number of questions related to their reciprocal role in influencing, shaping, criticising or disregarding certain political priorities. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Civil Society.

Young Adults and Active Citizenship

Young Adults and Active Citizenship
Author: Natasha Kersh
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2021-04-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030650022

This open access book sheds light on a range of complex interdependencies between adult education, young adults in vulnerable situations and active citizenship. Adult education has been increasingly recognized as a means to engage and re-engage young adults and facilitate their life chances and social inclusion thus contributing to an active citizenship within their societal contexts. This collection of chapters dealing with issues of social inclusion of young people represents the first book to explicitly approach the complex interdependencies between adult education, young adults in vulnerable situations and active citizenship from the European perspective. Social exclusion, disengagement and disaffection of young adults have been among the most significant concerns faced by EU member states over the last decade. It has been increasingly recognised by a range of stakeholders that there is a growing number of young people suffering from the various effects of the unstable social, economic and political situations affecting Europe and its neighbouring countries. Young adults who experience different degrees of vulnerability are especially at risk of being excluded and marginalised. Engaging young adults through adult education has been strongly related to addressing the specific needs and requirements that would facilitate their participation in social, economic and civic/political life in their country contexts. Fostering the active citizenship of young people, both directly and indirectly, is an area where many AE programmes overlap, and this has become a core approach to integration. This book considers social, economic and political dimensions of active citizenship, encompassing the development of social competences and social capital, civic and political participation and the skills related to the economy and labour market. The cross-national consideration of the notions of vulnerability, inclusion and active citizenship underpins the complexity of translating these concepts into the national contexts of adult education programmes.

European Citizenship--in the Process of Construction

European Citizenship--in the Process of Construction
Author: Ditta Dolejšiová
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9789287164780

European citizenship is still a contested concept, bringing together two notions and therefore two different debates: one around Europe and European identity, And The other related to citizenship and non-citizenship. Europe, In an ongoing process of construction, should be shaped and defined by its citizens. Young people in particular have a special interest in and concern about what kind of Europe they want to live in. it is therefore important to reflect on how European citizenship and debates around European identity could help and empower young people to actively contribute to building Europe. The essays collected here address this issue. They present the debates and findings of the research seminar entitled "Young People and Active European Citizenship" organised by the Youth Partnership between the Council of Europe And The European Commission. European citizenship remains one of the main priorities of this partnership.

Youth political participation

Youth political participation
Author: Tomaž Deželan
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2023-01-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9287192391

Young people’s participation is crucial for shaping and transforming democracies. Youth political participation is taking place within a context of democratic transformation, including a global decline in the state of democracy, shrinking space for civil society, polarisation of the political and social space, economic crisis and precarity, rapid digitalisation, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and, most recently, war. In this setting, we are witnessing a lack of trust in political institutions, an increasing disengagement from the political system and a decline in youth participation in institutional politics. This Youth Knowledge book reminds us that while the context might be changing, young people’s participation is crucial for shaping and transforming democracies. Moving beyond the traditional binary of “conventional” and “nonconventional”, the authors ask the question: “How are young people engaging with democracies in transformation?”, seeking to understand the ways in which young people are defining their own participation. This volume includes eight chapters, ranging from the mapping of young people’s involvement in environmental justice movements and climate strikes, dissent and radical kindness, political participation of young refugees in Europe, as well as explorations of the understanding of the concepts of liberal democracy, youth voice and European citizenship, as well as the importance and role of values and the context. In addition to the chapters, four personal essays, written by young people themselves, give a glimpse into the ways young people are engaging in political participation to shape their schools, communities and Europe, but also the broader systems on which our current politics is built. Young people’s political participation, citizenship and relationship with democracy remain a complex topic for youth research, policy and practice. While this publication does not claim to answer all the questions or represent the realities of all young people across Europe, it gives a glimpse into the landscape of youth engagement in a changing world, highlighting realities, trends and main issues.

EU Citizenship Beyond Urban Centres

EU Citizenship Beyond Urban Centres
Author: Astrid Lorenz
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2023-07-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3031297938

This open access book provides in-depth and comparative analyses of how young people in peripheral areas in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania perceive EU citizenship. It also informs the reader about the challenges faced by EU Youth Dialogue projects that aim at promoting active (EU) citizenship in these areas and it offers context-specific recommendations for local, regional, national and European policymakers and people working with young people. The contributions are based on new qualitative data collected within the framework of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Leipzig University. It will be of interest to practitioners and scholars working on Europe and the EU, citizenship and the promotion of an active EU citizenship beyond urban centres.