Youth Agency in Civic Education: Contemporary Perspectives from Cabo Verde

Abstract

Globally, young people have demonstrated a certain level of disenchantment with the way their societies are being governed. Whereas some argue that they have become apathetic and somehow passive bystanders, new trends highlight that the opposite is true in many parts of the world. This paper explores the dynamics of youth groups in Cabo Verde who are acting on their frustrations with the lack of state-led citizenship education and enacting new sites to empower other citizens, foster critical and active citizenship as well as develop capabilities to engage, both individually and collectively, in civic and political activities. Two youth-led initiatives, Djumbai Libertariu and Parlamentu di Guetto, which emerged recently in the capital city Praia, will be analysed as social movements contributing to the emergence of new civic spaces, led by youth, for citizenship education, with the aim of tackling the lack of civil society action and attempting to address issues of general concern through both individual and collective action.