Politics, participation and the pandemic: Reflections on new democratic engagement and participatory inquiry growing-up under Covid

Decisions adults have made in managing the pandemic have significantly impacted upon children and young people in all spheres of their lives. Driven by a need to come to terms with the impacts of the pandemic, many children and young people have become attentive to the ways in which the crisis has been managed and, in turn, of wider social issues and events unfolding around them. In so doing, they have developed increased levels of interest in politics and current affairs, recognising their own roles as citizens and what they can do to make a difference. This paper draws on learning from the Growing-up Under Covid-19 Participatory Action Research project to reflect on some of the changing dynamics of youth participation during Covid-19 and lessons learned for future thinking and practice. The paper is situated within discourses of transformative approaches to participation and illustrates the value of information and awareness, personal learning and development and the creation of spaces for intergenerational dialogue and social learning as drivers of participation. The paper concludes with examples of ‘alternative’ community-based democratic participation modalities deemed more meaningful by young people.