Indigenous development alternatives: An urban youth perspective from Bolivia
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Urban Studies and Planning
Abstract
Indigenous peoples are often portrayed as living in isolated rural areas and pristine natural settings. Yet, throughout the world, indigenous peoples are increasingly affected by urbanization. Indigenous peoples either move from the countryside to cities or their rural lands are transformed by urban expansion. 40 percent of the world's indigenous population lived in urban areas in 2010, with numbers set to rise to more than 60 percent by 2020. More than half of the world's urban indigenous population can be classified as young people, ranging between ages 16 and 25.
Within urban areas, indigenous youth are often trapped in poverty, confronted by discrimination and excluded from employment and education opportunities. They are also excluded from indigenous rights movements, which predominantly focus on rural areas. Urban indigenous youths, therefore, represent the marginalized among an already historically marginalized group.
And yet, indigenous youths are not passive victims. They confront problems of exclusion and marginalization in their everyday political struggles. Little is known, however, on whether urban youth activism promotes indigenous development alternatives, defined here as knowledge and practices that break intra-/ inter-ethnic inequalities and provide ideas for more sustainable urban futures.
This project addresses this gap through examining the dynamic interactions of urbanization, youth activism and indigenous development alternatives. It explores the driving forces contributing to the urbanization of indigenous peoples, with particular emphasis on youth; describes the lived realities of indigenous youth living in distinct urban settings; investigates indigenous development alternatives put forward by activist youth groups; and assesses the extent to which practitioners address and integrate the interests, needs and priorities of indigenous youth into policy and planning interventions.
The project focuses on Bolivia, a country with a particularly large and diverse indigenous population which is predominantly young and urban. The PI has worked over the last five years with indigenous communities in this country and established trustful relationships with indigenous youth groups and support organisations. Building on existing partnerships, the project develops a new tradition of youth participatory action research which involves indigenous youth in all stages of the research, following primarily their interests and priorities.
The project focuses on four case studies within Bolivia which represent different urban settings, including the cities of El Alto and Santa Cruz, peri-urban neighbourhoods in Sucre, and the urbanizing Amazon region. It also investigates different yet interconnected examples of youth activism which seek to promote pathways for indigenous development alternatives centring around a variety of topics, including:
- indigenous identity and organisational change;
- anti-displacement struggles;
- gender equality;
- land management, housing, governance and sustainable business models.
Taken together, the case studies capture the complexity and diversity of indigenous development alternatives put forward by youth activists. Through national, regional and global knowledge exchanges, findings will be shared with indigenous youth and relevant stakeholder groups. Findings will also be positioned within wider academic and policy debates on the urbanisation of indigenous peoples and their territories.
The research will disrupt rural and essential images of indigenous development through an urban youth perspective. By focusing on indigenous development alternatives, the project intends to highlight pathways for the promotion of more inclusive and just urban societies in which no indigenous person, independent of age, gender or location of residence, is left behind. The project thereby addresses key development priorities outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Within urban areas, indigenous youth are often trapped in poverty, confronted by discrimination and excluded from employment and education opportunities. They are also excluded from indigenous rights movements, which predominantly focus on rural areas. Urban indigenous youths, therefore, represent the marginalized among an already historically marginalized group.
And yet, indigenous youths are not passive victims. They confront problems of exclusion and marginalization in their everyday political struggles. Little is known, however, on whether urban youth activism promotes indigenous development alternatives, defined here as knowledge and practices that break intra-/ inter-ethnic inequalities and provide ideas for more sustainable urban futures.
This project addresses this gap through examining the dynamic interactions of urbanization, youth activism and indigenous development alternatives. It explores the driving forces contributing to the urbanization of indigenous peoples, with particular emphasis on youth; describes the lived realities of indigenous youth living in distinct urban settings; investigates indigenous development alternatives put forward by activist youth groups; and assesses the extent to which practitioners address and integrate the interests, needs and priorities of indigenous youth into policy and planning interventions.
The project focuses on Bolivia, a country with a particularly large and diverse indigenous population which is predominantly young and urban. The PI has worked over the last five years with indigenous communities in this country and established trustful relationships with indigenous youth groups and support organisations. Building on existing partnerships, the project develops a new tradition of youth participatory action research which involves indigenous youth in all stages of the research, following primarily their interests and priorities.
