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Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR)

YPAR Overview

Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a core component of For Youth, By Youth’s growing global movement. YPAR redefines traditional academic research by making community members co-creators, not just subjects. YPAR is hands-on, justice-driven, and rooted in real-world impact. It values local knowledge, cross-cultural understanding, and advances inclusive knowledge production.  For Youth, By Youth YPAR Working Group members will develop a shared understanding of YPAR, its foundational principles and applications, gain a collective understanding of its supporters and critics, and craft a vision for its radical expansion throughout higher education internationally.

 

Fall 2025 Global YPAR Webinar Series

The three-part series is designed to inspire students, university leaders, funders, and other partners to embrace Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) as a powerful and transformative research method. The webinars will be held on in October on Fridays from 9:00–10:30 AM (ET). Please find additional details and registration links below:

  • Youth Power and Participatory Research | October 10th – the opening session is a call to recognize youth not as future leaders, but as present-day change agents and researchers. Through compelling stories from climate-impacted regions, young leaders will share how YPAR enables them to investigate the environmental injustices in their communities and take collective action. This session celebrates youth wisdom and centers lived experience and makes the case for YPAR as essential to advancing climate justice. The opening panel will feature the following speakers to share their reflections and expertise: Dr. Fadia Nordtveit (Founder, BGreen Project, Professor, NYU Stern School of Business), Mahugnon Samuel Ahossouhe (Next Generation Leader Alumnus, Climate Impact Fellow, and Ph.D Candidate, Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement), Claire McCann (Next Generation Leader Alumnus, and Phd Candidate, University of Oxford), Miguel Angel Castañeda Barahona (Researcher and Activist from Colombia, Alumnus of the Bard Center for Human Rights and the Arts). View a recording of the October 10th session.
  • Research for Climate Justice in Action | October 17th – the second session explores how Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is being used to advance climate justice. The discussion will be centered on what becomes possible when youths are trusted as co-creators of climate solutions. We will focus on research design and methodology, as well as the challenges, and breakthroughs of the collaborative work. This session offers a living example of what’s possible when universities trust, resource, and uplift youth leadership in the climate space. The panel will feature the following university and community leaders: Dr. Nuhad Yazbik Dumit (Associate Professor of Nursing and Founding Director of SAIL for Change Cluster, American University of Beirut (AUB)), Aminah Nassali (President, Uganda Youth Coalition for SDGs), Elizabeth Rwabu (Inclusion and Support Services Officer, Mastercard Foundation at Makerere University), and Denis Ouma (Master's Student, University of Sussex and Disability Inclusion Consultant). View a recording of the October 17th session.
  • Investing in Youth Research for Climate Justice | October 24th – the final session is a bold call to action for funders and institutions: if we are serious about equity, climate action, and sustainability, we must invest in youth-led, community-rooted research. This session elevates the voices of funders who are backing YPAR, along with youth researchers who have turned small grants into big impact. During the session, we will hear presentations on climate and environment-focused YPAR projects from For Youth, By Youth inaugural cohort members: Nyingilayefa Gift Ernest (University of Edinburgh), Deng Parmena Kuol (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Adil Kome (University of Edinburgh), Maureen Wangui (University of Cape Town) and Cindy Wanyika Kilonzo (Ashesi University). View a recording of the October 24th session.

This series is co-hosted by the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities and paNhari, presented in partnership with Tufts University's Tisch College of Civic Life, and Department of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning.

Let’s shape the future—together.

Additional For Youth, By Youth YPAR Resources