Território, territorialidades e juventudes: interpretações e mediações possíveis da participação a partir da associação de moradores da Morada do Sol em Alexânia, Goiás

Abstract

The research analyzes how youths from the Morada do Sol community, in Alexânia, Goiás, Brazil, perceive themselves and their participation in the construction of territory, articulating the concepts of territory, territorialities, and social participation. Grounded in phenomenology, it combined comprehensive interviews and formative workshops as listening and feedback strategies, capturing meanings, motivations, and barriers to youth engagement. The methodological path was organized into nine interconnected movements—from territorial immersion to the production of a documentary, a pamphlet, and this dissertation—ensuring articulation between knowledge and action. The results show that youth, territory, and social participation are inseparable dimensions for understanding local impasses and potentialities: although marked by structural shortages and institutional distrust, young people display critical and creative potential that is scarcely mobilized by formal channels. It is concluded that expanding and legitimizing youth engagement requires decentralizing and reframing participatory spaces, recognizing youths as speaking subjects and coproducers of public space.