#youth-activism

#youth-activism

In 2024, Sully Atheirne was a high school senior planning to go to college after they graduated. Then the unthinkable happened: Donald Trump was elected president for a second term. Though they'd participated in several climate demonstrations and Black Lives Matter protests, Atheirne didn't consider themselves an activist. But now, instead of attending classes and studying, the 19-year-old spends their days fighting to save our democracy with the organization Refuse Fascism.

"This is what democracy looks like!"

This is because in the early evening, the city center turns into an arena for demonstrations led by an anonymous collective known as GenZ 212. The name Gen Z indicates the age of the protesters, who are mostly in their teens or twenties, and the numbers 212 are Morocco's dialing prefix. The protests started small on September 27, but gradually grew to include working-class neighborhoods throughout Rabat. It then spread to Morocco's biggest cities, including Casablanca and Agadir, and then to smaller towns, too.

Not long after, he met Sahil Mehta, a South Bay teen who had also lost his brother to the same brain cancer. Their parents began talking about launching a foundation, and the boy's paths kept crossing - at each other's homes, on ski trips, at fundraising events. Over time, their friendship deepened, rooted in the kind of loss few others their age could understand.

In Washington, D.C., more than 100 young activists came together for Advocates for Youth's annual Youth Activist Institute (YAI) - a five-day gathering that has become a cornerstone of youth advocacy and leadership development. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Institute, underscoring decades of commitment to equipping young people with the tools to fight for sexual health, reproductive justice, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Raising socially conscious children is crucial due to prevalent injustice and systemic challenges, helping them grow aware and engaged in social movements.

The atmosphere in Sugar Man was vibrant, filled with purple lights, trendy bartenders, and a crowd that included young Syrian activists returning home to celebrate freedom.

The protests against President Faure Gnassingbe's constitutional reforms from June 26 to 28 saw thousands in Lome facing a violent crackdown, resulting in at least four deaths and numerous injuries.

Goldstein noted, "The president is doing some very, very dangerous things," emphasizing the urgency of youth activism amid troubling political actions.

"There's nothing I can do about people's actions, just focus on my own," Hernandez told Castle. "I'm still a child, you're an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person."

Rohan Mehta said, "I always knew I wanted to do something to be part of the solution... I wanted to create something practical that could really help people."

"We are ready to fight for our future with everything we've got. Our generation will not sit back while Trump and fossil fuel billionaires destroy our home."