Youth Policy, Citizenship Education and Olympic Games Legacies

This book provides a rich analysis of the intangible legacies of mega-events and their impact on youth citizenship and civic engagement. It focuses on the memories and expectations of young inhabitants from London and Rio de Janeiro in relation to the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games. By focusing on the Olympics as a case study of one of the most mediatised mega-events, this book examines how youth discourses about the Games provide important enactments of local, national, transnational and cultural identities prompted by the memories and imaginaries of the Games. It fills important gaps in the current scholarship dedicated to Mega-events, Youth Citizenship and Media, by touching on the topics related to mediated memories, globalisation, mediatisation, youth citizenship and memory studies. It also seeks  to explore and contribute, from a new perspective, to a new idea of intangible legacies of mega-events. 

While this research explores andreviews the concept of intangible legacies of the Olympic Games it also provides an opportunity for young people, from two global distinct contexts, to voice their concerns and ideas about society while engaging with different topics that are relevant to them. It also demonstrates and supports the idea that young people are engaged with politics and their local or national contexts, but through different formats and interests. Hence, it suggests that further consultation is needed in order to understand the multiple meanings of the Games' intangible legacies.

 

Sandra Borges Tavares has a PhD in Youth, Media and Memory Studies, from  King's College London, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Media, Youth, Citizenship and Media Literacy.