Palestinian Youth Led Initiatives: Apolitical Identity vs Political Engagement

Abstract

Youth civic and political engagement changed over time within the Palestinian society, the role and space provided for young people within civic and political spheres has changed since the first Intifada. Despite the current perception that young people participation in public life has decreased, we find a number of youth led initiatives growing. To have a better understanding of how these initiatives fit within the current political youth engagement picture, it is important to learn about how they develop and the strategies youth use to sustain them. Youth engagement experiences differ due to variations in political opportunities, entry point of engagement, identities, structures established, and networks joined. The research aims at understand the: development and sustainability of youth led initiatives, they type of space do these initiatives provide for young people in terms of mobilization structures, forms of engagement, and inclusion in their communities. The research will utilize case study analysis of two current youth led initiatives. The young people involved in these initiatives describe themselves as apolitical; however they mobilize on various political issues. Most leaders of these youth initiatives are young people who lived the 1st Intifada as children and got engaged during post Oslo period (1993 - 2000). Although the leaders of the group started their community engagement in similar times, the two initiatives were established at different periods.