This article explores how nonprofit organizations can enhance social inclusion among youth - drawing on Prilleltensky’s concept of mattering and Bourdieu’s theory of practice. 19 interviews with youth across five NPOs offering mentoring, work experience, cultural participation, and sport-based inclusion is analysed. Findings reveal a patterned inclusion process through three interconnected mechanisms: (1) relational safety and recognition constitute the preconditions for participation (2) meaningful roles and contribution, through which youth experience both ‘feeling valued’ and ‘adding value’ (3) capital accumulation and future orientation, youth expand their views on education, work, and community life. By integrating psychological and sociological perspectives, the study demonstrates that mattering is both a subjective experience and a socially constructed process shaped by access to symbolic capital and inclusion in social fields. Mattering should therefore be as both an individual experience and as a collective and political project essential for addressing youth exclusion in contemporary welfare societies.
Røsvik et al. (Thu,) studied this question.