There has been a distinct reduction in the level of memberships in organisations among youth over the last 20-30 years. The average membership number has fallen from 1,38 to 0,97 in the age group 16-24 years, and the decline becomes more evident when looking at active members.

Moreover, the way in which youth relate to organisational life completely differs from previous generations. They are increasingly turning away from a traditional, democratically structured organisation model. Campaigns limited to a certain time period or cause seem to be more attractive than membership in a democratically structured organisation. Formal memberships, democracy and loyalty to specific organisations seem to be less important, and emphasis is rather placed on the activity itself.

We wish to investigate how youth’s civic engagement differs from that of the older population, and how this has changed over time.

• How do youth relate to voluntary organisations compared to older generations?
• Can the trends identified in this part of the population be attributed to life-phases or is it a generational phenomenon?
• How important are organised activities compared to those of other institutions (e.g. school, media, family, youth councils etc.) for youth’s political socialisation?

The project will heavily rely on data from the survey on volunteering but also on relevant data from the study ‘Local level associations in Norway’. The planned European Collaborative Research Project (ERCP) on Contemporary Perspectives on Political Socialization could also be useful.

This project will be particularly relevant for the key research areas ‘perspectives on participation’ and ‘transitional processes in the voluntary sector’.