On April 1, 2025, we have organised our project’s second Innovation Forum (IF) in Hamburg, Germany. Following the recommendations of the pilot IF in Genoa, Italy, the main objective was to provide all participants the opportunity to openly exchange their experiences and perceptions on learning outcomes and (under)achievement in Hamburg. The IF in Germany was organised in cooperation with our local partner, CJD Hamburg, a social and training institution offering integration courses for young people.
We would like to share with you our impressions, experience, and key messages.
In line with CLEAR’s aim to engage with a broad range of educational stakeholders, the IF in Hamburg was attended by 13 participants—7 male and 6 female—, comprised of 5 youth advisors/teachers, 3 employment advisors, 2 young adults, 1 local policy-maker, 1 youth counsellor, and 1 researcher. Six participants were from migrant background.
At the beginning, the WWU team has briefly explained the participatory approach of the IF, the research design of the CLEAR project, and the agenda.
After the introductory note, the participants were divided in three different working groups, all of which were in the same room. There were no specific criteria for division, the participants were divided randomly. This enabled us to overcome power disbalances, anonymise the procedures, and avoid our (unconscious) biases as researchers.
Each workshop group focused on the outcomes of three WPs (WP3, WP4, WP5) relevant for Hamburg and titled as follows:
- Living and Learning in Hamburg – or elsewhere? The WP3 workshop started with a reflexion on how the participants have estimated their labour market perspective given their then current educational outcomes. This exercise was designed based on WP3 results on the regional disparities based on different opportunity structures.
- Changing Perspectives – interrupted educational pathways. The WP4 workshop started with an exercise on reflecting a particular case. The case was a young person, who has dropped out of the school and now wants to get back on the track. The participants were asked to deliberate who might this person be and what steps are needed to get back into the school.
- Listen to us! – Voices of young adults. The WP5 workshop started with an exercise based on a quotation from the project’s interviews conducted in Hamburg. The quotation says: »Listen carefully« and the participants had to reflect on the quote and give their opinion on what policymakers could do differently in their approach to young people.
The three workshop groups were meant to shift between the different tables to work on every WP. However, due to the vivid and passionate discussions, the researchers have decided to only change once. This has turned out to be of great benefit, since during the wrap up session, everyone has learned something new from other groups.
The discussions have stared with ice-breakers and were followed up by working with the materials provided by our Partners from CODICI and UNIGE. Every material contained an introductory question or fictional situation, to which the participants responded in their own ways. The researchers have then facilitated the discussions and, where appropriate, presented the project’s findings.
Workshop – Key Messages on Learning Outcomes and (Under)Achievement
Hamburg…
- …is a centre of attraction for many young people, however most of them have unrealistic expectations on themselves and on the city. This often starts in the families.
- … has 7 districts which are perceived rather as artificial statistical units. Young people do not think about their job or education opportunities in administrative boundaries.
Young people…
- …often do not follow the standard educational paths, but are influenced by role models or other influential personalities.
- …frequently get frustrated or disappointed with institutional structures when they don’t feel listened to, which weakens their motivation and agency.
Professional advisors…
- …often must deal with and overcome young people’s disappointments. Since they expect to move forward more smoothly or get immediately better paid jobs, the reality that the advisors encounter is that they have to curb their expectations and devise more realistic goals.
- …frequently don’t understand the purpose of some rules and regulations. Yet, in order to follow them (“to fight against the windmills”), they need to act in accordance with them.
Future research…
- …needs to explore the binary between the availability of (local) support programs for youth in disadvantaged positions and institutional restrictions such as age limitations in education.
- …needs to address the impact of external acknowledgement of young people’s qualities and competences by youth advisors or mentors.
The closing session started by summarizing the main outcomes of every group. During the session, participants have asked further questions, shared their observations, and provided feedback on the IF. Here are some concluding observations from the IF in Hamburg:
Engagement:
- All participants have actively engaged in open discussions.
- No power hierarchies were observed.
Exchange of experiences:
- The professionals have welcomed the opportunity to reflect on their own profession and working style, and enjoyed being positively surprised in their everyday routines.
- The professionals have acknowledged that they were sometimes as helpless as those who seek help or advice.
- One professional shared his experience that more measurable indicators have already been deployed in his institution to outweigh the focus on formal learning. Yet, this has often led to discouragement on the side of participants of the courses, who, as a result, feel relegated to numbers. Some of them have not returned for a next meeting.
- One young adult concluded that, to his own surprise, he was able to share his whole biography, including his personal experiences of vulnerability during the COVID-19 period.
- It was criticised that the stakeholders in education and labour market lack systematic cooperation on local level. Some improvements have been made in the recent years, but more cooperation instead of artificial competition and more listening to each other is necessary.
Exchange of contacts:
- Many participants have exchanged contact information, brought flyers and newsletters, and even discussed joint actions. This is valued as one immediate practical outcomes of the IF in Hamburg.
- Two participants of the IF have announced that they would like to join the project’s Final Conference.
Germany’s political landscape:
- One participant has raised the concern that the current political situation in Germany, in particular the rise of far-right parties, can be viewed as one of the key disrupting factors affecting groups in multiple disadvantaged positions, especially those from migrant background.
Recommendations:
While participants expressed a general satisfaction with the IF Hamburg, some suggestions were made to enhance future editions:
- Provide information on the IF beforehand: One suggestion from the participants was to provide more precise information regarding the content of the IF; also, in order to obtain permission to participate in the forum.
- Balance reporting with workshop design: Some participants did expect more straightforward reporting on the project results, but were in the end thankful to learn about research results in the course of the three workshops.
- Encourage informal open communication: Others have enjoyed the more informal, anonymous, and low-threshold design of the IF, which made it easier for them to open themselves and engage in the discussions, something they otherwise wouldn’t do in more formal meetings.
- Encourage networking: In general, the interplay between the transversal participatory format and the selective presentation of CLEAR research results was extremely well received by the participants. The format opens up the possibility of joint exchange and networking for both the research and the participating stakeholders.
