COMPROMISOS SOCIOPOLITICOS Y ACTIVISMOS JUVENILES EN UNA SOCIEDAD INDIVIDUALIZADA. FORMAS, SIGNIFICADOS Y PROCESOS DE TRANSFORMACIÓN
COMPROMISOS SOCIOPOLITICOS Y ACTIVISMOS JUVENILES EN UNA SOCIEDAD INDIVIDUALIZADA. FORMAS, SIGNIFICADOS Y PROCESOS DE TRANSFORMACIÓN

International Conference Youth Activisms

Sociopolitical Engagements and Youth Activisms

24 and 25 october, 2024
UNED, Madrid

The engagement of youth in public spheres and their leading role in the processes of social transformation have emerged as prominent constants throughout the past 10 to 15 years. Globally, numerous events underscore the significant contributions of young people. While these events cannot be exclusively categorized as youth actions, the integral role of the younger generation within them is markedly evident. Instances such as the Arab Spring and the Indignados movement, alongside contemporary climate change protests, movements for abortion rights in Latin America, and the initiatives of youth collectives during the pandemic, serve as illustrative examples of the diverse ways in which young people articulate their socio- political engagements. Through a broad spectrum of platforms and strategic approaches, these young activists demonstrate their commitment to societal change, highlighting the multifaceted nature of youth participation in global social movements.

The multiple evidence underscoring the presence of active and committed younger generations renders the continued debate over the purported political disengagement of contemporary youth moot. Recognizing the diversity inherent within youth populations, it becomes significantly more enriching to orient research toward exploring the myriad ways in which young people manifest their commitments and engage in various practices. Such an approach involves delving into the expression of these commitments, examining the nexus between participatory dynamics and the biographical trajectories of young people, elucidating the processes through which they identify with the groups they join and understanding the complex interplay between their activist practices and daily life.

Adopting this broad perspective, the International Youth Activisms Conference is designed to serve as a platform for the dissemination and discussion of the latest research regarding the involvement (and, interestingly, the non-involvement) of young people in the public sphere. It seeks to shed light on their activist engagements and practices, embracing a wide and diverse understanding that reflects the varied forms and meanings of activism prevalent among youth today. By doing so, the conference aims to facilitate rich debates among researchers from different social, political, and cultural contexts.

In addressing youth activisms, our intention is to embrace the widest possible range of expressions of youth commitments to causes, principles, values… This encompasses the involvement in climate justice movements, feminist and sexual diversity activism, engagement in political parties or trade unions, participation in civil rights organizations, work in community support and solidarity groups, as well as artivism and other cultural activism forms. Moreover, we acknowledge the diverse modalities through which this engagement is manifested, ranging from enduring, long-term activism to more sporadic and intermittent involvement, from participation in street mobilisations to online activism on social networks or the integration of activist principles into the routine practices of daily life.

Areas for discussion and analysis

In order to organise this diversity of areas of work, this conference will focus on four areas of debate and analysis:

1.  Activist engagement as a life experience: biographies and youth activisms

Activist engagement is not a state that is reached but a process deeply embedded in the continuum of time, which progresses in tandem with the young people’s own personal trajectory. The interplay between biography and activism assumes heightened significance in the context of youth, where personal history and activist involvement are profoundly intertwined.

2. Young people and militant engagements in political organisations

The old model of the militant ‘who gives his or her self to the organisation’ has lost much of its virtuality today in an individualised society. This shift is particularly evident among youth, where new forms of militant engagement emerge, balancing personal needs of the young members with the demands of organizational structures.

3. Socio-political engagements, participatory logics and social movements

The proliferation of forms and modalities of expression of youth engagement with very different causes and principles is transforming the very nature of many social movements that face the

challenge of how to integrate multiple participatory logics while increasing the effectiveness of their actions.

4. New Activist Identities and Practices: Subjectivities, Creativity and Politics

Individualisation and self-reflexivity, two of the most characteristic features of youth life, are explicitly inscribed in the activist practices of young people. This translates into processes of experimentation and creativity through which these new generations construct new subjectivities as political actors.

In light of these focal points, we welcome contributions that address any relevant aspect of youth activism. Submissions may concentrate on the experiences of young activists, the organizations and collectives they are part of, or the broader socio-structural, political, and cultural condition within which activism is rooted. We encourage both theoretical and empirical , quantitative and qualitative works.

Access the Proposal Submission section from this link.

Organizan:

Departamento de Sociología II
Proyecto PID2020-117529RB-I00 financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

Colaboran:

Grupo de Estudios sobre Sociedad y Política (UCM-UNED)