Youth street groups and mediation in Northern Africa: ethnographic findings

Sánchez García, José; Touhtou, Rachid; Boucherf, Kamel; Omrane, Mustapha; Najjar, Sihem; Feixa, Carles, 1962-

doi:http://doi.org/10.31009/transgang.2023.fr02

Youth street groups and mediation in Northern Africa: ethnographic findings

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Sánchez-García J. (Coord.); Touhtou R, Boucherf K, Omrane M, Najjar S; Feixa C, dir. Youth street groups and mediation in Northern Africa: ethnographic findings. Barcelona: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, European Research Council; 2023. 170 p. DOI: 10.31009/transgang.2023.fr02

Abstract

The main objective of this report is to present the results of the field work carried out in the North African region within the framework of the TRANSGANG project. The main findings from the analysis of data obtained in the different locations are presented. The different field works began in September 2019 and extended continued until December 2021 due to the sudden appearance of the pandemic caused by COVID-19. Field research was carried out in Salé, Algiers, Djendel, Djerfa, and Tunis, and different ethnographic techniques such as direct and participant observation, focus groups, in-depth interviews and life stories were applied. The protagonists are young members of different street youth groups that exist within a context of profound sociopolitical transformations. The actions of the different members of these groups are framed in different social fields: the street, the parallel economic sphere, and alternative spaces for artistic expression. These different social fields represent spaces of cultural, political and economic “resistance.” As a last goal, it is intended to capture the specificity of each space of resistance and identify the common characteristics of the action of youth street groups.