City Research Online

Abstract

This study explores how a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) inspired project supported the reintegration of former child soldiers in Colombia through collaborative creative writing. Twenty-two adolescents engaged in narrative re-imagination through self-reflection, mutual recognition, authorship, and dialogue. A participatory thematic analysis discerned four identity trajectories—stronger, altruistic, political, and harmonious—corresponding to empowerment, community, peace, and buen vivir or good living. These reflected dimensions of positive identity and challenged narratives shaped by violence and exclusion. The project interprets YPAR as a framework for participatory research to extend beyond a focus on voice and advocacy to support a psychosocial intervention that enabled participants to co-author transformative narratives and reimagine socially embedded and morally viable futures.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright © 2025, the authors
Publisher Keywords:	Colombia, child soldiers, youth participatory action research, narrative identity, reintegration
Subjects:	F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F1201 Latin America (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity School of Communication & Creativity > Department of Journalism
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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