Despite being portrayed as either disillusioned, manipulated troublemakers or idealistic agents, youth citizens exhibit a rich identity rooted in social practices. We wondered: from the vantage point of African youth, what does it mean to be a good citizen? Voting: Youth in our study spent little time describing good citizenship as voting, advocating or protesting. Protesting unfair economic practices reflected the need for money to help family or neighbours in need, an act of good citizenship. The bottom lineThree years of fieldwork in the three countries revealed that youth citizenship is distinct.
