URBEGO Youth Engagement Index

Every Generation Needs aNew Revolution

The youth, why?

YEI mission statement

The methodology

WorkshopsValenciaMedellinBucharestLondon

Coming upRome

YEI partners

URBEGO

Youth Engagement Index

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Youth Engagement Index | URBEGO

The youth, why?

Young people, a resilience source for evolving cities

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the ancients referred to the action of climbing on overturned boats with the verb resalio; and it is with this word that we identify those with the ability to adapt to and transform in disruptive events of trau-matic experiences- the act of being resilient.A resilient city is an urban system that does not only adapt to changes to which cities are increasingly vulnerable, but is a community that is continually being modified through social, economic and environmen-tal innovation that enables it to resist the stresses of history and the environment in the long run.Civic participation has become a crucial part of all urban programmes and initiatives of the European Commission, such as the Covenant of Mayors and URBACT, demonstrating that in Europe’s villes durables the youth are the source of the ideas, insights and inspiration that pro-vokes change among the models of urban governance.

Giulia Maci, URBEGO

Urbego believes that in the light of the recent events in the Arab States, Turkey, Brazil, India, Romania and other parts of the world the missing link in urban governance on the whole is the involvement of the young generations. For this reason, Urbego is developing a global Youth Engagement Index (YEI) that aims to assess the involvement of young generations (ages 18 to 34) in urban governance. The YEI with its collaborative process aims to unveil weaknesses and opportunities of cities in terms of engaging their youth in the city making and managing process, and highlight the value of having an active and participating youth in city life in general.

The YEI looks at engagement at the social, political and economic aspects of governance, and the discrepancies in expectations of the various actors involved. It is these discrepancies that have led to social unrests spearheaded by the young. This shows that there is a willingness of the youth to participate in governance, but for one reason or another, there is an obstacle to their actual involvement. It is imperative to try to understand and overcome these obstacles. A mixed methods ap-proach, the YEI methodology has been developed in collaboration with universities from cities around the world, and involves different stake-holders ranging from the local governments, to the middle-fround agents, to the civil society.

Urbego believes that by brining municipalities, academia, non-govern-mental organisations and - of course - the youth to the table, cities that have been successful in establishing good and effective communication among these actors will encourage leaders in other cities to share knowledge and obtain new ideas to act on.

YEI mission statement

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The methodology

#1Measurement/city profile The first level of analysis looks at finding the appropriate proxy indica-tors to reflect the involvement of young generations at the civic, politic and economic level. This first stage of the methodology will allow for a general understanding of involvement in these spheres and also for a preliminary ranking to be made.

This stage is based on the methodology developed by UN Global Compact Cit-ies Programme for the Circles of Sustainability -Urban Profile Process.

Local, national and international databases will be researched for appropri-ate indicators that are relevant at the city scale. The local insight of munici-palities and local partners will be crucial in identifying and obtaining access to all possible sources of data.

#2Measurement/questionnairesThe second stage of the preliminary city profiling will involve testing the perception regarding involvement at the local level.

At this stage we should be able to highlight initial discrepancies in ex-pectations and perception as well as capturing any trust issues be-tween the municipalities and their young urban dwellers.

Extensive questionnaires are conducted with the support of Urbego’s partners that will circulate the questionnaires in their networks and collect responses into a common database.

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#3InterpretationUsing the profiling exercise as a basis, the third step consists in scaling the results based on a collaborative workshop approach.

During this workshop, participants are asked to evaluate from 1 (criti-cal) to 9 (vibrant) each perspective of the profile components.

#4Knowledge sharingThe third level of the analysis will use specific case studies to understand different ways in which the general picture laid out in the previous two stages has translated into engagement/disengagement.

The cases are “how-to/not to” examples to help other municipalities explore and learn from others’ experiences.They should have some ele-ments of flexibility that enables context sensitivity.

The selected cases focus on local level issues in the spheres de-fined previously and will be mainly proposed by partner cities or or-ganizations. They will be reviewed by the Urbego team and interna-tional experts involved in the project to ensure coherency and high quality. They will be used as part of a learning process to test and, if necessary, reshape the previous two phases of the research.

criti

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tory

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Collaborative workshops are organized over two days in different cities , applying the methodology across as many geographies, economic and po-litical systems as possible. Participants from relevant local institutions and organizations, are asked to evaluate from 1 (critical) to 9 (vibrant) the eco-nomic, politic-institutional and civic-cultural aspects of the participation in their cities.

