Youth negotiation of tourism-based employment in Goa and Lisbon

Project Information

YouthExistInTourism

Grant agreement ID: 867466

DOI

10.3030/867466

Project closed

EC signature date 24 April 2019

Start date 2 December 2019

End date 2 March 2022

Funded under

• SPREADING EXCELLENCE AND WIDENING PARTICIPATION

Total cost

€ 147 815,04

EU contribution

€ 147 815,04

Coordinated by

INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS SOCIAIS
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - YouthExistInTourism (Youth negotiation of tourism-based employment in Goa and Lisbon)

Reporting period: 2019-12-02 to 2021-12-01

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

This research focuses on how within two contexts –in the Global North in Lisbon, and in the Global South in Goa – young people negotiate landscapes of touristification and neoliberalisation that relate to their futures. Exponential
urban redevelopment, climate change and heightened capitalism manifest in both places through changes made to accommodate an economy focused on tourism-boosting. Austerity in Portugal, and a boost to tourism-centred jobs in Goa has resulted in young people leaving in search of jobs elsewhere. However, a large portion continue to stay back in these geographies and are employed by the tourism industry which paradoxically gentrifies them. This research will aim to understand how young people make sense of their futures through new, gig economies in rapidly changing job landscapes, whilst simultaneously making space for themselves by negotiating this very environment - they therefore resist while also existing. It will consider potential conflicts and shared understandings, while making sense of the entanglements of youth job cultures, future considerations, and the relationship to a sense of place. Sharing a history, albeit of colonialism, (Portugal colonised Goa from 1510 until 1961 after which the latter was taken over by India) makes for a novel perspective of Global North-South as well as a post-colonial dynamic which is missing from existing knowledge. The project will use a cross-cultural case study approach, with qualitative research methods in line with critical ethnography. The project will be strengthened by the multi-disciplinary background of the researcher in sociology and geography, alongside contribution from other disciplinary perspectives through researchers at the host institution. It aims to create both academic outputs as well as material and content for public engagement and dissemination.

Through this action it was possible to contribute positively to youth-led resistance work regarding the future of their places.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Activities undertaken within the scope of this research include:

Research Groups: Ambiente, Território e Sociedade (ATS – Environment, Territory and Society); LIFE: Precursos de vida, Desigualdade e Solidariedade (Lifecourse, Inequality and Solidarity).
Other activities: Working Group at the institute, to develop an Ombudsman to address bullying and harassment in the workplace.
Collaborative activities:
Sept.2020 – Present: Urban Transitions Hub, Member & Reading Group co-coordinator, ICS-ULisboa
Mar.2020 – Present: Member, Rede-H, Portugal (collective of scholars and activists on Housing).
Feb.2020 – June.2021 – Steering Group Member, Partnerships for Social Justice, University of Leeds
Feb. – Mar. 2021: Blog Editor, Critical Childhood and Youth Studies Collective
Nov-Dec.2021: Secondment at University of Leeds, UK.

Public-facing/non-academic output
Reports
D’Silva, S. and Tandon, S. 2021. Potential impacts of the Goa Tamnar Transmission Line Project on the people of Goa. Evidence on the impact of infrastructural projects via the SaveMollem/AmchiMollem Campaign, submitted to the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court of India.
D’Silva, S. Amarendran, S. and Tandon, S. 2021. Report on the socio-cultural impacts of the proposed Double Tracking Railway project outside Bhagwan Mahavir WLS and Mollem National Park. Evidence on the impact of infrastructural projects via the SaveMollem/AmchiMollem Campaign, submitted to the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court of India.
Rede H – Rede de Estudos sobre Habitação. Contribution from: Varea Oro, A., Estevens, A., Silva Fernandes, A., Barone, B., Auer, C., Loureiro de Matos, F., Ferrão, J., Silva, K., Mendes, L., Travasso, N., Jorge, S., D’Silva, S. M., Tulumello, S. 2020. A Habitação nas Políticas: Síntese das medidas adoptadas como resposta à crise da COVID-19. https://www.redehabitacao.pt/docs/comparison

Blog posts
D’Silva, S. 2021. Risky escapist flows as Urban Youth Culture in India. Critical Childhood and Youth Studies Collective Blog. [Online] Accessible on: https://www.theccysc.com/post/risky-escapist-flows-as-urban-youth-culture-in-india
D’Silva, S. 2021. Making sense of young people’s negotiation of tourism landscapes in Goa and Lisbon. LIFE Research Group, ICS-ULisboa. [Online] Accessible from: https://liferesearchgroup.wordpress.com/2021/01/21/making-sense-of-young-peoples-negotiation-of-tourism-landscapes-in-goa-and-lisbon/
D’Silva, S. 2020. Decomposing and recomposing through street walking. The Sociological Review. [Online] Accessible from: https://www.thesociologicalreview.com/decomposing-and-recomposing-through-street-walking/

Outreach:
13.Feb.2022: Instagram Live with Let India Breathe. Representation of youth futures, green agenda, the elections.
19.Feb.2022: Short presentation to Second Year Bachelor’s students at Don Bosco’s College, Goa, on youth resistance as civic participation as part of the SaveMollem campaign


Conferences
25.Feb-01.Mar.2022: American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting 2022. Session: From Overtourism to Undertourism…and Back Again?: Confronting Post-Pandemic Tourism “Regrowth” with Postcapitalist Pathways/ Paper: Youth existence and resistance in tourism in Lisbon and Goa.
24-25 Sept.2020: Living with Tourism: Paradoxes, Empowerment and Future Directions, ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management of Universidade de Lisboa. Paper: Youth negotiation of tourism-based employment in Lisbon and Goa through resistance, existence and potential break-away.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The intention is to use this project to explore further questions regarding youth and work, dignity at work and citizenship. Work currently set into motion to take forward this objective is through developing a youth social survey in Goa, and contributions to discussions on housing and alternatives to the same explored by youth in Portugal. Relevant funding applications are being developed to carry out these pieces of work.

YouthExistInTourism images demonstrating the image sold and the lived resistance against tourism