10 Key Learnings from our Knowledge Sharing Webinars

YouCount and EIE WG organised three webinars in autumn 2021. In the webinars, we explored how to open research and innovation to young people in the form of Youth Citizen Social Science to make social change. This is what YouCount learned:

#1 There is a large interest in the topic of Youth Citizen Social Science with 90 percent (168 people) of those who registered showing up at the webinars.

#2 Co-creation requires knowledgeable people, extra work and time as academia isn't well adapted for it. Involving young people from the beginning to shape the webinars was the most challenging part of organising them.

#3 Reaching out more broadly to youth activists, organisations and groups is something we want to focus on for the future.

#4 To make a webinar a safer space for participants, especially youth, it is important to adapt tailored measures that have been worked out and checked with young people in the preparation of the webinar.

#5 Listening to what people have to say as individuals and not seeing them as representatives of a certain group such as youth is essential.

#6 Information shared with young co-researchers shouldn't be too simplified in order to guarantee their meaningful participation.

#7 It takes time to identify and use appropriate methods such as breakout rooms and note-taking tools as well as introduction rounds and icebreakers, but their importance shouldn't be underestimated.

#8 YouCount should adapt its own safe space policy to create a foundation for making future events more equitable.

#9 The most common take-aways from participants were getting to know perspectives of young people, learning about similar youth-focused activities across Europe and discussing these topics with others.

#10 The participants' wish list includes more time for presentations and discussions, more inclusive language (and subtitles), more space for young people as well as more humour!

For more information, you can download the full report by Claudia Göbel: