Workers’ and volunteers’ ideas about the benefits of young people’s cultural participation: a critical capital-based approach

Abstract

This article deals with non-profit sector and voluntary workers’ understandings of the benefits of young people’s participation in cultural and leisure projects in Central Finland. Active participation is highlighted on a policy level as a solution to social inequality, exclusion, and marginalisation among young people. The article focuses on the cultural, social, economic, and political dimensions of participation by exploring the advantages that cultural projects bring to young people. The article theorises these dimensions by drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of capital to provide a more critical account of the participation paradigm. Fifteen workers and volunteers on cultural projects were interviewed in 2017–2018 and asked about the advantages of participation. Although–according to informants–such projects generate positive outcomes–they can improve quality of life, create networks and a sense of belonging, support self-esteem and self-expression, and teach emotional, social, and working-life skills–Bourdieu’s approach raises the question of whether the benefits (or capitals) that young people are understood to gain translate into advantages in other spheres.