Workshops

critical

- satisfactory

bad

highlyinsatisfactory

satisfactory

+ satisfactory


good

vibrant

Preconditions

SafetyToleranceLiving conditionsTrustMobilityTechnology

Cultural and civicengagement

Cultural policiesEducation and knowledge

Community based organizationsAudiences & usersCultural amenities

Public | free | third spaces

Economic engagement

Economic independenceEntrepreneurshipCareersPoliciesFunding opportunitiesTraining

Political and institutionalengagement

Participatory policiesNetworks of collective action

Consultation and permeabilityCivil society

Decision makingDemocratic vitality

critical

- satisfactory

bad

highlyunsatisfactory

satisfactory

+ satisfactory

highlysatisfactory

good

vibrant

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Vale

ncia

workshop participants:

Econcult

Universitat de València

La Ciutat Construïda

Inndea

Wayco

Crearqció

Inndea

Lambda

Carpe Vi

The assessment shows a clear dichotomy between the factors of youth engagement that directly depend on public policies and the ones that are mostly influenced by other agents (civil society and private busi-ness). Valencia is considered a city with a great potential for youth in terms of location, size, tolerance, quality of life and cultural life; but engagement is clearly undermined by the negative economic condi-tions related to the ongoing crisis, partially overcome by the entre-preneurial spirit, and the governance framework that does not give room to participation in decision-making; while most of the territorial engagement is going on with a do-it-yourself ethics.

ValenciaMarch 2014

partner:

critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory


good

vibrant

Preconditions






Economic engagement






critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory

highlysatisfactory

good

vibrant

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Econcult

Universitat de València

La Ciutat Construïda

Inndea

Wayco

Crearqció

Inndea

Lambda

Carpe Vi

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AIESEC

Centro de Desarrollo Cultural de Moravia

Corpoemprende

El Puente Lab

Fundación Pazamanos

Fusion Latina

La Ciudad Verde

Mi Barrio

Proyecto NN

Secretaria de la Juventud

Sistema de Biblioteca Publica de Medellin

Talentos

Culturizzarte

Un Litro de Luz

Universidad Bellas Artes

Med

ellin

Civic and political participation have been scored relatively high, es-pecially the public space, the cultural offer and the civil society organ-ization network sub-dimensions. Although participants were very well aware of the existing room for improvement, they somewhat wanted to send a positive message about their city. Participant recurrently in-sisted to acknowledge the significant improvement and transforma-tion Medellin went through in the last decade and finally wanted senda message of support and gratitude to the city’s authorities. “We have been having the right approach, made huge improvement and shouldcontinue in that same direction”.

MedellinApril 2014

partner:

critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory


good

vibrant

Preconditions






Economic engagement






critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory

highlysatisfactory

good

vibrant

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AIESEC

Centro de Desarrollo Cultural de Moravia

Corpoemprende

El Puente Lab

Fundación Pazamanos

Fusion Latina

La Ciudad Verde

Mi Barrio

Proyecto NN

Secretaria de la Juventud

Sistema de Biblioteca Publica de Medellin

Talentos

Culturizzarte

Un Litro de Luz

Universidad Bellas Artes

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Active Watch

Arhitext Design

CeRe

Funky Citizens

Komunitas

MakeBetter

Metaspace

OPTAR

Poiana lui Iocan

România în Tranziţie - Grădini Comunitare

The Ministry of Regional Development

The Municipality of Bucharest

Urban 2020

Urbasofia

Buch

ares

t

The results show there are a series of areas where interventions needs to be prioritised. The discussions have also shown there is a great in-terest and level of understanding of the various issues related to the governance of the city among the young generations and it would ben-efit both the youth and the local institutions to have a more construc-tive dialogue. Most of the results have scored below satisfactory. Many of the issues underlined during the workshop have been attributed to a combination of factors, some having to do with the not so distant communist past that still requires years of adjustment but also to a weak framework and institutional support and coordination that fails to recognize the contribution that the civil society can make to the de-velopment of the city.

