Immigrant-origin youth resilient strategies against social exclusion

From a gender approach, this research aims to contribute to the knowledge of immigrants’ sons and daughters from a different perspective, based on people’s resilience, topic that has little studied in Spain. We believe that identifying their strengths is a way of recognizing them as subjects with agency, with capacity for transformation and, at the same time, it can be a tool to achieve more holistic social intervention processes. This is a project with an applied orientation, from a multidisciplinary approach (anthropology, communication and social work) and contrary to the risk paradigm frequently used.

The main objective of the project is to identify and analyze the resilience developed by immigrant-origin youth living in Catalonia to face situations and processes of social exclusion

We seek to learn from their coping process for promoting and adapt it within intervention projects and/or programs with those currently living similar experiences.

The study will be carried out in Catalonia. Participants will be immigrant-origin youth and social intervention professionals working with young people of immigrant origin.

The research techniques selected to collect information will be life stories, discussion groups/participatory workshops and the analysis of the discourses of their social networks. In addition, interviews will be carried out with  professionals working in social intervention projects and/or programs addressed to youngsters from immigrant families.