Gen Z: Forerunners of Change Beyond Old Dividing Lines and Generations

The International Youth Think Tank (IYTT) hereby launches its  new initiative to better understand, amplify, and connect with the youth-led mobilizations reshaping our world. Across continents, young people are taking to the streets – from Kenya and Serbia to Nepal, Tanzania, Iran, Chile, and other countries. They put their life on the line to demand dignity, opportunity, and a say in their societies. Through social media, their courage resonates across borders: a digital wave of solidarity in which Gen Z inspires one another and shows that change is both urgent and possible.

What makes these mobilizations unique? It is not only their vigor or economic frustrations, but their transgression of inherited social orders. In Kenya, young protesters unite across clan groupings, in Serbia, across ethnic divides. These are not merely generational or socioeconomic power struggles, but deeper challenges to inherited structures that have long determined political, economic, and cultural life. Similar patterns emerge elsewhere: young Iranians confronting patriarchal authority, Chilean students pushing constitutional reform, Sudanese youth sustaining pro-democracy movements, and U.S. students demanding climate policy and gun-policy change.

Could we be witnessing a shift in social order itself spreading across the globe? Seen from a longer historical perspective, these actions may mark a renewal of democratic spirit, a collective refusal of division and stagnation . Yet unlike past revolutions led by organized political parties or unions, today’s movement is networked,  structureless, and decentralized. Gen Z mobilizes not through ideology but through shared concerns, claiming fair societies, transparency and accountability of government. Their protests may begin in and prosper from frustration, yet they reveal a yearning for a brighter and more equal future  that speaks across generations.

For the IYTT, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Rather than seeking to lead or define this generation, we aim to connect, listen, and to articulate and possibly amplify the values already animating these movements, learning from their courage. We want to reach out to Gen Z protestors around the world, to hear their voices and understand their visions. What do they see, hope, and fight for? What divides are they crossing and what forms of solidarity are they creating?

Gen Z are not just reacting to crises. They are fighting for their future, daring to move beyond the lines that once divided and restrained we, the people.