Young people's citizenship

Current debates around citizenship are concerned with rethinking questions of political and social justice. Various citizenships have been proposed and discussed in the academic literature. An assumption in many of these discussions is that citizenship is a condition of and for adults. The current project identifies how young people in Australia describe the type of community or citizenship they want. Through interviews with 76 young people from across Australia a model of an inclusive citizenship emerged. Young people articulate a citizenship which comprises notions of belonging, mutual respect, multiple identities and participation. These findings are discussed in light of current debates concerning citizenship.