Abstract
This paper is a memoir of our experiences with Youth Taking Action (YTA), a YPAR program that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. YTA, a collaborative effort organized by a non-profit based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, provided a space for 6 newcomer youths and 4 immigrant adults to engage in active dialogue. Through these conversations, we explored stories of immigration and settlement, identified barriers that limit opportunities for young newcomers and discussed possible actions to address these issues. The youth also learned documentary filmmaking techniques, which helped them collect data and generate more dialogue. This process revealed that linguistic racism and inadequate institutional support are the primary challenges faced by newcomers. As a result, the youth participants speculated on ways to organize and create a collective voice to advocate for future young people arriving in Canada.
Author Biography
Natacha Monestel Mora
Natacha Monestel Mora is a PhD candidate and lecturer at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia. She is a Latin American mestiza who immigrated to Canada to expand her knowledge in human development, learning, and culture. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she first completed her studies in psychology and human rights in that country. Natacha’s inquiry lies in working with young people from BIPOC communities and exploring how they imagine socially just futures through participatory methods in informal learning contexts. Her teaching and research are centered around the development and understanding of art-based, anti-racist, decolonial, queer, feminist, and Indigenous methodologies for enacting social change.
Julia Iriarte
Julia Iriarte went to film school at the Fundacion Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires (UBC), Argentina, and specialized in film direction. She soon began working in international feature films and commercials as an assistant director. After earning a multimedia diploma at UBC, she worked as an editor and assistant editor while she also directing her own independent films. Based in Vancouver, she is currently producing and editing marketing and social media videos for several companies and non-profit organizations.
Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur
Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur is professor of Human Development, Learning and Culture at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Vadeboncoeur’s scholarship includes international research with young people and educators in alternative programs; examinations of the relation between knowing, becoming, and valuing in learning; the role of moral imagining in imaginative play and student-teacher relationships; and young people’s relations with nature. Her current research examines place-making both inside and outside of secondary schools utilizing walking methodologies and digital storying. Dr. Vadeboncoeur’s work highlights the important role of young people as co-educators in post-secondary courses and the value of community-based research.
Sediqa Temori
Sediqa Temori is a counselor psychologist working with refugees in the non-profit sector. She came to Canada a few years ago, fleeing the Afghanistan war. She holds a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tehran and was a university instructor in her home country. She plans to continue her studies by enrolling in a PhD program related to her current practice and previous studies.
Mathias Abraha
Mathias Abraha is originally from Eritrea. He immigrated to Canada in search of a peaceful life and opportunities that were unavailable to him in his home country due to armed conflict. Currently, he is a full-time worker and a part-time student. He aspires to pursue a career as either an actor or an engineer.
Recommended Citation
Monestel Mora, N.,
Iriarte, J.,
Vadeboncoeur, J. A.,
Temori, S.,
&
Abraha, M.
(2025).
Social imagining in “youth taking action:” documenting immigrating and settling through a hybrid youth participatory action research project.
Occasional Paper Series,
(53).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1548
Included in
Art Education Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, Film Production Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Other Education Commons
