Participation in community development from the perspective of youth from marginalized areas

Abstract

This article is the result of qualitative research work carried out in three neighborhoods at the south of Guatemala City, with the objective of analyzing the meanings that participation in community development processes has for youth in marginalized areas, being the depth interview the main technique used in the study, because the interest was to make the voices of the participants audible. So, the youth approach became a fundamental analysis tool to make visible the narratives that have been systematically silenced. Through the analysis of the information collected, it is identified that the main meaning assigned to participation is the process of social transformation, because it generates the possibility of introducing positive changes in its immediate context, evidencing that the youth contribute to the development of their vital environments their knowledge, productive, reproductive and community work.