Youth Led Organizing in Jerusalem: How Does Gender Change the Game for Young People

Youth engagement is essential for youth and society development and change. Yet not all young people have the same opportunities to access and practice the equal right of participation. This research will look into gender and how it impact young women engagement within youth led organizing groups in Jerusalem. It will look at the challenges faced by youth led organizing groups when planning and implementing their actions for change in Jerusalem, and it differ based on gender. It will explain what types of assets are accessible to youth based on the gender difference, and whether youth utilizes different resources based on their gender. Further, it will look if gender affect youth differently based on their education, locality.  Assets and challenges studied are related to the group itself as in structure, capacity, networks, culture, and leadership style; It is related to the assets and challenges that the local society is facing and type of resources and challenges in it; and finally the sociopolitical context and how it impact youth led organizing.  

This research utilizes institutional ethnography and survey research as research methods. The survey that will cover all active youth groups members will explore the main challenges and assets that are identified by youth activists over the period of the last five years. Institutional ethnography will facilitate understand the position of youth groups within a larger field and its interaction with that field. The research will follow 8 youth led organizing groups that are active in the city of Jerusalem. 6 of these groups are still active, and two of them halted their activities. The comparison across the groups will permit us to look into what ensures groups ity and reaching its best capabilities.