Daniela Cocco Beltrame Launches Critical Youth Movement Research with SEED Social Responsibility Catalyst Funding
Daniela Cocco Beltrame, a PhD researcher in the Global Development Institute, is spearheading a pivotal research initiative focused on empowering African youth within urban social movements with the SEED Social Responsibility Catalyst Fund.
The African Youth and Intergenerational Movement Building project took place from January to May 2024.
It partnered with Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and its affiliate 鈥� Muungano Wa Wanavijiji in Kenya and the Zimbabwe Homeless People Federation and Dialogue on Shelter in Zimbabwe 鈥� to investigate the dynamics between youth and intergenerational leaders in these movements, adopting a participatory action research (PAR) approach.
What was the motivation behind your project and how did the SEED SR Catalyst Fund support your research?
[Beltrame] The SEED SR Catalyst Funding I received this year was instrumental to carry out much-needed preparatory work for the 鈥淎frican youth and intergenerational movement building鈥� project.
This is an exploration of youth and inter-generational dynamics within urban social movements in Africa, in collaboration with the global network of Slum Dwellers International (SDI). Through a participatory action research (PAR) process involving co-researchers in Nairobi, Kenya, and Harare, Zimbabwe, we will co-produce knowledge that can inform and enhance the agency of these movements, and of African youth therein.
Stemming from an epistemic justice perspective that values multiple types of knowledge beyond academia, this deep collaboration 鈥� including joint design of research questions, methods, analysis of findings, and validating results with broader communities 鈥� is central to the process.
Through the generous support of the SR Catalyst Fund, I was able to conduct collaborative meetings to develop, review and finalise the selection criteria for our community-based PAR co-researchers, as well as the identification of a pool of candidates from which the final group of co-researchers for each country will be selected. The goal of the project is to co-create an intergenerational action plan for the broader SDI network.
What does Social Responsibility mean to you in your teaching, research or working in SEED?
[Beltrame] Social Responsibility in the context of my PhD project within SEED and GDI, means conscious, reflective, and sustainable engagement with communities who represent non- and counter-hegemonic forms of knowledge production. It means honouring my commitment with epistemic justice and decolonization of research by supporting collaborative examination of the elements that hinder or support people and communities鈥� full participation in decision-making. This is a key underpinning of my work, as I believe the best solutions stem from collectively identified challenges.
Beth Chitekwe-Biti, SDI Director, comments:
[Beltrame鈥檚] approach to this research included the preliminary work she conducted, to check what youth in the movement as well as the broader movement see as priorities for young people, respecting the history, experiences, and knowledge that exists within the network and ensuring that the design of the research aims is informed by this, is methodological innovative and will ensure a collaborative process that values the knowledge that exists, while bringing in new insights which will hopefully benefit our continued work with youth in the network.
The goal of this initiative is to co-create an intergenerational action plan for the broader SDI network, enhancing the agency of African youth in shaping their communities. This project is closely aligned with Beltrame's broader teaching and research goals at the university, where she emphasizes social responsibility and the decolonization of knowledge.
For more information on the project and its partners, please visit the following links: , , .