Digital services and youth participation in processes of social change: World Café workshops in Finland

This paper focuses on the role of digital services in empowering youths to participate in social change. The aim is to discover what kind of potential digital services have in creating opportunities for youths of various backgrounds to be active in various processes of change at both the grassroots and policy levels. We also address questions concerning differences between distinct groups in the relationship between ICT proficiency and social participation. The key results of this paper suggest that youths can be engaged to participate by using digital services and becoming active possessors of their human rights. Nevertheless, the role played by power relations and differences in youths' ICT skills must be acknowledged, as they affect opportunities to participate in processes of social change.