The project focuses on four case studies within Bolivia which represent different urban settings, including the cities of El Alto and Santa Cruz, peri-urban neighbourhoods in Sucre, and the urbanizing Amazon region. It also investigates different yet interconnected examples of youth activism which seek to promote pathways for indigenous development alternatives centring around a variety of topics, including:
- indigenous identity and organisational change;
- anti-displacement struggles;
- gender equality;
- land management, housing, governance and sustainable business models.
Taken together, the case studies capture the complexity and diversity of indigenous development alternatives put forward by youth activists. Through national, regional and global knowledge exchanges, findings will be shared with indigenous youth and relevant stakeholder groups. Findings will also be positioned within wider academic and policy debates on the urbanisation of indigenous peoples and their territories.
The research will disrupt rural and essential images of indigenous development through an urban youth perspective. By focusing on indigenous development alternatives, the project intends to highlight pathways for the promotion of more inclusive and just urban societies in which no indigenous person, independent of age, gender or location of residence, is left behind. The project thereby addresses key development priorities outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit?
The research benefits urban indigenous youth from Bolivia and elsewhere as well as stakeholders involved in promoting indigenous development through policy and planning interventions at the local, national, regional and global level. It will also be of interest to the wider public.
What will be the benefits from this research?
This can be summarized through four impact objectives (IOs):
1. Build research capacities of indigenous youth from the four case studies in Bolivia.
2. Raise public awareness of the specific interests, demands and needs and associated development priorities of urban indigenous youth.
3. Secure the commitment of relevant stakeholder groups to engage with indigenous development alternatives promoted by urban youth.
4. Influence key local, national, regional and global policy makers to undertake policies and planning interventions in a way that these are sensitive to the interests and needs of urban indigenous youth.
How will the project target key beneficiaries?
1. An international advisory group (IAG) will be set up comprised of practitioners and academics with expertise on urban indigenous youth. The IAG will be used to ensure that core beneficiaries have input into the research at every stage, from identifying relevant academic and policy literatures to assisting in the organisation of knowledge exchange events (IOs 1, 2, 3, 4).
2. Indigenous youth from the four case studies in Bolivia will be involved in all stages of the research and come together in national knowledge exchange workshops around methods design, participatory analysis, dissemination and impact generation, thereby providing a platform for collective learning and for collaboratively defining research and policy priorities (IOs 1, 3).
3. Indigenous youth representatives from the four case study settings will serve as "impact champions" and share their work with indigenous youth from other parts of the world as part of a global youth exchange prior to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York in 2020. This will provide the opportunity for knowledge exchanges on indigenous development alternatives with urban youth from other local, national, and regional settings. It will also open a platform for dialogue on possible future global youth collaborations (IOs 1, 3).
4. The establishment of an indigenous youth digital hub which will showcase synthesised findings from the participatory research in Spanish and English, through blog posts, photo galleries and video blogs presented in accessible language that appeals youth engagement. Anyone can visit the hub and post comments/ engage in web discussions. As such, the hub provides a space for indigenous youth and interested stakeholders to engage in collective learning and cultivate their own (digital/ personal) networks (IOs 1, 2, 3, 4).
5. Impact workshops in form of a dedicated session on indigenous development alternatives and youth at the 2020 UNPFII and a policy workshop organised by PI and PDRA in La Paz. These will bring together government authorities as well as representatives from NGOs, regional and global development organisations alongside indigenous youth representatives to identify strategies to promote indigenous development alternatives and raise awareness of interests and needs of indigenous youths (IOs 3, 4).
6. Draft of a policy manual (available in English and Spanish) directly targeted to local, national, regional and global organisations involved in the promotion of indigenous development (IOs 3, 4).
7. In order to engage students (potential practitioners of the future), findings from the research will be incorporated into UG/ PG teaching at Sheffield and shared with colleagues at other research institutions and universities (IOs 2, 3).
8. Digital/ print media presence through project twitter account, participation in radio/ TV debates in Bolivia, and publication of blogs/ newspaper articles (IO 2)
The research benefits urban indigenous youth from Bolivia and elsewhere as well as stakeholders involved in promoting indigenous development through policy and planning interventions at the local, national, regional and global level. It will also be of interest to the wider public.
What will be the benefits from this research?
This can be summarized through four impact objectives (IOs):
1. Build research capacities of indigenous youth from the four case studies in Bolivia.
2. Raise public awareness of the specific interests, demands and needs and associated development priorities of urban indigenous youth.
