Global Youth Activism Amidst democratic decay: a conference in review
From October 18th through 20th, the Democracy Moves coalition gathered in its second annual convening, gathering over 250 activists and coalition members together to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing democracy today. This convening brought together hundreds of activists, civil society members, scholars, and ordinary citizens together to discuss some of the many challenges democratic organizing faces against the backdrop of a worldwide decline in democratic norms and practices.
The centerpiece of this convening was a series of three panel discussions, one for each day, in which panelists invited by Democracy Moves facilitated a conversation with coalition members on three major topic areas relating to some of the most pertinent threats to democracy in the present day. We also held breakout conversations, trainings on topics like fundraising, social media, and participatory budgeting, and held a specific convening for our Scholars Network.
For more details on the panels, see below!
The State of Youth Activism, featuring panelists Joy Zawadi, Olena Nikolayenko, and Grace Gondwe with host Haadiya Ahmed
The first panel hosted as part of this convening took a global survey of the state of youth activism. The panel contested many questions, especially those relating to the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic and related events have both curtailed youth activism and given it new spaces with which to thrive and expand.
The first part of the panel focused on topics that need more involvement from youth activists, with input from panelists from Joy Zawadi, Deputy Executive Director of Akili Dada and a feminist activist and Grace Gondwe, a research lead for Academics Stand Against Poverty from Zambia. Grace argued that the global movement demanding action against climate change, which is already a cornerstone of youth activism, needs more resources to be truly successful. Joy added that especially in her community, she sees the need for more youth involvement in issues surrounding mental health, a field that has many immediate effects on the lives of young people around the world.
Panelist Olena Nikolayenko, a professor at Fordham University who focuses on comparative democratization in Eastern Europe, highlighted the necessity for youth activists to align themselves with organized labor and workers writ large. This is especially important as organized labor holds concrete power through their ability to strike, and thus building common cause and solidarity with them would be incredibly beneficial to the strength of youth movements.
All of the panelists also noted that youth activism can be co-opted by reactionary and conservative forces to defend an untenable status quo. The panelists discussed the necessity to build resilience against this tide, and to build movements that are inclusive enough to pull youth away from joining organizations and movements that seek to reinforce a harmful status quo that is detrimental to both their own interests and that of democratic society writ large.
Shrinking Civic Spaces, featuring panelists Namatai Kwekweza, Ashley Lee, and Abideen Olasupo with host Lubna Azmi
The second panel at this year’s convening centered on the increasing trend of governments around the world limiting access to public spaces that are commonly used for protest. Throughout the globe, governments have embarked on various programs to suppress mass protest movements, whether they be as overt as American state, local, and federal law enforcement officers committing acts of violence against Black Lives Matter protesters, or more subtle means such as governments using COVID-19 restrictions to reduce their opposition’s ability to protest in public spaces.
Panelist Abideen Olasupo, an activist and social entrepreneur from Nigeria, illustrated a concrete example of this trend by discussing recent efforts by the Nigerian government to restrict access to public spaces where the opposition traditionally gathers to protest. Abideen noted the government’s usage of violent policing tactics to disperse protest during a widespread mobilization in the summer of 2020 against the Nigerian government and those very same policing tactics.
Panelist Ashley Lee from Stanford University argued that civic spaces under threat are not just physical locations, but can extend to online spheres as well. She argued that increasing government regulation of social media, such as the Ugandan government’s ban on Facebook in summer 2021, as well as consolidated corporate control of online media platforms such as Facebook, Google, and other large conglomerates presents a unique challenge toward online activism, as these groups often have common incentives to suppress this activism.
Panelist Namatai Kwekweza, the Executive Director of the Zimbabwean organization, WeLead noted how in recent years she has noticed a pervasive feeling of alienation among young people. She argued that the efforts of governments to dissolve civic spaces have eroded the solidarity among the citizens she mobilizes with. To conclude, Namatai argues that any solutions to this problem must include a remedy to this alienation.
Democracy Beyond Elections, featuring panelists Krystal Strong, Anne Rose, Gabriel Maramentini, and Katya Petrikevich with host DJ Quezada
The final featured panel of this convening concerned conceptions of democracy beyond elections. While electoral campaigns are a necessary and vital part of maintaining a democratic society, they are far from the only avenue through which to exercise power-- and are far from the only process that exemplifies a truly democratic society.
Panelist Krystal Strong, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke about the need to expand the definition of political to include far more than just electoral campaigns. In particular, she stressed the need to conceptualize “the political” as far more than just elections, and expand it to include actions like maintaining community mutual aid programs and education in the classroom. The latter, Strong argues, is incredibly important as a radical, politicized education helps equip people of all ages to recognize the political nature of the problems
Panelist Anne Rose, a journalist, feminist, human rights defender and Executive Director of the Uzalendo Afrika Initiative in Kenya added onto this with her experience in introducing politics into non-traditional spaces. Her work has focused on bringing politics into religious spaces and “meeting people where they are” by focusing on places frequented by people traditionally disenfranchised from the political sphere--namely women. Rose additionally added onto Strong’s points about furthering radical political education, as her involvement with Uzalendo Afrika-- a Pan-Africanist organization-- has shown her just how important this form of education is to building politically conscious masses.
Finally, Gabriel Maramentini, a PhD candidate and leader of Politize!, a Brazilian activist group, added critical context from his experience in Brazil, especially in the leadup to the upcoming presidential election-- due to take place next year. While much of the discussion today focused on this topic’s African context, Gabriel was careful to note that many of the same issues exist in Brazil and Latin America at large.
Overall, the conference provided incredibly important and critical insight into the vital actions young people are taking throughout the world to push for democratic change in their own communities. While democracy is at risk, the conference showed that young people are forging a new path forward.