Dream Teens – the youth “voice” in the discussion of the problems of their generation

Abstract

Recent studies have identified the need to promote the youth “voices”, as well as the importance of their integration as active participants in the research process. However, in Portugal, a number of youth-related decisions are taken on a daily basis in which youth have no power of opinion or decision. Dream Teens emerged as a response to this need. Started in March two thousand fourteen, the network of Portuguese youth with ages between eleven and eighteen years old, provided a support structure so that their ideas could be heard, promoting their social participation and entrepreneurship in contexts and political scenarios in the areas of education and health. In this study of youth needs and strategies identification, to approach the problems of their generation gathered on the basis of active discussion of issues related to health, well-being, and society, a categorization of youth “voice” is presented. Thus, based on an exploratory and careful analysis of teasers/challenges launched in the Facebook group of the project, are presented examples of the youth to categories and subcategories with a larger number of answers, which stand out: friends in relational level, and critical thought related with society in cognitive level. Critical thought related with school, belonging to cognitive level, was the subject less commented on in these speeches. Are still presented implications of this project on social participation/active citizenship.