We believe that what you observe is in constant change, so to manifest new realities we can start by understanding our current ones.
We design and carry out participatory action research and collective and creative processes to understand and shape our current reality, co-develop new understandings and seek collective solutions.
Learn more about our work below.
We work with a range of partners including research institutes, think tanks, funders and Civil Society Organisations. We design and deliver participatory research processes and collective learning journeys.
We partnered with CIVICUS to carry out a landscape and trend analysis on resourcing youth-led groups and movement. The research ended with the creation of a Playbook that features 7 stories of young activists around the world accompanied by reflective exercises for donors and youth organizers.
We collaborated with FRIDA, The Young Feminist Fund, to run participatory research on how their support has impacted young feminist groups around the world. We visited 5 grantee partners across different regions where FRIDA provides support. Based on this research, we co-published ‘The Young Feminist Pluriverse’ – a narrative report (forthcoming).
Restless Development
We brought together 12 global youth co-researchers to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth civil society around the world, and identify the kind of resourcing and support needed to strengthen the youth response and recovery. By observing how youth civil society organisations respond to the crisis, we learnt how our generation can cope through rapid disruption and what new strategies for adaptation, resilience and change are emerging. Based on this research, we co-published: Resilient Realities, How youth civil society is experiencing and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Global State Of Youth Civil Society Report.
INTRAC and The Development Alternative
The Development Alternative is a consortium co-designing alternative ways to do development that are truly led by young people. Recrear has partnered with INTRAC and The Development Alternative for two years, conducting research on youth civil society, the impact of youth organisations, groups and movements, their innovation and the enabling and limiting factors affecting their work. The research informed programme designs and the publication of a report: Towards A Thriving, Credible, And Sustainable Youth Civil Society, Evidence and research into the status of southern-based youth civil society – forging a vision for the future.
Platzi
We carried out background research to inform the creation of a digital course on innovation inspired by the work of RutaN, the innovation hub of Medellin, Colombia.
Oxfam
Recrear collaborated with Oxfam to run Participatory Action Research on how young women of colour in Southern Africa exercise their agency, organize effectively and express dissent. We trained 5 country teams made up of young activists and Oxfam staff from across Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The research created the foundation for Oxfam’s first youth strategy in the Southern Africa region.
We love designing our own research projects: independent research designed based on the questions that move us, following our impulse to explore and learn with a group or community. Our independent projects experiment with new methodologies, research processes, and ways of sharing research. We love sharing our learnings in small bites, through short stories, photos, and reflections. We also experiment with multimedia platforms. These are usually long term projects (6 months – 3 years).
Read our publications here.
