The Youth Platform for Political Economy

For Maryam, growing up in Azerbaijan means watching her country change in real time. Maryam: Youth4Truth's Azerbaijan Ambassador From Baku, she has seen new infrastructure, international events, tourism, and reconstruction reshape the country around her. She is optimistic about that transformation, while also recognizing the challenges facing young people: unequal opportunities between regions, corruption, education, and the question of whether to build a future at home or ab

What happens when the doors close? You build your own. Gabriela Ledezma: Founder of Aquasmart For Gabriela, the problems facing young people in Bolivia are not abstract. She has seen water shortages affect communities around her. She has watched students encounter technologies they had never seen before. She has experienced what it means to approach institutions as a young person and find that the doors are often closed. Through AquaSmart, an organization focused on technolog

Anne: A Third Culture Kid Connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and the United States Anne: Youth4Truth's DRC Ambassador Introduction On July 9, 2026, we spoke with Anne to hear her story. When people think of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they often think of conflict. When they think of Kenya, they picture wildlife and safaris. And when they think of the United States, politics usually comes to mind. Anne’s life connects all three. Born in Chicago t

Before most people think about Ethiopia’s economy, elections, or development, Ethiopians think about something simpler: peace. Introduction Ethiopia is often discussed through headlines about conflict, famine, or economic development. But those headlines rarely capture how ordinary people experience the country from the inside. For Samuel, an Ethiopian student, daily life is shaped by forces that are difficult to separate from one another: religion, war, inflation, ethnicity,