3. Secure the commitment of relevant stakeholder groups to engage with indigenous development alternatives promoted by urban youth.
4. Influence key local, national, regional and global policy makers to undertake policies and planning interventions in a way that these are sensitive to the interests and needs of urban indigenous youth.
How will the project target key beneficiaries?
1. An international advisory group (IAG) will be set up comprised of practitioners and academics with expertise on urban indigenous youth. The IAG will be used to ensure that core beneficiaries have input into the research at every stage, from identifying relevant academic and policy literatures to assisting in the organisation of knowledge exchange events (IOs 1, 2, 3, 4).
2. Indigenous youth from the four case studies in Bolivia will be involved in all stages of the research and come together in national knowledge exchange workshops around methods design, participatory analysis, dissemination and impact generation, thereby providing a platform for collective learning and for collaboratively defining research and policy priorities (IOs 1, 3).
3. Indigenous youth representatives from the four case study settings will serve as "impact champions" and share their work with indigenous youth from other parts of the world as part of a global youth exchange prior to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York in 2020. This will provide the opportunity for knowledge exchanges on indigenous development alternatives with urban youth from other local, national, and regional settings. It will also open a platform for dialogue on possible future global youth collaborations (IOs 1, 3).
4. The establishment of an indigenous youth digital hub which will showcase synthesised findings from the participatory research in Spanish and English, through blog posts, photo galleries and video blogs presented in accessible language that appeals youth engagement. Anyone can visit the hub and post comments/ engage in web discussions. As such, the hub provides a space for indigenous youth and interested stakeholders to engage in collective learning and cultivate their own (digital/ personal) networks (IOs 1, 2, 3, 4).
5. Impact workshops in form of a dedicated session on indigenous development alternatives and youth at the 2020 UNPFII and a policy workshop organised by PI and PDRA in La Paz. These will bring together government authorities as well as representatives from NGOs, regional and global development organisations alongside indigenous youth representatives to identify strategies to promote indigenous development alternatives and raise awareness of interests and needs of indigenous youths (IOs 3, 4).
6. Draft of a policy manual (available in English and Spanish) directly targeted to local, national, regional and global organisations involved in the promotion of indigenous development (IOs 3, 4).
7. In order to engage students (potential practitioners of the future), findings from the research will be incorporated into UG/ PG teaching at Sheffield and shared with colleagues at other research institutions and universities (IOs 2, 3).
8. Digital/ print media presence through project twitter account, participation in radio/ TV debates in Bolivia, and publication of blogs/ newspaper articles (IO 2)
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Philipp Horn (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Horn P
(2023)
Achieving co-presence when together and apart: Hybrid engagements and multi-modal collaborative research with urban indigenous youth
in Qualitative Research
Horn P
(2021)
Diverse Articulations of Urban Indigeneity among Lowland Indigenous Groups in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
in Bulletin of Latin American Research
| Title | Las Raíces Adelante (The Roots Ahead) |
| Description | This film represents the final case study output with the El Alto youth group forming part of the project "Indigenous development alternatives: An urban youth perspective from Bolivia". A brief synopsis is provided here: Situated above 4,000 meters, El Alto is Bolivia's fastest-growing city and one of the world's highest urban conglomerations. Its population is predominantly indigenous and young. El Alto's indigenous youth confront racism, discrimination, and a lack of socio-economic opportunities. And yet, they are not passive victims but actively fight to achieve their dreams. In the film "Roots Ahead", four young female Aymara directors embark on a lo-fi smartphone filming journey through El Alto to share their own stories and explore how other youths are navigating the urban landscape. The film traces how Aymara youths creatively combine ancestral traditions with urban street culture to redefine the city from an indigenous perspective. It is the result of a collaborative docufiction project undertaken during the pandemic in which the four young directors, supported by producers, editors and researchers from Bolivia and the UK, captured their problems and visions for the future. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | To date, we have used this documentary film to foster public debate around indigenous youth visions and multilocal lives through film screening events in November 2022 in El Alto, Bolivia (two screenings: one the Public University of El Alto, one at the youth theatre "Trono"), Pucon, Chile (as part of a indigenous knowledge exchange festival) and Concepcion, Chile (at the Universidad de Concepcion). |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/797740545 |
