Democracy for Young Skeptics: Creating Decolonizing Frameworks for Youth Engagement

Our main thesis explores the question: why should young people believe in democracy? We argue that a growing skepticism about civic education and the term “democracy” among the youth correlates to their perceived lack of agency. For this reason, our approach stresses the ways in which power is often withheld from young people, disconnecting them both from problems and potential solutions, especially in educational spaces. We offer an alternative framework for rethinking democracy in education, with the goal of empowering young skeptics. Through an approach built on diverse case studies at the intersections of democracy, education, and crisis, this panel will aim to deconstruct universalist “democracy” frameworks with the goal of creating more participatory, inclusive, and democratic spaces.