Olivia Frigo-Charles

Work at ZHAW

Position

Research associate, Institute of Diversity and Social Integration, ZHAW Social Work

Focus

Community (development), deindustrialisation, ethnographic working methods, (youth) participation, post-industrialism, social space, intersectionality, gender relations in the private and public spheres, work-life-family-balance

Experience

• Research Associate
  Institute of Diversity and Social Integration, ZHAW Social Work
  09 / 2021 - today
• Scholarship holder UZH Candoc Grant (dissertation project: "Left behind? Formations of crisis and community in deindustrialised South Wales")
  Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Zurich
  01 / 2022 - 07 / 2025
• Teaching assistant & conception and realisiation of a student colloquium
  Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Zurich
  02 / 2021 - 06 / 2021
• Internship Events and Communication
  Karl der Grosse, City of Zurich
  09 / 2019 - 08 / 2020

Education and Continuing education

Education

• Master of Arts in Social Sciences / Major Cultural Studies; Minor Gender Studies
  University of Zurich
  09 / 2019 - 12 / 2021
• Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences / Major Empirical Cultural Studies; Minor Educational Studies
  University of Zurich
  09 / 2016 - 06 / 2019

Network

Membership of networks

• Empirical Cultural Studies Switzerland (formerly Swiss Folklore Society), Zurichfeet section
• Swiss Association for Gender Studies (SAGS)

ORCID digital identifier

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0051-8075

Social media

LinkedIn profile of Olivia Frigo-Charles

Projects

• Domestic workers and Covid-19 / Team member / ongoing
• Pandemic-resilient Space for Sustainable Cities - Urban Places for the Pandemic Resilience of Young People. / Team member / ongoing
• Accompanying evaluation of the Disability Rights Action Plan / Team member / ongoing
• Institutional prevention of sexual violence in socio-educational institutions / Team member / completed

Publications

• Brandenberg, Elias; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Kaschlik, Anke; Nägeli, Tobias,

  2025.

  Zwischen Anpassung und Innovation : jugendliche Räume während der Pandemie und die Herausforderungen für die Offene Kinder- und Jugendarbeit.

  Sozial Extra.

  49(1), pp. 22-26.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12054-025-00745-9

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2023.

  Narrative der Vereinbarkeit : Väter im Spannungsfeld zwischen Familien- und Erwerbsarbeit.

  Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde.

  119(1), pp. 67-82.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.5169/seals-1042242

• Brandenberg, Elias; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Kaschlik, Anke; Nägeli, Tobias,

  2024.

  Urban space(s) for young people : a focus for resilient and sustainable cities[paper].

  In:

  Lastman, Robert, ed.,

  Livable Cities – London : a critique of issues affecting life in cities.

  Livable Cities – London, AMPS Conference, London, United Kingdom, 26-28 June 2024.

  AMPS.

  pp. 372-379.

  AMPS Proceedings Series ; 39.1.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32724

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2025.

  Forged from the earth : how subterranean resources shaped the lives and culture of South Wales.

  GeoAgenda.

  2025(1), pp. 10-12.

  Available from: https://scnat.ch/de/uuid/i/33b692c9-2b24-5030-bea3-80c776e7b2f3-GeoAgenda_No._12025

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2024.

  «As Long as We Beat the English» : Rugby als Form des Widerstandes in Wales.

  das bulletin.

  Available from: https://www.ekws.ch/de/bulletin/post/as-long-as-we-beat-the-english

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2024.

  Navigating crises in deindustrialised South Wales[poster].

  In:

  Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work (DARE), Zurich, Switzerland, 20- 21 June 2024.

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-30983

• Kaschlik, Anke; Hollenbacher, Pia; Brandenberg, Elias; Nägeli, Tobias; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Mey, Eva,

  2024.

  Young people and space - pandemic-resilient spaces for sustainable cities, urban places for the pandemic resilience of young people : a transformative research project[poster].

  In:

  Annual Conference Programme of NRP 80: Covid-19 in Society, Weggis, Schweiz, 7-8 March 2024.

  ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-30799

• Müller-Suleymanova, Dilyara; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Pizzera, Michele; Muri Koller, Gabriela; Kehl, Konstantin; Nef, Susanne,

  2023.

  Wie kann die Kinder- und Jugendpolitik der Kantone die niederschwellige Partizipation von Kindern und Jugendlichen unterstützen?.

  Zürich:

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-28772

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2023.

  A leap of faith : Erfahrungsbericht über einen Forschungsaufenthalt in Wales.

  das bulletin.

