Social Imagining in “Youth Taking Action:” Documenting Immigrating and Settling Through a Hybrid Youth Participatory Action Research Project

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.