ABSTRACT

This article examines a programme for Bedouin youth in the unrecognised Bedouin villages in the Naqab/Negev desert in Israel, as a case study of the cultural adaptation and implementation of Westernised youth programmes among indigenous minority groups. Our analysis, based on an exploratory qualitative study that probes the accounts of 11 professionals involved in the project, 10 of whom are Bedouin, indicates that the facilitation of youth centres is related to 2 dimensions: cultural and political. Although the programme was shown to successfully address complex cultural aspects of the Bedouin community in the adaptation process and in daily routines (e.g. cultural values and norms), it does not address the political context in which the community lives. The programme thus articulates a social recognition of the particular needs of this population, yet does not promote social activism in a way that might challenge existing social hierarchies and power relations. Therefore, the change promoted by the programme is restricted to maintaining the existing social order. Our findings call for a politicising of the discourses of ‘cultural adaptation’ in order to promote social justice for oppressed groups.

摘要

本文研究了以色列纳卡布/内盖夫沙漠未被承认的贝都因村庄的贝都因青年项目，作为土著少数群体中西方化青年项目的文化适应和实施的个案研究。我们的分析基于一项探索性定性研究，该研究调查了参与该项目的 11 名专业人员（其中 10 名是贝都因人）的描述，表明青年中心的便利化与两个维度相关：文化和政治。尽管该计划被证明在适应过程和日常生活中成功解决了贝都因社区复杂的文化方面（例如文化价值观和规范），但它并未解决社区生活的政治背景。因此，该计划表达了对这一人群特殊需求的社会认可，但并未以可能挑战现有社会等级制度和权力关系的方式促进社会行动主义。因此，节目推动的变革仅限于维持现有的社会秩序。我们的研究结果呼吁将“文化适应”的话语政治化，以促进受压迫群体的社会正义。