The increase in civic engagement among young people in Poland (2019–2021)
revealed tensions related to their role in public life. The article explores how young activists
perceive themselves and their ways of negotiating intergenerational relationships. Based
on the interviews conducted, it is visible that young people’s understanding of activism
and intergenerational relations goes beyond the dominant discourses of exceptionalism
and generational conflict, inviting a redefinition of young people’s civic engagement as an
organic, networked process, which is described through a metaphor of the participatory
root system.
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