Learn more about our six newest YELS-funded projects!

Last November at YELS, the latest round of applications for funding and support came to a close. In our community, we focus on how education empowers young people; our projects illustrate YELS’s message and goal. We are very happy to announce that we were able to grant financial support to another six projects. In this post, you will learn more about what they entail, and who is behind them.

Global Partnerships for Life Skills Education

By Maria de Haan, Annemieke Steenbergen, Tjitske de Groot and Paul Schöpfer

Project outline:

The main objective of this proposal is to strengthen collaboration between the (different partners in the) UU and the Global South in the area of youth and education, with specific attention for strengthening youth’s life skills through education. It takes the ALiVE network (Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa, see ALiVE) as a key partnership to reach this goal, but the activities are also open to colleagues who would like to explore different themes (though related to youth and education) in collaborations with partners in the Global South.

Our proposal has 3 sub objectives:

1. Building partnerships: between UU colleagues, departments and faculties with the aim of strengthening collaboration with universities and NGO’s in the Global South.

2. Knowledge exchange in which perspectives from Utrecht University and partners in the Global South are represented.

3. Capacity building/professionalization focused on becoming a community of global researchers.

To achieve these goals, we propose to organise a hybrid conference on life skills, focused on engaging the Global South. The event will feature key members of the ALiVE team and include grant-writing sessions aimed at empowering participants to secure funding for impactful life skills initiatives in diverse global contexts. Four open online masterclasses will be developed addressing critical themes and sharing expert knowledge from partners from the Global South and UU. 

In general this proposal will stimulate research relationships between UU colleagues and partnerships from the Global South/ particularly the ALiVE network. E.g. PhD trajectories are (further) explored between suitable candidates from the ALiVE network and UU professors. Co-authoring between UU colleagues and partners from the ALiVE network is encouraged. These activities will increase the professionalisation of DOY/YELS researchers and teachers as we will engage in creating more global knowledge about youth and education themes and life skills in particular.

Names of applicants and faculties:

• Maria de Haan (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pegagogy, Development & Education of Youth in Diverse Societies);
• Annemieke Steenbergen (Law, Economics and Governance, Research Support Office);
• Tjitske de Groot (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pegagogy, Development & Education of Youth in Diverse Societies);
• Paul Schöpfer (Law, Economics and Governance, School of Economics, Applied Economics).

Making Global Diamonds through Citizen Science: Water Literacy for Sustainable and Inclusive Development at Schools in South Africa and Kenya

By Janwillem Liebrand and Patricia Wijntuin

Project outline:

The proposed project is a prolonging and expansion of an existing research project on citizen since: Diamonds on the Soles of our Feet (DSF). The DFS project was developed as a disruptor model, bringing together youth education, community engagement and sustainable groundwater management. The project was piloted in the Hout River Catchment, Limpopo Province, South Africa, in collaboration with 7 primary and secondary schools. The idea of ‘learning from the heart’ has been recognized as a ‘missing link’ for citizen science and it is spreading out in Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia) and beyond (for instance India, Mexico, Peru) as DFS_Goes_Global. The model clearly has potential in terms of providing marginalized youth with exposure and learning experiences, and in terms of sustainable water management, but there are also challenges. One of these is the question of inclusion, especially of young girls (who tend to drop out at schools); and another one, is the question of sustainability. The CS methodology developed so far, focusses on rivers, open water sources and other surface water bodies, but the biggest challenges are with groundwater management, especially in semi-arid areas such as South Africa, Kenya and other African countries. The goal is to explore these challenges and to ascertain what other challenges are faced in different contexts as one scales-up the model elsewhere. Concretely, we have four plans of action in mind: (a) research and exploration of CS methodology in South Africa in relation to groundwater management; (b) expansion and exploration of the DFS model in Kenya and beyond; (c) strengthening the theoretical argument on CS and water management, in terms of inclusion, diversity, transformation and empowerment, and (d) testing the applicability of a participatory methodology prompts put together in a YELS toolkit (2024) aimed at building trust and addressing diversity, transformation and youth empowerment.

