Dossier

Young voices on the rise

Youth & democracy in the Asia-Pacific region

In the Asia-Pacific region, the contest between democracy and autocracy has further escalated in recent years, and the younger generation is playing an increasingly decisive role with creative and innovative forms of democratic engagement. By examining the role of youth in democracy and human rights movements from a wide range of perspectives, this dossier aims to amplify and spread knowledge about the political involvement of youth in their respective regions and, subsequently, to contribute to improve international support mechanisms for ‘Young Advocates For Democracy’ (YA4D).

Thai activists in the spotlight

Ying_DongMafai_01

Rejecting a career in law, Ying now empowers communities fighting polluting mines

Read more
1.Nalutporn Krairiksh.png

Nalutporn Krairiksh: the journalist challenging Thai society to see people with disabilities as equally human

Read more
1.Natthapan_Saengtab.png

Natthapan Saengtab: Leading the fight for land rights in Southern Thailand

Read more
1.Yureesa_Pattani_Nov2021-294.png

Seeking Justice: How Yureesa Sama builds peace through dialogue in the Deep South

Read more
1.HBS_Golf_ChiangMai.png

Patchara Kumchumnan, passionate indigenous rights defender behind the #SaveBangKloi campaign

Read more
2_HBS_Duang_Sept20-98.png

Defending the forests she calls home: Duang’s struggle against a coal mine

Read more
2_Kratae_4SlumNetwork-246

Songseang Supanya: A rising voice of empowerment for the slums of Bangkok

Read more
Fon_LLB_Songklah_Nov2020-79.png

Thailand’s Alisa Bintuna: Believing in the young generation’s power to change the world

Read more
1.Tada_Hengsapkul.png

Thai artist Tada Hengsapkul dredges up history the government wants hidden

Read more
Chana_Songklah_Nov2021-523.png

Khairiyah Rahmanyah: The fisherfolk’s daughter who defends the ocean in Southern Thailand

Read more

Written contributions

intext3.png

Understanding youth protests and activism in India’s northeast

Conversation
India’s northeast has had a chequered history of youth movements and has been home to some of the recent strong pro-democracy movements in the country. Being young in India’s northeast necessitates acts of social interventions of various kinds. In this conversation, Dr. Kaustubh Deka and Dr. Soibam Haripriya reflect on the locality of youth movements and the long history of the culture of protest in the region, as well as its larger resonance.
By Dr. Kaustubh Deka and Dr. Soibam Haripriya
1543760447-huge.png

Transformation or stagnation? How digital media is changing student activism in Indonesia

Analysis
Indonesia, like its neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia, has a long history of student activism; from the participation of indigenous and Islamic students to end Dutch colonial rule and a wave of protests in the 1970s against corruption, student movements became a strong force in Indonesia’s democracy. With the changing landscape of technology has also come a shift in how students and youth in Indonesia become politically engaged.
By Renee Karunungan

E-papers

Reawakening Student Activism cover.png

Reawakening student activism: a case study of Malaysia and Singapore

E-paper

Malaysia and Singapore share a history of suppression of youth activism by the state, and as a result, this has led to the depoliticisation of young people, who are often labelled as apathetic. However, the changing realities of both countries, ­such as the instability of the economy, has led young people to engage more in political discussions in recent years. However, the rise of youth activism also entails rising harassment and state suppression of youth activists through surveillance, arrests and threats to future employability. 

pdf
Youth in nation building_cover.png

In the wake of the coup: how Myanmar youth arose to fight for the nation

E-paper

Based on 34 individual interviews with youth activists involved in the peaceful anti-coup resistance movement in Myanmar, this paper asks: What are the conceptualisations, motivations and expectations held by youth activists participating in the peaceful 2021 anti-coup movement, and what challenges do they face?

pdf
2022-02-09 11_08_54-Window.png

The rise and dynamics of the 2020 youth movement in Thailand

E-paper

Young advocates for democracy are campaigning against the surveillance state and the internet "gateway" to control inappropriate websites and the flow of information from the rest of the world to Thailand. The election win of the Future Forward Party (FFP) shows how Thailand's active young generation is moving from the Internet to the ballot box.

pdf
2022-06-21 14_41_05-Window.png

The dynamic of youth activism in Afghanistan: A journey between hope and desperation

E-paper

This e-paper is written based on interviews conducted with young activists, journalists, human rights defenders and academics from Afghanistan (all under the age of 35), who have been actively involved in the process of democratisation and committed to liberal values over the past 20 years in Afghanistan; it highlights the twenty years of achievements by Afghan youth and explores their hurdles and challenges under the rule of the Taliban’s de facto regime.

pdf

Contact

© Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V.
Schumannstraße 8
10117 Berlin
T +49 (30) 285 34-0
F +49 (30) 285 34-109
www.boell.de
info@boell.de