Facilitating support to youth identity development in Europe: The outcomes and implications from the INSIDE project

Abstract

Introduction. Present-day developments in Europe, such as persistent socio-economic inequalities, growing numbers of young people at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion, xenophobic attitudes, and discrimination, present numerous challenges to youth identity development. Experiences of social exclusion and discrimination based on important aspects of youth identities, such as ethnicity, religion, social class, gender, sexual orientation or ability, may hinder youth identity development particularly for youth from vulnerable backgrounds. The current geopolitical situation with high levels of refugees and international migration to and within Europe is creating a context in which challenges for identity-related youth transitions become even more salient. In response to these challenges, the partnership INSIDE (Innovative Curriculum for Strong Identities in Diverse Europe) was established in order to generate new research knowledge and develop innovative education tools for up-to-date university and non-formal teaching on youth identity. The aim of the INSIDE project is to build the capacity of university students, teachers, researchers, and youth workers to carry out identity-related applied and research work with youth in order to better understand and support identity development among diverse groups of youth in Europe. Description of the project. The project applies interdisciplinary, transnational and trans-sectoral approach and seeks to integrate research, teaching and innovative practical work with youth. The project is implemented by Mykolas Romeris University (coordinator, Lithuania), University of Bologna (Italy), Babes-Bolyai University (Romania), University of Bordeaux (France), Cardinal Wyszynski University in Warsaw (Poland) and Tolerant Youth Association (Lithuania). The project is funded by the Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnership Programme. Results. The main results of the project include three intellectual outputs: 1) a university-level 6 ECTS course curriculum “Support to youth identities in diverse Europe (SIDE)”, which provides an integrated perspective on youth identity development informed by recent theory and findings in developmental and social psychology, sociology, social anthropology, and European studies; 2) two compendiums of research articles on youth identity – one as a special issue of the European Psychologist (forthcoming, 2019), another as a special section in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence (April, 2018); 3) an open educational resource I-TOOLS, prepared for those working with youth in educational, civic, volunteering or other settings, as well as policy makers and other stakeholders. Implications. The poster presentation will focus on the implications and subsequent use of the three project outputs in the context of university study programs, practical work with youth, as well as future studies on identity development among diverse groups of youth in Europe.