Spotlight: Youth voices in Timor
/Spotlight: Youth Voices in Timor
Photo by Carolina Silva/UNDP Timor-Leste.
In Timor-Leste, over 70% of the population is under 35 yet political power rests with older generations. UNDP launched Youth Conversations to bridge that gap. By combining fun offline methods (like renting electric tuk-tuks and deploying a mobile podcast studio in a van) together with digital tools like the Ekota AI polling platform, they were able to bring youth voices into national policymaking conversations. This hybrid approach helped elevate issues like domestic workers’ rights to the legislative agenda, showing how inclusive, youth-led engagement can reshape governance even in low-connectivity contexts.