| Description | This project is generating new knowledge on the dynamic interactions of urbanisation, youth activism and development alternatives, with specific focus on Bolivia. Currently in the final phase, the project has by now met its different objectives and a summary of core findings and progress is provided below. A review was undertaken on indigenous urbanisation trends with a specific focus on Bolivia, outlining different driving forces that contribute to indigenous urbanisation, reasons explaining rural-to-urban migration, and related challenges and opportunities for Indigenous youths. A key finding from the four case studies is that Indigenous youths lead multi-local lives saddling urban and rural areas and engage in multiple socio-economic activities to make a living. Initial findings have already been published in an article (focusing on the Santa Cruz case) in the journal Bulletin of Latin American Research. In March 2022, we were awarded additional ESRC IAA funding to conduct impact-related work around the topic of multilocality to shape policy debates around Bolivia's census (see also Narrative Impact). Our project team is currently busy in finalising a journal article on the topic of multi-locality/ multi-activity due for submission in April 2023. We have developed an innovative comparative research design based on youth participatory action research that involves Indigenous youths in all parts of the research process, foregrounding their interests, needs and priorities. With our project occurring during a global pandemic, and with physical co-presence partially constrained by travel bans and lockdowns, we found creative ways to engage with each other through a hybrid approach. We adopted multiple methods to achieve this, shifting between virtual engagements (fortnightly workshops and virtual laboratories with youth co-investigators in each case study) and face-to-face activities (workshops with each case study group and fieldwork activities). Responding to the demands of our youth co-researchers, we prioritised visual methods such as film and photography to generate a sense of connectedness and belonging in the pandemic context in which co-presence was difficult. We have submitted a journal article that outlines our collaborative methodology with Indigenous youths in the context of the pandemic. We have also submitted another article on the potential of film as indigenous planning tool and output capable of capturing indigenous development alternatives and future visions. We have collaboratively identified research priorities and a research process protocol with our youth co-researchers, refining case study themes, methods of data collection and analysis as well as final outputs. All this is summarised in detail on our project website - https://www.alter-nativas.net/ (see "equipos" section for case study summary and "noticias" section for updates on research activities). See below for a brief narrative summary for each case study: El Alto: We are working with four youth co-researchers on the topic "Visions of Indigenous youth in a context of multiple crisis" to explore how young Aymara residents articulate alternatives to urban development in a context of political and economic crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. The team has completed the production of a documentary film on the topic which includes insights from 15 in-depth semi-structured video interviews, participatory filming activities (dozens of B-Rolls of El Alto as well as scenes involving spontaneous interviews on youth problems in El Alto), practitioner interviews, and photo elicitation to trace personal developments (from childhood to adulthood) as well as urban historical change. Santa Cruz: We are working with five youth co-researchers on the topic of the history of female indigenous activism in this city, focusing on underreported obstacles (e.g., sexual violence, discrimination, overwork) that women face in these activities. Our team conducted fourteen in-depth oral history interviews with current and former female leaders, tracing their trajectories from childhood to present. This was complemented by participatory photography activities that capture women leadership as well as participatory focus group discussions between our co-researchers (themselves female youth leaders). The team is currently finalising a book (in production), accompanied by a photo illustration, which will synthesise their work. Peri-urban Sucre (Qhara Qhara Nation): We are working with six youth co-researchers on the role of young people in territorial struggles of their Indigenous nation. Our team conducted twenty-one in-depth semi-structured interviews, organised a participatory workshop on youth activism bringing together more than fifty youths from Sucre and nearby rural communities, and undertook archival research on youth struggles. With this group, we have finalised a multi-media representation that displays their research findings. Urbanizing Amazon (Mancomunidad): We are working with a group of six youth co-researchers on the topic of "Revitalising indigenous identity in a context of rural-to-urban migration." Virtual interactions with this group have been limited due to internet connection problems in remote areas in Bolivia's Amazon region. We have worked intensively with this group as part of a week-long face-to-face workshop in November 2021, conducting site visits to different remote Indigenous communities, 24 video semi-structured interviews, and participatory action research exercises (e.g., timelines, problem trees, personal history maps). In 2022, we continued working virtually and through additional face-to-face interactions. With this group, we have finalised a multi-media representation that displays their research findings. We arranged a feedback workshop with indigenous authorities from the Mancomunidad in December 2022 and the multi-media representation is now "live" online. Indigenous youth co-researchers (reimbursed for their time and intellectual contribution to the project) belonging to different case studies received support from a coordination team comprised of PI Dr Philipp Horn, Sheffield-based PDRA Dr Olivia Casagrande, Bolivia-based RA Windsor Torrico, and