Innovating to amplify the voices of young people from marginalized ethnic migrant backgrounds.

Abstract

The meaningful participation of young people from marginalized ethnic backgrounds in civic processes is central to the social cohesion of increasingly diverse liberal democracies, but their participation is compromised by a range of barriers resulting in decision-making that is disconnected from their lives. To address participation barriers, a group of young people from marginalized ethnic migrant backgrounds joined a team of researchers, social innovators, and community leaders to co-design and pilot an innovation to increase youth participation in policymaking. Delivered in phases over an 18-month period, the project followed an approach that combined social innovation and evaluation methods. The process revealed factors that help and hinder young people from marginalized ethnic backgrounds' genuine engagement in partnerships with adults. The project learnings informed principle-based guidelines for marginalized young people's civic engagement, which are offered to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers interested in inclusive youth participation.