Names of applicants and faculties:

• Janwillem Liebrand (Geosciences, Human Geography and Spatial Planning, International Development Studies);
• Patricia Wijntuin (Law, Economics and Governance, School of Governance, Organisation Science).

More Inclusive Education for Vulnerable Youth: Success and Improvement Factors of OPDC à la Carte

By Susan Branje, Jorg Huijding, Anne-Smit van Beveren and Johannes Noordstar

Project outline:

In Utrecht, VO schools and Samenwerkingsverband Sterk VO are working together in a new approach of the orthopedagogic didactic center (OPDC): OPDC à la carte. OPDC à la carte consists of four arrangements, from which schools, in consultation with students and parents, can choose temporary support at their own school or at OPDC. OPDC à la carte contributes to access to a more inclusive learning environment for youth who are at risk of dropping out of their school of origin, and provides them with important skills to handle the challenges of life, so that they can successfully continue at the school of origin. Being able to continue at their original school will allow youth to feel higher levels of belonging and also to more easily participate in activities outside the school context.

In this mixed-method research project, the success and improvement factors and the effective elements of OPDC à la carte are examined, on the one hand by following young people participating in the arrangements in their psychosocial development with a longitudinal questionnaire study and on the other hand by qualitative interviews with youth, parents, teachers and professionals involved in the arrangements. Findings will provide information about how and under what conditions OPDC à la carte arrangements can be effective in practice at the level of the student, school, and partners, as well as about perceived success and impeding factors.

Names of applicants and faculties:

• Susan Branje (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pedagogy, Youth and Family);
• Jorg Huijding (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pedagogy, Clinical Child and Family Studies);
• Anne Smit-van Beveren (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pedagogy, Clinical Child and Family Studies);
• Johannes Noordstar (UMC Utrecht).

Teaching to change the world; creating space for activism in higher education

By Larike Bronkhorst, Marc van Mil, Kaja Chmielewska

Project outline:

Students are deeply concerned about their future. They increasingly denounce injustices using activism, the best-known examples being climate activism and students’ advocacy for peace and intersectional justice. However, students do not always experience appreciation, nor support, and sometimes even report opposition from their educational institution to their activism, especially for actions viewed as more disruptive. This is a pity since the potential power of youth activism for learning and belonging, especially for marginalized groups, cannot be underestimated.

In this project we collaborate with UU teachers to examine possible room for activism in higher education, particularly how teachers can collaboratively navigate existing (educational) structures to create more space for collaboratively ‘shaping tomorrow’. Based on the admittedly scarce, available literature, it is expected that teachers may struggle with showing their own and supporting students’ activism when they aim to remain professionally ‘objective’ and that to co-create space and/or support for activism requires navigating educational degrees of freedom.

The added value of this project lies in its opportunity to better understand learning conceptualized as ‘organizing possible futures’. Similarly, boundary crossing theory and practices will be advanced by exploring how educational structures, typically resistant to chance, can be (collaboratively) re-negotiated. By supporting dialogues between UU teachers from different faculties, we hope to document and share opportunities created and dilemma’s encountered by teachers and students.

Names of applicants and faculties:

• Larike Bronkhorst (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pedagogy, Education)
• Marc van Mil (UMC Utrecht)
• Kaja Chmielewska (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pedagogy, Education)

The Lausanne Project: Co-Creation of History Learning Materials

By Ozan Ozavci, Despoina Georgiou, Clara Vlessing

Project outline:

As well as marking the end of World War I, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne forcibly relocated one and a half million people, in the name of peace. The Lausanne moment is pivotal also in terms of the emergence of the modern Middle East as we know it today and its manifold problems, from the oil competition to present-day violence. But Lausanne is taught very differently on opposite sides of the Aegean. High school history students in Greece and Turkey are each presented with a one-sided, nationalistic narrative of victimhood, sowing the seeds of future conflict and preventing young people from gaining important critical reading skills. 

