The Research Group on Youth, Society and Communication (JOVIS.Com, by its acronym in Catalan and Spanish) is an interdisciplinary and interuniversity research group. Its predecessor, the Center for Studies on Youth and Society, was created at the University of Lleida (UdL) in 1998, with the aim of promoting research and transfer activities in the field of youth. Since 2017, the group has been based in the Department of Communication of the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), although researchers from other Catalan and international universities also participate in it.

JOVIS.com intends to intervene in academic research through the systematization of knowledge about youth and public and educational policies through the reinforcement of the transfer of academic knowledge to the public sector, as well as to the educational world. The group has had an important social impact through applied and implied research, in addition to the impact on the internationalization of science.

The members of the group have experience in advising on youth policies for administrations and for the third social sector. Its multidisciplinarity (communication, anthropology, education, political science, sociology, geography, economics and law) is an important factor in the construction of projects, which seeks to generate research by and for society. Thus, the group is made up of researchers from various universities in the territory and also participates in international projects where synergies with foreign institutions further consolidate the commitment and impact of the efforts made by the group.

JOVIS.Com has participated in numerous national and international research projects. In recent years we can highlight our participation in national projects, European projects (SAHWA, CRIC, MYPLACE), regional projects and a RecerCaixa project. (see projects section). JOVIS.com currently coordinates another 3 major European projects (TRANSGANG, SLYMS, CHIEF), and 2 regional projects (GARJUCAT, MICROFEMINISMES). It also coordinates the Network of Excellence on Youth and Society (REJS).

The group has signed research and consultancy contracts with governmental and non-governmental organizations (EACEA, Clacso, Injuve, Catalan Youth Observatory, Barcelona City Council, Lleida City Council, Taula del Tercer Sector, etc). It has also promoted transfer activities, such as the Youth Studies Forums, the Interuniversity Master's Degree in Youth and Society and the Working Group on Children and Youth of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).

Research lines

1.Theory, history and epistemology

In this line we work for the understanding of the theoretical and historical bases of the concept of 'youth'. The objective is to give continuity to the theoretical-methodological perspectives applied in the group's research already carried out and in progress.

2. Public policy, education and labor market

One of the most important challenges that contemporary societies must face is to offer young people opportunities so that they can plan their future. Considering that the social and economic characteristics vary considerably in dimension and nature in different countries and regions, the economic and labor policies that are applied must respond to this diversity. Analyzing its impacts is a good tool to improve its effectiveness. Furthermore, the confluence of globalization and the current economic crisis has revealed the growing inequality of certain groups, including youth. The quantification and identification of inequalities should make it possible to implement positive action measures or correct inequalities as factors of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (European Council, November 30, 2009)

3.  Transnational youth: identities, diasporas and youth agencies.

Mobility in the 21st century requires us to be attentive to the form taken by youth cultures in different geographical and cultural areas. The reception of global cultural artifacts and social change itself do not take the same forms. Political, economic, and social diasporas are led by populations considered to be in the youthful age group. Faced with these phenomena, young people explore strategies to face the challenges of the world around them.

4. Youth cultures, political participation and social movements.

This line of research includes all research projects in which young people are the protagonists of new ways of understanding politics and how this is manifested in contemporary social movements. Continuing the anthropological tradition of youth studies, we focus on forms of youth sociability and how it manifests itself in the form of youth cultures.

5. Digital communication and media skills

This line of research focuses on the uses of new digital technologies and media literacy, as well as educommunication for social change and the use of audiovisual methodologies to reduce inequalities.