IIADI staff Carlos Revilla and Katherine Illanes. This project coordination team continues to meet on a weekly basis through virtual meetings. All case study youth co-researchers as well as PI Horn and the Bolivia-based coordination team came together in December 2021 for an intercultural learning exchange to discuss and analyse initial findings and future activities. In November 2022 we ran a second national team workshop to present, discuss and compare draft outputs from each case study. This was followed by an international policy workshop focusing on the comparative findings around multilocality involving all Indigenous co-researchers (see also Narrative Impact). The project team has presented findings from the project as well as our innovative methodology as part of invited talks and international seminars in La Paz (Bolivia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Medellin (Colombia), and Pucon, Concepcion and Santiago (Chile), and Sheffield (UK). We also organised a virtual international workshop on collaborative research with Indigenous peoples (more details and links to talk recordings available on Researchfish and project website). Regarding international conferences, we presented results from our project at the Development Studies Association Conference in London (2022), the Royal Geography Society Conference in Newcastle (2022), the Society of Latin American Studies Conference in Bath (2022), and the European Association of Social Anthropologists Conference in Belfast (2022). The project led to a strengthened collaboration between the University of Sheffield and IIADI. The award is still active until April 2023, and we currently focus on the completion of the final case study output (book for Santa Cruz group). We are also preparing additional academic outputs, including journal articles and a book manuscript. |
| Exploitation Route | As well as academic researchers, the project findings will be of significant interest to urban Indigenous youth from Bolivia and elsewhere as well as stakeholders (e.g., government officials, NGO staff, and members of international organisations) involved in promoting indigenous development through policy and planning interventions at the local, national, regional, and global level. NGOs and policy makers in Bolivia involved might want to integrate our findings on multilocality and multiactivity into advocacy campaigns and lobbying initiatives around new indicator development for Bolivia's census (with the next one occurring in 2024) that, to date, only records a resident's location during survey collection. Indigenous youth co-researchers from the four case study settings will function as "impact champions" and share their work within their own communities as well as within wider local, national, and international networks in which they are involved to increase awareness of their specific problems and concerns. Local and national governments in Bolivia as well as international agencies such as the United Nations might use the findings to think about how to integrate youth needs and priorities into indigenous rights agendas. Academic researchers could build on the project findings in several ways, e.g., by deploying similar collaborative research methods that involve Indigenous youth in all stages of the research and in a blended (virtual/ face-to-face) and multi-modal (combining oral, visual, textual accounts) way. They could also further explore to what extent and how key trends noted for Indigenous youths in Bolivia are prevalent in other urban geo-political settings. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| URL | https://www.alter-nativas.net/ |
| Description | Overall, our project is guided by four impact objectives: (1) Build research capacities of Indigenous youth from the four case studies in Bolivia. (2) Raise public awareness of the specific interests, demands, and needs and associated development priorities of urban Indigenous youth. (3) Secure the commitment of relevant stakeholder groups to engage with indigenous development alternatives promoted by urban Indigenous youth. (4) Influence key local, national, regional, and global policy makers to undertake policies and planning interventions in a way that these are sensitive to the interests and needs of urban Indigenous youth. The following impacts can be reported: Regarding the first objective, we have strengthened the research capacities of more than twenty indigenous youth representatives who are collaborating with us as co-researchers in the project. They receive a bursary to compensate for their time and efforts. With each group of youth co-researchers from El Alto, Santa Cruz, Qhara Qhara and Mancomunidad we have collaboratively developed sub-projects and related outputs, all with a focus on generating wider societal impact around different topics: • strengthening the role of women within urban indigenous organisations in Santa Cruz (output: book/ photo exhibition - to be completed in April 2023) • foregrounding the role of Indigenous youth in territorial struggles for autonomy in Sucre (output: multimedia representation - completed) • foregrounding youth visions in a context of lack of economic opportunities and informality in El Alto (output: documentary film - completed) • Understanding youth mobility and identity reconfiguration in Bolivia's Amazon (output: multimedia representation - completed) Throughout the project, we have engaged youth co-researchers in several virtual and face-to-face workshops, allowing them to collaboratively draft and define research priorities, methods of data collection, and required outputs for each case study. To foster intercultural learning and knowledge exchanges, youth co-researchers from all case studies came together in December 2021 in Cochabamba and shared initial research findings, defined further research needs, and prepared initial strategies for