Dynamics of Youth is one of Utrecht University’s four strategic themes.

Dynamics of Youth combines excellent child research from all seven UU-faculties. Researchers from different disciplines integrate their expertise to answer crucial questions for future generations. Utrecht University is a pioneer when it comes to interdisciplinary cooperation.

Our Youth, Our Future

Rapidly evolving and unprecedented global challenges –  COVID-19, digitalization, diversity, climate change – shape our youth and youth development in important ways. For some, they offer opportunities to thrive and realize their potential. For others, they curtail the promise of youth by widening social inequalities and exacerbating adversity. Thereby, these challenges raise the stakes for improving youth health and wellbeing, increasing inclusiveness, and reducing social inequalities.

“We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future.”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

From conception to young adulthood, the world and society that youth grow up in affords extraordinary opportunity for learning and exploration and for laying a strong foundation for a successful, happy, and healthy life. How youth develop and navigate developmental periods is critical for both their own future and for the progress of the social and physical world we live in.

Young people are the future problem solvers for challenges that we cannot yet appreciate or even foresee. They are the key contributors to future workforces, and, as many will become parents, to the healthy development and well-being of the next generation as well. Put differently, our youth is our future. To build youth opportunity for the future, we have identified four thematic communities that are essential for youth to navigate the world, for opportunities to be equitable and high quality, and for looking at the full continuum of development, from conception to emerging adulthood.

Core values

Trustworthiness, independence, rigor, impact, interdisciplinarity, participation, inclusivity, sustainability.

Investing in the future

In dealing with social problems, you need to start with the children. Dynamics of Youth is about working together in order to better understand child development. It’s about how people become who they are, and why they do what they do. Children growing up today will eventually shape our world in the near future, so we are investing in the future. But children are also a vulnerable group, and we as a society must ensure that they can grow up healthy in mind and body. 

Interdisciplinary cooperation

Dynamics of Youth combines excellent child research from all seven faculties. Researchers from different disciplines integrate their expertise to answer crucial questions for future generations. Utrecht University is a pioneer when it comes to interdisciplinary cooperation.

Recognition and Rewards

Thanks to the  support of many—researchers, support staff, consultants, and other people alike—the Dynamics of Youth journey has enabled us to achieve things we could never have done alone. It is hard to describe and define this contribution, but it makes all the difference in the world to us.

The DoY Sunshine in your pocket is a way of recognizing and rewarding this contribution and literally putting it in your pocket. It also allows us to pay it forward.

Thus, we hope that the recipients remember the positive affirmation for a time when they may need a boost of confidence or a reminder of their worth.

Nomination proces

To start, a member of the DoY team will identify one person who has made a difference in their working life over the last few months. This person will receive the DoY sunshine in your pocket token along with a card explaining the reasons for their nomination. Then the next steps are simple, to continue the ripple effect:

1. The first recipient identifies the next recipient within four weeks. This is a person who has made a difference in their working life. This person can be anyone, but should be someone from the UU/UMCU.
2. The first recipient then contacts the DoY office via DoY-Secr@uu.nl and briefly describes the reasons why the next recipient made a difference to them. The first recipient then collect the DoY sunshine in your pocket token and a DoY card to accompany the token and hand over the token to their recipient. 
3. Then the process begins again.
4. Note that recipients really can be anybody working at UU/UMCU, they don’t have to be associated with Dynamics of Youth. The token and card, however, need to be gathered at the DoY office.

We hope that the DoY sunshine in your pocket not only inspires people but also provides us with information about the things that people do that make a difference, but are not typically recognized nor rewarded.

For more information, please contact DoY-Secr@uu.nl