Youth activism as a social phenomenon in the United States truly became defined in the mid- to late-nineteenth century when young people began forming labor strikes in response to their working conditions, wages, and hours. Child laborers in the coal mines of Appalachia began this trend, with newspaper carriers, soon following. These actions isolated youths’ interests in the popular media of the times, and separated young people from their contemporary adult labor counterparts.

This separation continued through the 1930s, when the American Youth Congress presented a “Bill of Youth Rights” to the US Congress. Their actions were indicative of a growing student movement present throughout the US from the 1920s through the early 1940s. The 1950s saw the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee bring young people into larger movements for civil rights. This led to the outbreak of youth activism in the 1960s.

Source: Wikipedia.org

It is said that the future of the world is left in the hands of the youth. More than ever, young people are using the Internet as a tool for advancing social change. Recently, a coalition of youth-oriented nonprofits got together and demanded that they have had enough of extremism worldwide, and are now putting those who use violence as a method on notice.

Digital Tools Being Used: Facebook, blogs, video, wikis

What Are They Doing: Pioneering leaders of youth movements from around the world, and other prominent attendees, met for the first time at the Alliance of Youth Movements Summit in New York City last week to share and discuss how to change the world by building powerful grassroots movements. Their website features videos from how to launch a human rights blog to how to practice passive resistance. They are currently using their Facebook group to organize a worldwide march January 17, 2009 to protest the recent Mumbai terrorists attacks and all other forms of extremism.

Source: Digiactive.org

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