This project brings Greek and Turkish high school teachers and pupils together with historians, museums, comic book and education experts at a workshop to brainstorm and co-create new ways of discussing Lausanne and its legacy in and beyond the classroom. Rather than seeking to foist a new, “correct” historical narrative, our multidisciplinary group will (re-)imagine classroom activities and enrichment projects that will give high school pupils the skills and the license to develop new narratives, engaging with types of history (local history, family history) which do not normally feature in the classroom. We’ll discuss how complex, conflict-ridden historical narratives can be transformed into inclusive, impactful teaching materials.

The project seeks to co-create and further refine TLP’s existing educational materials, including a comic book designed to engage students in historical and social issues. It also aims to investigate the adaptability of its methods to other historical and contemporary conflicts. By fostering critical thinking and encouraging dialogue, the initiative strives to help students interpret history through a broader lens, moving beyond nationalistic narratives. It hopes to lay the groundwork for mutual understanding and contribute to the long-term goal of fostering peace.

Names of applicants and faculties:

• Ozan Ozavci (Humanities, History and Art History, History of International Relations)
• Despoina Georgiou (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Education and Pedagogy, Education)
• Clara Vlessing (Humanities, Literature, Languages and Communication)

Bridging Continents: African-European Youth Collaborating for Diverse and Digital Futures

By Bruce Mutsvairo, Gerrit Dielissen, Ester Driel and Sarah Anschütz

Project outline:

Focusing on critical social challenges that young people face in the context of rapid digitalization and increasing resistance to diversity in contemporary societies, we set out to organize three linked summer/winter schools (during our winter, it is summer in our partner countries of Uganda and Kenya) entitled ”Bridging Continents: African-European Youth Collaborating for Diverse and Digital Futures.”

Each school will focus on a unique challenge facing young people that transcends national and disciplinary boundaries, a so-called “wicked challenge” such as the refugee crisis, the rapid digitization of critical (information) systems, and social sustainability. Specifically, the topics will be:

• School 1: Digital literacy & health misinformation of youth in refugee camps (Uganda);

• School 2: Resilience of disadvantaged and diverse youth in Africa’s largest urban slum,

Kibera. This school is about social entrepreneurship and political empowerment, and the

role that digital media plays in both (Kenya);

• School 3: Refugee inclusion in times of the ‘far right’ and polarization: What can we

learn from innovative local initiatives that resist polarization and welcome refugees? (Italy).

The first of the three proposed schools will be a winter school in collaboration with Kampala International University (KIU), Uganda, to co-create knowledge that contributes to a deeper understanding of digital media literacy (DML) among refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in Uganda. Focusing on adolescent youth (ages 12-24), we explore the potential of collaborative, community-led DML as a countermeasure to health- related disinformation in refugee camps, responding to research that identifies misinformation as one of the challenges hindering Ugandan society, particularly in refugee camps (Hopkins et al., 2023; Betts et al., 2020). The choice of Uganda stems from its status as host to the largest number of refugees on the African continent, nearly 2 million, and the sixth largest in the world (European Commission, 2024 ). We employ Community Based Education and Service (COBES) to develop an innovative, community-based DML curriculum aimed at unpacking and distilling nuances and tools to evaluate the truth of health-related online content among refugee camp residents. UU students recruited from all faculties will be offered the opportunity to participate in this multidisciplinary winter school. The school aims to stimulate meaningful intercultural dialogues and experiences among participants, fostering the co-creation of knowledge among students, refugee students, refugees, and community leaders, supported by research and interactive classes offered by scholars from UU, KIU, and invited academics from various disciplinary perspectives. The first school will have as a concrete outcome a podcast co- produced by students and youth living in refugee camps on the challenges related to widespread digital disinformation on health-related issues.

Specifically, and in relation to this call, we plan to use the available budget to organize the first Winter School in November/December 2025, build collaborative networks in 2025 and further develop the two upcoming schools that will take place in 2026 (Kenya) and 2027 (Italy).

Names of applicants and faculties:

• Bruce Mutsvairo (Humanities, Media and Culture Studies, Media and Performace Studies);
• Gerrit Dielissen (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Social Sciences, Interdiciplinary Social Science);
• Ester Driel (Social and Behavioral Sciences, Social Sciences, Interdiciplinary Social Science);
• Sarah Anschütz (Geosciences, Human Geography and Spatial Planning, International Development Studies)