Abstract

In the last decade a double distrust concerning youth has become apparent: a social disbelief in the contributions that young people in the ‘lost generation’ might have to offer to society; and young people’s own disbelief in their constantly-postponed future. This mutual disbelief has become stronger since the economic downturn, and urgently requires attention. In particular the lives of disenfranchised young people from border, interior and rural regions needs further research. This presentation will present findings from an ethnographic study carried out in 2010 – 2011 (and continued online) in a village, Bemposta, located in the Portuguese inlands, close to the Spanish border. It will reveal whether or not these young people are cooling their expectations, or if they are challenging their communities and geographies, through proposing new youth cultures. What type of challenges are these young people making? Are their communities capable of answering these challenges? What do these communities expect from young people?