bYou/MILObs seminar on “Well-being of children and youth: What are their interests and concerns?”

On Europe Day, the bYou/MILObs seminar discussed the well-being, interests and concerns of children. On May 9, in an online meeting, Margarida Gaspar de Matos (University of Lisbon/ISAMB and Catholic University), Sara Pereira (bYou Project, University of Minho) and Margarida Toscano (bYou Project, School Libraries Network) were responsible for promoting the seminar “Welfare of children and youth: What are their interests and concerns?”, which also included the commentary of Manuel Sarmento (University of Minho).
The first intervention, focusing on well-being, was given by Margarida Gaspar de Matos. According to the researcher, the school integrates, together with friends and family, “the greatest concerns” of the youngest, but tends to be left out of the answers about the sources of well-being given by children and young people. “This is a worrying scenario,” characterized Margarida Gaspar de Matos.
The results of the bYou project around the interests and concerns of the youngest in relation to the media gave the motto to the following interventions. Sara Pereira presented results based on quantitative methods, Margarida Toscano brought data based on qualitative techniques. The researchers of the bYou project underlined the constant presence of the media in the lives of 1131 children and young people, attending the 6th, 9th, and 12th grades of school. The results show the media as both sources of interest and concern among the younger generation.
In closing, Manuel Sarmento stressed the importance of studying, but also of considering the well-being, concerns, and interests expressed by the voice of the children. Based on the results presented in the previous speeches, the retired Associate Professor with Aggregation underlined that “the school, by leaving the child with its cultures, namely media, at the door, ends up forgetting the child globally as it is and becomes (…) alienated from what are the daily lives” of the youngest.
The bYou/MILObs seminars are available online. The three editions already held can be seen or reviewed here.