Volunteer-run open meeting places constitute an important part of leisure and youth development services for young people in Norway. Such meeting places can give young people access to safe, inclusive, and meaningful social arenas without requirements for membership, performance, or long-term commitment. At the same time, there is limited systematic knowledge about the scope of these services, how they are organized, which young people they reach, and how they interact with municipalities and other public actors.
The project examines the characteristics of such services, how they can be distinguished from other leisure and youth services, and their current scope in Norway.
It also maps the meeting places’ objectives, target groups, activities, ownership and operating models, expertise, funding, and user participation.
A central question is also which young people use these services, and how the meeting places facilitate inclusion, social participation, and safe contact with adults.
Publications
Myksvoll, Thomas M.; Espegren, Astrid; Stoltenberg, Daniel; Hansen, Vibeke Wøien; Langsæther, Peter Egge & Eimhjellen, Ivar (2026) Mapping of voluntary run open meeting places for youth. Report 2026:3. Centre for Research on Civil Society and The Voluntary Sector. Full-text.
Privacy Policy Guidance
This project utilizes personal data from individuals who are difficult to contact for the purpose of providing individual information. The data is processed for research purposes, and the legal basis for the processing is the public interest. The project involves the use of ordinary personal data. The data is obtained from the following sources: Public/national registries. In collaborative research projects, datasets may also be shared with external project participants and their affiliated institutions.
The legality and privacy implications of the personal data processing have been assessed prior to the commencement of the project, which adheres to ethical guidelines for research. The Institute for Social Research is the data controller for the project.
Individuals who can be identified in the dataset have rights and may lodge complaints regarding the processing. Please feel free to contact our Data Protection Officer, the project manager, or the Norwegian Institute for Social Research if you have any questions or require guidance.