BucharestMay 2014

partners:

critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory


good

vibrant

Preconditions






Economic engagement






critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory

highlysatisfactory

good

vibrant

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Active Watch

Arhitext Design

CeRe

Funky Citizens

Komunitas

MakeBetter

Metaspace

OPTAR

Poiana lui Iocan

România în Tranziţie - Grădini Comunitare

The Ministry of Regional Development

The Municipality of Bucharest

Urban 2020

Urbasofia

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LondonYouth

TFL Urban Design

Planning Aid (PAS)

Mama Youth Project

InterLanD - Aston University

LSELo

ndon

critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory


good

vibrant

The quality and quantity of what London can offer for the young is perceived as relatively high across most dimensions (e.g. funding, ed-ucation, job, mobility opportunities). However, the question of access represents and serious issue, especially when considering specifically the 18-34 years old group. Participants have pointed out a deteriora-tion of the situation in London for young people across most of the dimensions and explicitly wanted to transmit a message of urgency through their sometimes harsh comments and low scores. “We are harsh on ourselves and our city, we expect a lot but it is because we want it to be better”.

partners:

LondonOctober 2014

Preconditions






Economic engagement






critical

- satisfactory

bad


satisfactory

+ satisfactory

highlysatisfactory

good

vibrant

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LondonYouth

TFL Urban Design

Planning Aid (PAS)

Mama Youth Project

InterLanD - Aston University

LSE

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Rom

e

The goal of the workshop sponsored by Urbego is to share the methodology and research results of YEI - Youth Engagement Index, which measures the level of involvement of young people in different cities in Europe and the world, in relation to the project Roma Resiliente launched in December 2014. Together with local actors and experts we intend to build an action plan to review the participation of youth in Rome, with the long-term goal of building a profile of the city highlighting pro-blems, opportunities, and possible actions on the issue of participation of young people and contribute actively to building a strategy for urban resilience.

The workshop will be an opportunity to share tools, practices and ex-periences of participatory planning in the Rome area, giving visibility to those young people who are committed to their community by par-ticipating actively, not only through the traditional channels of politics but also in associations, in voluntary organizations and citizens’ com-mittees in demonstrating how the contribution of youth in social, cul-tural, economic and political life of the city is a major contribution to the development policy.

Coming up:

RomeMay 2015

partners:

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YEI partners

International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP) is a world-wide network of professional institutions and individuals active in the broad fields of housing, urban development and planning.

www.ifhp.org

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The Global Compact asks companies to embrace universal principles and to partner with the Unit-ed Nations. It has grown to become a critical platform for the UN to engage effectively with enlightened global business.

www.unglobalcompact.org

Econcult is the Cultural Economics and Tourism Research Unit of the University of Valencia. Their research focuses on the relationship between culture and development.

www.uv.es/econcult

URBEGO

Urbego is a multidisciplinary platform of young, motivated and skilled professionals from all around the globe. Urbego wants to provide Rap-id responses for specific challenges in cities by applying an in situ ap-proach collaborating with local partners, ranging from civil society rep-resentatives to research institutions and decision makers.Urbego’s members have a wide range of expertise, going from urban governance, planning, economics, architecture and culture to commu-nication and engagement. Through workshops, these skills are com-bined with local knowledge from citizens, students and decision mak-ers to find the best solution for the individual case.

www.urbegoyei.comwww.urbego.org

contact: [email protected]

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Every Generation Needs aNew Revolution

URBEGOSimona Dobrescu, economist, LondonGiulia Maci, urban planner, CopenhagenFarah Makki, architect, ParisRamon Marrades, economist, ValenciaFilipa Pajevic, economist, MontrealOlivier Woeffray, sociologist, Geneva

United Nations Global CompactIFHP International Federation of Housing and PlanningEconCult

University of Valencia

Un Habitat - World Urban Forum 7

MKBTUniunea Arhitectilor din RomaniaAsociatia Profesionala a Urbanistilor din RomaniaIon Mincu University

UCL Urban Lab

Roma Capitale100 Resilient CitiesBiennale Spazio PubblicoInterazioni Urbane

studio gobber°

Colophon

Concept by:

IEY partners:

Workshop partners:

Valencia

Medellin

Bucharest

London

Rome

Graphic design:

URBEGO Youth Engagement Index

Documents

Transcript of URBEGO Youth Engagement Index