Launching the Community and Looking Ahead

On 13 December 2022 we held a kick-off event for the Becoming Adults in a Changing World Community. Some 100 participants including youth, professionals, policy makers and researchers came together in Tivoli Utrecht to explore together some of the major questions facing youth.

Exchange across the boundaries between scientists, practitioners and youth was a defining feature of the event.

The table discussions provided an opportunity to start to scratch the surface of some key topics, with a clear desire amongst participants to delve further and deeper into these topics.

One group explored the challenges in transitioning to the world of work and some of the dilemmas youth experience.

We are grateful to all the participants who gave their time and energy to creating and participating in this space. Our aim was to lay the foundation for ongoing collaboration that can build on the existing strengths of the many scientists, policy makers, practitioners and young people themselves who are busy generating knowledge and experience in order to make a positive impact in the lives of youth.

What comes next?

We are busy following up on the opportunities and connections made, aiming to ensure we can tap into the rich experience and strengths within the university. In order to facilitate potential new collaborations in the coming months you can expect to see coffee dates and pop-up meetings.

We know that many research collaborations start from meeting someone else by chance, getting in touch, and working from there. The coffee dates aim to connect existing expertise in ways that could potentially facilitate research collaborations related to Becoming Adults-topics.  For researchers, this is a chance to meet another researcher with a potential match in expertise in an informal setting with no pressure on direct output in terms of actual research collaborations.  

The pop-up meetings will bring together a group of researchers, as an opportunity to interact with like-minded people around a Becoming Adults topic of shared interest. The group itself will determine what is the most useful way to proceed, whether it is to form a reading group, collaborate on grant applications, or pursue a joint project.