Research project LGBTI+ youth well-being across Europe: Imagined futures in turbulent timesv
In a context of political backlash, climate crisis, and economic instability, LGBTQI+ young people are coming of age - navigating and plan for their futures, despite persistent inequalities in wellbeing. This cross-national European research project is exploring how queer youth navigate these multiple forms of crisis, build resilience, and envision collective futures.
Photo: Mircea Iancu / Pixabay
Despite progressive moves towards rights and equality, societal stigmatisation and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex (LGBTQI) people persists across Europe. Many young LGBTQI+ people across Europe are growing up in a period of profound turbulence and crises, for example, the pandemic, growing economic insecurity, and the rise of populist anti-LGBTQ+ / anti-gender political movements. This study explores how young adults understand their lives and navigate their futures in an era of multiple forms of crisis and uncertainty.
Creative participatory methods will produce in-depth data about what LGBTQI+ youth think, and feel, about their lives and imagined futures. The project will let LGBTQI+ young adults define what wellbeing means to them, and will open-up space for them to construct collective visions for a future in which their wellbeing can be enhanced. A key objective is to identify how policy makers can best tackle inequalities in LGBTQI+ wellbeing by learning from the innovative strategies and visions developed by young LGBTQI+ people themselves.
The researchers are collaborating with organizations within the LGBTQI+ community at the national and European levels.