Encouraging youth civic activism through media engagement

Young people who are civically and politically engaged more often discuss important social issues and take part in volunteer activities in their family and school environment, have more experience with the work of local and central government as well as civil society organisations, and are better educated about and more aware of the influence of the media and disinformation on social developments. Political institutions, schools, civil society organisations, the media and the family therefore have a priority role in encouraging youth activism, which is a challenge for those working on education, socialisation and youth policy-making.
ICS conducted the research on news consumption, recognising disinformation and civic engagement among young people on a controlled sample of 345 respondents aged 18 to 29 with different demographic and socio-economic characteristics (secondary school students, university students, unemployed and employed), through a field survey and three focus groups from December 2023 to March 2024. The research is part of the project “Use the facts”, supported by the British Embassy in Skopje.