  Available from: https://www.dasbulletin.ch/post/a-leap-of-faith-erfahrungsbericht-%C3%BCber-einen-forschungsaufenthalt-in-wales

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Adili, Kushtrim; Sager, Daniela,

  2023.

  Interdisziplinäre Gewaltprävention bei vulnerablen Betroffenengruppen.

  SozialAktuell.

  2023(4), pp. 24-25.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-29578

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2023.

  «Ich will nicht Kinder haben, ich will Papa sein.» : zur Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf in der Schweizer Privatwirtschaft mit einem Fokus auf männliche Teilzeitarbeit und Vaterschaftsurlaub.

  1. Auflage.

  Zürich:

  Universität Zürich, Institut für Sozialanthropologie und Empirische Kulturwissenschaft – Populäre Kulturen.

  Werkstücke ; 13.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-27682

• Kaschlik, Anke; Brandenberg, Elias; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Nägeli, Tobias; Mey, Eva; Hollenbach, Pia,

  2023.

  Pandemic-resilient spaces for sustainable cities - urban places for the pandemic resilience of young people : transformative research project[poster].

  In:

  SNSF Corona Research Conference, Thun, Switzerland, 21-23 March 2023.

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-27770

• Nef, Susanne; Baier, Dirk; Adili, Kushtrim; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Sager, Daniela; Wardak, Sabera,

  2022.

  Projektbericht Gewaltprävention bei besonders vulnerablen Betroffenengruppen häuslicher Gewalt (GbvG).

  Zürich:

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-27129

• Nef, Susanne; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Pizzera, Michele; Streckeisen, Peter; Gisiger, Jasmin; Gertel, Ethan; Suppa, Anna,

  2022.

  Politische Partizipationsformen und Motivation von Jugendlichen sich zu engagieren.

  Beiträge zur Sozialen Sicherheit

  ; 15/22.

  Bern:

  Bundesamt für Sozialversicherungen BSV.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-26268

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2025.

  Engaged ethnography in deindustrialised communities : navigating epistemological challenges between solidarity and critical engagement.

  In:

  17th International SIEF Congress 'Unwriting', International Society for Ethnology and Folklore, Aberdeen, Scotland, 3-6 June 2025.

• Kaschlik, Anke; Brandenberg, Elias; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Koller, Michael Alexander; Nägeli, Tobias,

  2025.

  Jugendliche und ihre urbanen Räume : wie partizipativ und demokratiefördernd kann Forschung mit Jugendlichen sein?.

  In:

  Vierter Trinationaler Workshop Partizipative Forschung in der Sozialen Arbeit, Muttenz, Schweiz, 2.-4. April 2025.

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2024.

  From steel to screen : industrial decline in South Wales and Michael Sheen’s TV-series The Way.

  In:

  Pop History of Deindustrialization: Narratives, Economies, Identities. “The West” in Global Perspective, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 14-16 November 2024.

• Nägeli, Tobias; Brandenberg, Elias; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Hollenbach, Pia; Kaschlik, Anke; Mey, Eva,

  2024.

  Urban space(s) for young people : a focus for resilient and sustainable cities.

  In:

  Livable Cities – London, AMPS Conference, London, United Kingdom, 26-28 June 2024.

• Hollenbach, Pia; Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2024.

  Social work and disaster governance : exploring ignorance, sense-making, and reflective practice (World Café).

  In:

  Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work (DARE), Zurich, Switzerland, 20- 21 June 2024.

• Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Hollenbach, Pia; Kaschlik, Anke; Brandenberg, Elias; Nägeli, Tobias; Mey, Eva,

  2024.

  Urban spaces and youth resilience : youth participation in research and decision making processes.

  In:

  Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work (DARE), Zurich, Switzerland, 20- 21 June 2024.

• Nägeli, Tobias; Kaschlik, Anke; Brandenberg, Elias; Frigo-Charles, Olivia; Hollenbach, Pia; Mey, Eva,

  2023.

  Resilience – space – youth.

  In:

  Symposium "From pandemic to polycrisis – learning from Covid-19", Aalborg University, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1 November 2023.

• Sager, Daniela; Frigo-Charles, Olivia,

  2023.

  Stärkung der Partizipation von Jugendlichen.

  In:

  Dritter Trinationaler Workshop Partizipative Forschung in der Sozialen Arbeit «Empowerment in der partizipativen Forschung», FH Salzburg, Österreich, 14.-16. Juni 2023.

Other publications

Study Trip 2024: "Tracing 'Black Gold' - Coal, Crisis and Community in South Wales" (report of study trip to Wales with Prof. Moritz Ege and MA students of the University of Zurich)

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