dissemination and engagement. Throughout 2022, we have worked with youth co-researchers to analyse their research findings and produce final research outputs. We presented, evaluated, and compared draft research outputs with co-researchers from all case studies as part of another intercultural learning and knowledge exchange that took place in November 2022 in La Paz. So far, the film and the two multimedia representations have been completed and we include them as outputs in this report. The book (output developed with Santa Cruz group) is currently in production and likely to be published in April 2023. In regards to the second impact objective, we have co-designed a project website (now live: https://www.alter-nativas.net/) with youth co-researchers where we display synthesized findings in Spanish. This website provides a space for Indigenous youths and the public to engage in collective learning. We have already screened the documentary film (co-produced with the El Alto team) in El Alto (Public University of El Alto and youth theatre Trono - both events occurred in November 2022), and Pucon and Concepcion in Chile (also in November 2022). We also undertook a feedback and evaluation event around the multi-media representation co-produced with co-researchers from the Mancomunidad in Rurrenabaque in December 2022. As part of this event, indigenous authorities from Bolivia's Amazon region provided feedback on the contents of the multimedia. Regarding the third impact objective, our international workshop "At border crossings: Dialogues on Collaborative Research in Indigenous Territories in Latin America" in November and December 2022 brought together a wide group of researchers who engage in research activities with and not simply about Indigenous peoples, and particularly Indigenous youths. It created a unique opportunity for stakeholders from across Latin America, the US, and the UK to discuss these issues, along with Indigenous youth representatives who participated in projects led by research institutions. The discussions fed into a report on collaborative research with Indigenous peoples (https://www.alter-nativas.net/_files/ugd/26abae_338c4a754fb7478ba70512de27a08214.pdf) that was subsequently shared by workshop participants in their respective institutions to further inform best practice on the topic. Regarding the fourth impact objective, our written input about urban indigenous peoples in Bolivia was submitted to and published by United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner, Special Rapporteur on the rights for indigenous people (https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/SR/Urban-areas_Submissions/Indigenous_Organisations_Civil_Society/jovenes-indigenas-y-afroboliviano-de-santa-cruz.pdf). It informed the 76th report by the Special Rapporteur to the United Nations General Assembly In addition, between April and December 2022 we have undertaken further impact-related activities (linked to all impact objectives) around core research findings that connects all four case studies (El Alto, Santa Cruz, Qhara Qhara, and Mancomunidad). A summary is provided below: Indigenous youth - a growing majority in Bolivia - lead multi-local lives saddling urban and rural areas and engage in multiple socio-economic activities to make a living. Multi-locality and multi-activity are not captured in Bolivia's population census which only records a resident's location during survey collection, thereby making invisible patterns of continuous mobility. This has important implications for urban and regional planning as well as local governance as census results determine the allocation of resources and responsibilities for local authorities. With multilocality/ -activity ignored in the census and local governance remaining urban- or rural-centric, service provision and resource distribution does not correspond to Indigenous people's lived reality. In practice this means, for example, that youth cannot access education when away from the city to support agricultural activities in their rural communities of origin. This emerging research finding led us to apply for some additional ESRC IAA money (through the University of Sheffield) and to the implementation of a programme of impact-focused activities on the needs arising from the multi-locality and multi-activity of Indigenous youths: Activities to date have focused on systematising indigenous youth knowledge on multilocality and multiactivity (via 5 national youth exchange workshops - linked to impact objective 1); influencing policy makers involved in census preparation (due to take place in 2024) and urban and regional planning to consider multilocality in their day-to-day work (through a high profile international policy event involving local, national government and international agencies as well as Bolivian academia in November 2022 - linked to impact objectives 3&4); and fostering public debate around the topic through film screening events in El Alto and a TV interview in the Bolivian news channel RTP (linked to impact objective 2). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Input informing OHCR's Special Rapporteur's annual report to the UN General Assembly on the Situation of Indigenous Peoples living in Urban Areas |
| Geographic Reach | South America |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| URL | https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/SR/Urban-areas_Submissions/Indigenous_Organisations_... |
| Description | Training in research methods, ethics, data analysis, and output development |
