For decades youth have often been framed as apathetic, apolitical, and disengaged from civic action, while their possible political mobilization has been impaired through repression and surveillance. Disenchanted with current regimes, youth participation in social movements in different countries has transformed the socio-political milieu of countries. Although there are different dynamics for the
different settings, we can observe a common thread across the world that youth became powerful agents for showing social resentment and encountering existing regimes. They distressingly suffer from flawed education systems, exacerbating economic conditions, and political corruption. Hence, they develop creative and sophisticated forms of contention to exert pressure over the governments. The social mobilization of young people heralds a new era for the world politics – the current political establishments cannot encroach upon the youth agency anymore. On the other hand, in this new era, fundamentalist movements gain momentum and begin to appeal to young people. As a result, we face the threat that youth become more and more radicalized and cannot settle their issues through prevailing institutional mechanisms. Youthink is a policy-oriented youth solidarity network that aims to bring together influential youth NGOs, student councils and clubs, and academic institutes primarily in Turkey, and globally to offer policy proposals addressing the problems of the youth from the perspective of the youth themselves. This network advocates an integrated approach for youth policies to improve the agency of youth and to enhance their economic and social prospects, by producing academic knowledge, engaging in the relevant policy-oriented projects, and by founding participatory institutional mechanisms for the youth.
