Perceptions of participants and residents of the impacts of the Braga 2012 European Youth Capital

The European Youth Capital is an annual title awarded to a European city by the European Youth Forum, aiming to strength the relationship between the municipalities and the European institutions, with a particular focus on youth participation. In the present paper the relative success of the Braga 2012 European Youth Capital (EYC 2012) is evaluated through the perception of the participants in five events performed. The aim of the questionnaires applied was inquiring the opinion of respondents on the activities of the EYC 2012, as well as the perceived impacts of this mega-event. Additionally, we envisaged to know what had been their participation in it by the time the questionnaire was implemented. We got a sample of 512 respondents, applying the questionnaires among October and December 2012. The inquiry was complemented, in January 2013 through a Focus Group applied to a set of residents of Braga. From the results obtained, we got the indication that the hosting of the CEJ did not attract a large amount of visitors to the city. The younger respondents, who predominate in the sample used (59% between 10 and 29 years old), tended to keep a more positive assessment of the impacts of the EYC 2012, as well as women when compared to men.

Paula Remoaldo 

CICS, Social Sciences Institute University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

(premoaldo@geografia.uminho.pt)

Eduardo Duque

CICS/University of Minho and Catholic University, Braga, Portugal

(ejduque@gmail.com)

J. Cadima Ribeiro

NIPE, School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal 

(jcadima@eeg.uminho.pt)

(reprodução de resumo de comunicação apresentada no XIV Colóquio Ibérico de Geografia, que decorreu entre 11 e 14 de Novembro de 2014, na Universidade do Minho, Campus de Azurém, Guimarães)