This interactive webinar on participatory research methods brings together researchers, practitioners and young people to critically reflect on how youth-centred research can be meaningfully conducted in the Global South.

Building on earlier u’GOOD discussions on emancipatory research and the “research as freedom continuum”, the webinar foregrounds participatory methodologies as a relational approach to knowledge production, one that prioritises working “with, for and by” young people rather than researching on or about them. The session will explore practical strategies for operationalising youth participation across different phases of the research process, including conceptualisation, tool development, data collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination. Particular attention will be given to the ethical complexities researchers encounter when applying participatory methods within institutional research environments.

Facilitated by members of the u’GOOD Project Advisory Group: Youth and programme leadership, the webinar creates space for collaborative reflection, peer learning and the sharing of practical experiences from diverse Global South contexts. Through breakout discussions and plenary engagements, participants will critically examine both the opportunities and challenges of centring young people as lived-experience experts in research.

The webinar forms part of u’GOOD’s broader commitment to strengthening relational, ethical and socially responsive research practices that advance young people’s wellbeing in rapidly changing urban and peri-urban environments across the Global South.