Child and Youth Activism

Children’s activism is defined here as engagement in collective action for social change. Children’s social movements—that is, groups organized to respond to shared concerns, usually injustices and inequalities—are treated as an overlapping notion. Children and youth constitute anywhere from a quarter to nearly half of the world population, depending on focal age range. Whereas the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) defines children as people age 18 and younger, global demographics break population statistics into groups of people under age 15 (26% of global population) and those ages 0 to 24 (40%).

Regardless of age, young people are social beings who live in relationships, communities, and societies. Children and youth witness what happens in their worlds—violence, war, and suffering as well as creativity ...