Description
The Algerian hirak social movement mobilised millions of Algerian citizens in wide scale marches and different forms of protests over fifty-four weeks from 2019 to 2020. Collectively, the movement, in its different manifestations, transformed political life and the aspirations of young people in the country. What happens after the protest movement? How do youth now see the future of the country? How are they invested in societal transformation in a context which has previously been difficult for civil society to operate in? Exploring youth activisms on the ground in Algeria drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with civil society youth leaders, we try to understand what motivates youth, what prevents them from acting, and what achievements they have made over the last five years. In the context of significant political upheavals, the global pandemic and fluctuating hydrocarbon revenues impacting state capacity to act, young people have increasingly taken on new roles in civil society and in civic activism. Still rejecting politics, despite government attempts to mobilise them through quotas and incentives, young Algerians are using the private sector, start-ups and associations to transform their communities and their own trajectories. We explore what this activism means in terms of citizenship, opportunity and belonging for Algerian youth, as well as for peace and intergenerational relations in the wider context.