| Geographic Reach | South America |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | As part of this research project, we sought to promote a collaborative methodological approach that foregrounds indigenous youth voices and priorities. Through training activities of indigenous co-researchers, this group was able to effectively conduct research on topics that matter for them. As part of final outputs, the youth co-investigators articulated possible solutions around territorial struggles (Qhara Qhara, Mancomunidad), gender inequality (Santa Cruz), and discrimination and socio-economic exclusion (El Alto). As part of public engagement events, the youth co-investigators shared their outputs and proposed solutions to foster public debate. |
| Description | Foregrounding the multi-local and multi-active lives of indigenous youth in Bolivia |
| Amount | £6,901 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 176474 (internal reference number at Sheffield) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2022 |
| End | 12/2022 |
| Description | Approaches, experiences and reflections on collaborative research with urban indigenous peoples in (post) pandemic times |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk delivered by Philipp Horn at "1° JORNADAS CEUR - 60 ANIVERSARIO" organised by the Centro de Estudios Urbanos y Regionales (CEUR) of Argentina's National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). PI Philipp Horn shared lessons learnt from conducting collaborative participatory research with urban indigenous groups using a blended approach (i.e. combining virtual and face-to-face engagements). The target audience was a group of academics working on related topics from different Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador) who form part of the international research network Contested Territories (https://www.contested-territories.net/) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://kzbin.info/www/1-jornadas-ceur-panel-2-la-investigaci-n-social-en-contextos-cambiantes-repen... |
| Description | At border crossings: Dialogues on Collaborative Research in Indigenous Territories in Latin America |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project's postdoctoral research associate, Dr Olivia Casagrande, organised a two-day virtual workshop to deepen critical capacity and knowledge exchange around the preparation of ethical research protocols and the collaborative design and implementation of research projects which directly involve indigenous representatives in different rural and urban settings in Latin America. Participants included early-career to senior researchers as well as indigenous representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, the United Kingdom and the United States. We also counted on the participation from El Alto-based youth participants from our own project as well as on a Mapuche artist and theatre director based in Santiago, Chile. Part 1 of this workshop occurred on 18 November 2021. Here, participants discussed their own experience with collaborative research in relation to a photo they brought to the workshop. The workshop highlighted how each researcher implements a variety of approaches and methods; it also highlighted a series of tensions and common points of reflection. The second part of the workshop took place on 2 December 2021 and here our youth collaborators from El Alto "spoke back" to participating researchers, sharing their reflections of what it feels like to participate in collaborative research endeavours. The discussions from both workshops have been synthesised and published in a final project report (https://www.alter-nativas.net/_files/ugd/26abae_338c4a754fb7478ba70512de27a08214.pdf). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.alter-nativas.net/_files/ugd/26abae_338c4a754fb7478ba70512de27a08214.pdf |
| Description | Emerging Urban Spaces in Bolivia: Theoretical Entry Points Within and Beyond the Neo-Marxian Paradigm |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 26 June 2021, Philipp Horn delivered a guest lecture as part of the module "Urban Theory: The production of space" forming part of the Masters programme "Urban and Development Studies" in the Postgraduate Centre of Development Studies (CIDES) of the Universidad Mayor de San Andres (UMSA) in La Paz, Bolivia. The lecture, which focused on different conceptual entry points to make sense of indigenous urbanisation in Bolivia, was attended by 24 postgraduate students and sparked a discussion about policy and planning implications for addressing indigenous rights in urban settings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Encounters with Water |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | From 14 to 17 November, the PI and a youth co-researcher from El Alto were invited to attend and participate in the international workshop "Encounters with Water" which was attended by indigenous youth activists from Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador, social science academics and students, artists, and practitioners from across Latin America and Europe. The PI and co-researchers shared core project findings as part of an invited talk and they also screened the creative output (documentary film) "Las Raíces Adelante". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Indigenous territoriality beyond the artificial rural-urban divide: a multilocal perspective from Bolivia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk delivered by Philipp Horn as part of the the International Seminar "Decolonization of Urban Territories: Processes of State Colonization and Indigenous Resistance" organized by the Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Geography of the University of Concepción (Chile). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX5s6WSg7qo |
| Description | Invited talk providing overview of indigenous urbanisation dynamics in Bolivia, with focus specifically on land conflicts in indigenous territories affected by urbanisation. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk delivered by Philipp Horn as part of a seminar by the "Comunidad Urbano Territorial" in La Paz, Bolivia. Approximately 60 professionals from Bolivia-based NGOs, local government and universities as well as students from universities attended this talk (delivered by PI Philipp Horn), which generated a discussion on how to incorporate urban indigeneity into spatial planning procedures and metropolitan governance arrangements. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=606626347340504 |
| Description | National policy workshop on multilocality |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On Tuesday 22 November 2022 we organised a national policy forum involving policy stakeholders on the issue of multi-locality in the Vienna Restaurant in the city of La Paz. Participants included municipal authorities from La Paz, El Alto and Santa Cruz, departmental representatives from La Paz and representatives from civil society and international organisations such as UN Habitat. During the event our youth co-researchers shared their perspective on multi-locality with these actors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Project Youth Exchange Workshop - Evaluating the different outputs |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | From 20-21 November we held a workshop with all the youth co-researchers from El Alto, Santa Cruz, the Qhara Qhara nation and the Mancomunidad in La Paz. The aim of this workshop was to present the results of the project and discuss the comparative findings generated. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Project Youth Exchange Workshop - Indigenous Alternatives: Youth Perspectives from Urban Bolivia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This event took place the weekend of 13-14 December 2021 in Cochabamba (Bolivia) and was facilitated by the project's coordination team (PI Philipp Horn, PDRA Olivia Casagrande, IIADI staff Carlos Revilla and Katherine Illanes, Bolivia-based RA Windsor Torrico). Here, all of our project youth co-investigators from El Alto, Mancomunidad, Santa Cruz and the Qhara Qhara Nation came together to participate in a knowledge exchange, sharing advances around their mini-projects and reflecting on common challenges and opportunities. We organized a programme of interactive exercises that stimulated intercultural dialogue between the groups of young people. Activities included theatre workshops, role plays, collaborative graphic designs on youth visions and dreams, and creative writing workshops. A culminating moment was a cultural night where the members of each group shared some of their traditions, dances and typical dishes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.alter-nativas.net/copy-of-octubre-2021-1 |
| Description | Recurring virtual laboratories |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Since February 2021, our coordination team (PI Philipp Horn, PDRA Olivia Casagrande, IIADI staff Carlos Revilla and Katherine Illanes, and Bolivia-based RA Windsor Torrico) have been running fortnightly virtual workshops/ laboratories with our youth co-researchers from the four case studies. These workshops initially served in co-defining mini-projects that each team would implement for their case study. Subsequently, sessions focused on methods training (e.g., interviews, participatory filming, oral histories) and in-session implementation of specific techniques. Between August and December 2021, workshops took place in a blended format (combining virtual and face to face interactions). This approach was taken (a) to address problems around internet access for some case study groups (i.e., those based in more remote areas in Bolivia's Amazon region where internet access is absent/ weak) and (b) to accompany on the ground data collection activities. Since January 2022, sessions focus more on collaborative analysis and output production. In the "noticias" section of our project website we document what progress has been made in these virtual workshops/ laboratories. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://www.alter-nativas.net/contactos |
| Description | Roundtable discussion on multilocality |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 13 April, we presented our first reflections on multilocality in a webinar organised by IIADI, in which other Bolivian researchers working on this issue also participated. We positioned these discussions in relation to Bolivia's forthcoming population census. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://fb.watch/j5Otbm5szn/ |
| Description | TV interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | TV interview by the Bolivian news channel RTP at the end of the policy workshop on multilocality on 22 November 2023. Here, the PI reflects on the role of mobility and multilocal lives in Bolivia in the context of population growth and urbanisation trends in this country and globally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://fb.watch/j8leNTVZi_/ |
| Description | Urban alternatives: A perspective of indigenous youths in Bolivia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference paper by Philipp Horn, Olivia Casagrande, Carlos Revilla, Katherine Illanes and Windsor Torrico presented at the first Bolivian Congress of Urbanism (https://institutobolivianodeurbanismo.org/congreso-de-urbanismo/i-congreso-boliviano-de-urbanismo/) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4XgsD0ATuY |
| Description | Urban alternatives: an indigenous perspective in (post)pandemic times |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk delivered by Philipp Horn the international seminar "Local development planning in post-pandemic times: a view from the South" organised by the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Colombia (UPB) on 5 October 2021. The talk reflected on challenges of and planning alternatives promoted by urban indigenous peoples, particularly youths, in the post-pandemic context. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |