731 YOUTH CITIZENSHIP: CONNECTED AND UNCONNECTED IN PUBLIC ISSUES Volume: 4 Number: 3 Page: 731 - 743 Laurensius Petrus SAYRANI1, David B.W. PANDIE2, Melkisedek NBC NEOLAKA3 1,2,3Faculty Of Social Sciences and Political Science, University of Nusa Cendana, Kupang, Indonesia Corresponding author: Laurensius Petrus Sayrani E-mail: laurensiussayrani@staf.undana.ac.id Article History: Received: 2023-02-14 Revised: 2023-04-08 Accepted: 2023-05-17 Abstract: This study is about youth citizenship in the management of public issues. Indonesia is dominated by young people, which led to many studies and opinions regarding their dynamics. The main issue raised in this article is how the conditions and citizenship of young people grow and develop in response to the public issues around them. This study uses qualitative methods like in- depth interviews, case studies, and concentrated conversations with 15-25- year-olds to illustrate this topic. The results of this research show that young people in these two regions may describe key public issues, which is interesting because mainstream public issues are not usually defined and the tendency to use digital media as a forum for organizing and social movements. Digital media allows children's movements which tend to be small and limited. In autonomous movements, this independence is strongly influenced by their desire not to be interfered with by other groups. Furthermore, diametric relations with the government. Another strong trait is their desire to be independent of the government. Even though their efforts are often considered important by the government, they tend to keep their distance from the government. This research constructs the citizenship character of young people, which is referred to as the active-differential model. This model of citizenship shows the emergence of youth-style activism, which is quite strong. The activism of young people especially grows and is facilitated through digital media that is currently developing. Through this mechanism, the character of the youth movement then tends to become more autonomous and relatively independent from the influence of state institutions. Keywords: Youth, Citizenship, Public Issues, Active-Differential. Cite this as: SAYRANI, L.P., PANDIE, D.B.W., & NEOLAKA, M.N. (2023). “Youth Citizenship: Connected and Unconnected in Public Issues”. International Journal of Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Sciences, 4(3), 731 - 743. INTRODUCTION The Government of the Republic of Indonesia, through Law no. 40 of 2009, has provided legal certainty regarding the roles, responsibilities and rights of youth. It is certainly based on a shared understanding and commitment regarding the importance of the existence and progress of young people in the life of the nation and state. The existence of young people is valued as the next generation who are expected to be able to make fundamental changes in every aspect of life. Youth are also expected to be able to understand the basic ideals (rechtsidee), philosophy of life, outlook on life and ideology of the state when it was founded so that one day they will truly become leaders of the country so that all activities carried out do not deviate from what the founding fathers (Mahfud MD) had formulated, 2010:12) mailto:laurensiussayrani@staf.undana.ac.id 732 When referring to the UN Secretariat (United Nations) in the use of the term 'youth' or 'youth generation', the meaning often changes. A person can be said to be a youth if he is between 15-24 years old (Setiawan & Oktavianti, 2020). In the case of Indonesia, the definition of youth may change depending on circumstances, especially due to changes in demographic, financial, economic and socio-cultural conditions (Adioetomo et al., 2011: 34). However, when referring to the Law of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Number 40 of 2009 concerning Youth, the term 'youth' is defined as someone in the age range of 16-30 years. Therefore, if you follow the law, the term youth is a person aged 16-30 years. The existence of this age when they are in this year is youth born in the 1990s and 2000s. In the context of decentralization, every young person is a potential asset as a future leader responsible for making local government more responsive, transparent and accountable to the interests of society by prioritizing democratic values and social justice. Citizenship in Various Perspectives. Article 1 point 2 of Law No.12 of 2006 explains citizenship as all matters relating to citizens. The mapping of citizenship concerning participation (democracy) can be referred to in the description presented by Collin (2015), which divides it into several perspectives, namely (1). "Good citizenship" is the exercise of a right. This idea comes from liberal ideas that emphasize democratic institutions in fulfilling individual basic rights in relation to the state. So citizenship here is related to fulfilling basic rights and the political processes associated with them. In this perspective, the orientation is related to young people regarding how they use their political rights, especially in elections, participation in political parties and political literacy, (2) Good citizenship as the exercise of duties. This approach emphasizes "duty" as a critical component. Here they see the importance of active citizens in policy participation as a form of political responsibility, (3) Good citizenship as the articulation of difference. This approach emphasizes inclusiveness and transformation based on a critical and interpretive radical/critical approach. Thus, this approach tends to place the idea of citizenship in the context of structural issues that are unfair in various dimensions, such as age, gender, ethnicity, et cetera, which have an impact on citizenship issues. Thus they tend to reject liberal ideas such as equal citizenship. They focus more on seeing citizenship issues on the dynamics of position, social relations and membership concerning identifying joint actions based on common interests. In public administration studies, citizenship is an essential focus of the New Public Service (NPS) idea initiated by Denhardt and Denhartd (2007). In the mapping of these two authors, in general, the definition and discussion related to citizenship are at least covered by an individual approach that emphasizes each individual's self-interest (rational theory). Thus, in relation to the state, the duty of the state is to enable each individual's interests to be fulfilled. In the paradigm of governance of public affairs, according to Denhartd, this kind of situation develops in the New Public Management (NPM) paradigm. Another approach, Denhartdt refers to the thoughts of Mansbridge (1994), which emphasizes what is referred to as "public spirit" as an essential matter in discussions about citizenship. Denhartd himself referred to it as "democratic citizenship". In this context, the individual is oriented to something outside his self-interest as an individual and tries to go beyond it for the greater public interest. Furthermore, for Denhardt, citizenship will grow and develop in three main conditions: a sense of justice, participation and deliberation. Therefore, for both of them, citizenship is an idea that goes beyond voters, clients and customers in public affairs. Construction of the Meaning of Youth in Democracy. An essential reference in this regard is a book written by Philippa Collin (2015) entitled Young Citizens and Political Participation in a Digital Society regarding the relationship between government policy, youth political participation and digital media. In this book, Collin compares youth participation in Australia and England. He 733 conducted case studies on young people, staff and implementers at NGOs that worked with young people for quite a long duration between 2007 and 2013. Collin sees youth from a constructionist perspective. For him, the meaning of youth is always connected with things outside of youth (social structures, social processes and conventions regarding youth) and connected with how youth identify themselves. Here, the meaning of youth is the language social actors use to represent youth. The meaning of youth, when associated with something that comes from outside (external), especially the state, then the state, as Collin said, is positioned as 'what must become' rather than 'things that have an existence' (as becoming rather than being). In the context of citizenship, young people are then positioned as a product that is 'printed to be good citizens' rather than 'treated as citizens'. So, youth are always positioned as people who must understand what and where 'good participation' for the state is. At the same time, citizenship is not a reality with a single meaning. Thus, the most reasonable effort in explaining youth participation is to illustrate two things. First, how are the various modes of citizenship and forms of political identity in youth discourse? The second describes how youth identify themselves in dealing with institutional and non-institutional forms of politics, political organizations and political action. The problem of the fluidity of youth and citizens is compounded by the role of another dimension, namely internet technology or digital media, in politics. With the internet, politics has become increasingly mediated. According to Collin, young people in Australia and England always think of participation in the context of 'issues' rather than institutions or processes. Youth participate only in issues of their choice rather than participating as part of the state (being citizens). These youths choose to participate in more personal things with a non-hierarchical structure. They feel more unrestrained and thus can integrate the act of participation with their lifestyle. So, for these youths, personal goals are 'political actions'. Personal goals are always reflected in the way youth conceptualize participation. In fact, according to Collin, young people may be motivated by multiple goals framed by focusing action on specific issues, meeting new people, expanding relationships and seeking experiences for the future. What is absent from discussions about political participation are ideological or philosophical references. Even if they talk about politics, what they talk about refers to the context of an issue. The government reproduces participatory policies as adult-led, hierarchical and elitist policies. When dealing with youth, the government failed to change this perspective from a 'membership-based society' to a 'network-based society'. The government usually forces young people to become 'members of society' who are burdened with specific tasks. In response, young people continue to look for spaces where they can dialogue and discuss – not the space provided by the government. When young people communicate their ideas in the space they want, they ask the government to hear and understand their views. It is what is meant by disconnect democracy, where there is always a distance between the concept of participation desired by the government and youth. The State and Youth Involvement in Good Governance. The focus of the analysis will look at youth in a broader context, namely that they are part of the family, community and country. Scheper-Hughes and Sargent (1998) state that the living space of young people is found in the social structure, starting from the global political economy level to the family and community level. Therefore, it is crucial to know how their interactions and relationships with others and how adults influence the lives of young people (Boyden and Ennew 1997). The research will consider the voices and perspectives of young people on the social structures that influence their lives. 734 The development of constructive interactions by involving young people in social organizations is the primary capital for democratic local governance and is vital for investment and economic growth. In addition, the involvement of young people will widen access to economic opportunities, especially for women, and foster collective action that can pressure the government to provide better public services (World Bank, 2006). For most young people, direct conversations to recognize their presence in every policy-making and implementation will be very important compared to just, for example, voting (World Bank, 2006). Young people are given opportunities to participate not only in organizations formed by the government but also in community organizations/CSOs, NGOs, or other social organizations, both profit and non-profit. Socially and politically, young people have a strategic position in terms of numbers and the dynamics of their contribution to social, economic and political life. Demographically, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) quoted by dataindonesia.id (2022), the number of young people in Indonesia will be 64.92 million in 2021. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), this number is equivalent to 23.90% of the total population of Indonesia, as depicted in Figure 1 below: Sumber: dataindonesia.id (2022) Figure 1. Percentage of Indonesian Youth 2011-2021 In the figure above, it can be explained that in terms of absolute magnitude, the number of youths continues to grow every year. Although, the opposite happens if you look at the percentage of youth in the total population of Indonesia. From 2011-2021, Indonesia's youth percentage decreased by around two points. This situation cannot be separated from the Family Planning (KB) program, which seeks to reduce the population growth rate. Meanwhile, as many as 39.80% of youth are 19-24 years old. As many as 39.33% of youth aged 25-30 years. Meanwhile, youth aged 16-18 years was 20.87%. Based on gender, 50.91% of youth are male. This proportion is higher than female youth, which is 49.51% (dataindonesia.id, 2022). Meanwhile, based on the results of the 2020 Population Census, Indonesia's population is dominated by Generation Z. There is a total of 74.93 million or 27.94% of Indonesia's total population. Generation Z is currently estimated to be 8 to 23 years old. Not all Generation Z are productive, but in about seven years, all Generation Z will enter productive age. The next largest population composition is in productive age, namely millennials, as much as 69.38 million or 25.87% and Generation X, 58.65 million or 21.88 %. While the least population is Pre Boomer, as 735 much as 5.03 million or 1.87%. Pre Boomers are residents born before 1945, Baby Boomers born between 1946 to 1964, and Generation X from 1965 to 1980. Then Millennials from 1981 to 1996, Gen Z from 1997 to 2012, and Post Gen Z born from 2013 onwards (katadata.co.id, 2021). That means that the younger generation makes up almost a quarter or 24.01% of the total population of Indonesia (Agustina et al., 2019, pp. 9). However, according to Maesy (2011, pp. 2), it is a social construction that contains relative and biased. It is because each person or institution has its definition of categories. Economically they also come from diverse economic backgrounds. About three-quarters come from the lower and middle economic groups. Meanwhile, another 22 percent comes from the top household expenditure group. According to BPS, Indonesia's poverty line was around IDR 425 thousand per capita in March 2019. This economic status also affects their level of education. Nearly 69 percent of youth from economically affluent families can complete high school and tertiary education. While young people in the lowest economic class are mostly only able to graduate from junior high school. Source: Katadata.co.id (2020) Figure 2. Percentage of Youth by Education As a result, those with economic and educational limitations enter the labor market more quickly. Most of them work in the informal sector as drivers or casual workers. The amount is quite large, namely 35 percent. Meanwhile, 6.5 percent are engaged in services, and only 0.5 percent work at the managerial level (Safrezi, 2020). However, we need to see that young people can't only be seen from a demographic perspective, as James Siegel said in Solo in the New Order (1986), where young people also have aspirations to show their youth, which is different from the older generation. It was also revealed from research conducted by the IDN Research Institute. In a report entitled "Indonesia Millennial Report 2019", the activities of young Indonesians are currently heavily influenced by the digital world, from culinary and traveling, to looking for work done online. Not only a matter of taste and lifestyle but aspirations are also evident among young people in the political field. Political issues are not the focus of attention for millennials. It cannot be separated from the interest in news about lifestyle, films, and technology close to their lives. While political issues are considered heavy, complicated, and tedious. However, they have their political views, especially concerning the life of Indonesia's diversity, democracy, security, and the eradication of corruption. 736 At the same time, in a broader political context, such as elections, the existence of young people as voters is an essential determinant in the election constellation in Indonesia, as seen in the last 2019 election. The General Election Commission (KPU) estimates that young voters will reach 70-80 million people or 35-40% of the 139 million voters. In line with that, data from the Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) shows that the millennial generation in the age range of 17-34 years reaches 34.40% of the total population (Katadata.co.id/2020). Source: Katadata.co.id (2020) Figure 3. Indicative Millennial and Non-Millennial Voters in the 2019 Presidential Election According to the Populi Center On another level, young people are synonymous with the desire to make changes. As Ben White wrote in Youth Identities and Social Transformations in Modern Indonesia (2015), Indonesian youth are most actively involved in the government reform movement. According to National University historian Andi Achdian, this active involvement is because young people are always in a transitional period. They face a new world amidst the existing order. As a result, they have more freedom in expressing their concerns than previous generations. Unfortunately, according to White, young people's demands for change often fail to materialize. After the movement or political agenda ends, the new government in power sees young people as political vehicles that should support their regime, not be rebels anymore. Therefore, the government will try to reduce their activism. In the local context, awareness of the important position of young people needs to be followed up by ensuring their involvement in local governance processes. In carrying out its role, every youth can participate individually or collectively to represent himself or a group. It is based on the understanding that youth (individually) or young people (collectively) have diverse backgrounds based on education, economy, ethnicity, religion, gender, region of origin, physical ability, and so on. Understanding the diversity of young people requires a real response from all relevant parties in the form of providing space for participation in the implementation of democratic and constructive dialogue, both for the interests of the group (youth people) and the interests of the wider community. In this way, all the needs, interests and expectations of young people can be accommodated and followed up in the form of quality and sustainable policies and strategic programs. 737 In Law no. 40 of 2009, the Government of Indonesia uses the age limit for young people to be 15-30 years. Meanwhile, young people in this study are residents aged 15-24 according to the 1985 International Youth Year definition. The upper age limit of 24 years is also consistent with the WHO definition of young people (10-24 years). Although every citizen who falls into the 15–24- year age category has the right to represent himself individually, this study emphasizes the role and involvement of youth as a collectivity or group of people, so this study consistently uses the term youth. Due to the reality of youth diversity, this study is not intended to work on or produce findings on specific youth. Instead, this study will identify and understand young people from various backgrounds, potentials and strengths. In addition, this study will also identify means to encourage and create opportunities in the lives of young people and how these potentials can optimize their contribution to achieving better governance. The main question of this research is how does youth citizenship grow and consolidate in encouraging the governance of public issues? METHODS The design of this study applies qualitative methods, which are framed in the Asset Based model by Mathie and Cunningham (2003). This approach is used to see that the involvement of young people will be pursued by identifying their success, analyzing the factors that drive their success, and constructing it into a model for the youth movement. In general, the focus of this research is directed at exploring and analyzing the condition of youth citizenship in the management of public issues, which are directed at internal assets and external assets which can be framed in an asset-based approach, gender analysis and generational relations which results in an open research focus.Qualitative research considers the need for depth, accuracy, and holistic information that the researcher wants to achieve. The data sources for this research are all young people and stakeholders related to developing the potential of young people in Ngada Regency and Kupang City. Given these needs, informants were determined purposively at the beginning of the data search process, followed by the snowball sampling technique. Initially, purposive techniques were used to determine critical informants who were considered to have the required information. The target of key informants in this study was youth aged 15-24 who were active in various activities. At the beginning of the data collection process, secondary data will be collected to assess the potential of young people to share their activities. These data include statistical data, various policies, and related research results. These documents will be reviewed to obtain an overview of the involvement of young people in various matters related to public issues management. Data analysis activities will be carried out simultaneously with data collection, from the initial to the final. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Kupang City Youth: Digital Media and Collectivity. This study shows many reasons or motivations for young people to get involved in various youth communities with their respective issues. One of them is Ifana Tungga. This 25-year-old woman in 2020 started joining the Multimedia School for All (Skolmus) in the archiving team even though previously she was a theology graduate. His interest in archives stems from his activities in collecting church archives. The interesting thing is that he and his colleagues have researched the history of the Agape Church in Kupang City, where most of the congregation is ethnic Chinese. From this process, he discovered a problem that many people, including the government, did not pay enough attention to, namely the lack of documents or books about the history of a city and its dynamics, including in the City of Kupang. 738 Not only guided by this, some young people even have to leave their city (small town) because they are considered socially inclined to shackle a more open mind. Closeness to sexual issues in traditional communities is troubling for young people. It is felt by Ilta Tafuli, for example. It encouraged him at a young age, namely 22 years now, he has joined the For PKBI community which is engaged in the sexual education movement, especially for young people. This community advocates for school children regarding HIV/AIDS, bullying, and visits to children's prisons. The orientation of this community movement is to strengthen children who tend to be socially marginalized. It turns out that young people like recording this city when they are involved in the youth movement and are also driven by something much bigger. For them, the community is part of their efforts to find their dreams that are not confined by what young people do. Young people must have many choices and space to develop their career choices. PKBI and Southeast also saw the tendency to take actions that the government did not carry out. For them, the issue of sex is an issue that is not discussed seriously at school. This condition shows that young people have an imagination that is different from the mainstream imagination socially, even that thought by the government. This space, as well as an alternative, is what young people want to shape and encourage. Another interesting thing is the emergence of a tendency for young people to use digital media as the basis for their activities, such as Facebook, Instagram and podcasts. For them, through social media, young people's ideas are considered easier to connect with other people, especially other young people. On the other hand, the efforts of young people to work on public issues are only sometimes connected with the government. In terms of financing, for example, youth movements tend to be carried out independently. The movement to record the city, for example, was carried out independently, which was able to raise funds independently, including through donations that were raised independently. In another aspect, they also choose to collaborate with other communities with the same vision and direction of movement. However, the interesting thing is the independence that young people promote based on efforts so that outsiders, including the government, do not intervene in ideas and program designs that are carried out. . At a more substantial level, youth movements such as recording cities see that there is a problem with the government's work related to archives which are considered to have no clear concept. So there is a knowledge gap between young people and the government which complicates their communication with the government. At the same time, young people are considered to be the ones who have to build communication with the government, not the other way around. Intergenerational relations are also an interesting dimension to study. As practiced by some young people in Kupang City and others, the movement to record the city develops in a dynamic "senior" (kaka-kaka) relationship scheme. An open mindset and communication style are recognized as a situation that allows younger people to appear confident and develop their potential according to what they want. The process of learning between generations is also evident in the efforts of young people to apply leadership patterns that vary according to the conditions and situations they face through archiving activities. Archives like those run by some young people at school originate from a great curiosity about the city's history. To know the city's history through archives, they can know their identities as city residents. The perspective of viewing archives as historical documents is also interesting. For them, the archives attempt to find the city's identity. Recording the city is an effort to see the city's history in three aspects: memory, space and imagination. Here time is not seen as merely past, present and future which are linear. Nevertheless, time is seen as a circle. In this way, through the archives, the city's citizens, in 739 general, can be encouraged to imagine the desired future city and participate in the policies that the city government will take. Bajawa City Youth: Breaking the Vacuum in Communality. In the last two years, there has been a movement of young people who are members of the Mata Api Old Workshop (LOTUMAPI) in the form of a podcast. The exciting thing about this podcast is that it is claimed to be the first podcast in Flores (NTT), founded on January 8, 2021. According to Reinald L. Meo and Hancel Goru, two of the media's founders (https://youtu.be/dEv-t5L8ocY). The Bajawa people's custom of gathering nearby a garden at specific times to converse about various topics while sipping moke is referenced by their podcast, Loka Tua (alcoholic drink). At this moment, various severe problems in the community were resolved amicably. Many community decisions are taken from this mechanism. The interesting thing about this movement is that there is an effort to reveal an intelligent youth movement with their catchy slogan, "for LOTUMAPI, everything is a question". They attempt to choose a serious issue or theme for their podcast but in a less serious package. There is some effort to move the traditional communication model of the Bajawa people in Loka Tua into digital media, simultaneously creating a unique communication model for young Bajawa people. On the other hand, this movement is also a sign of the emergence of young people who care about public problems and seriously problematize them. It is important because in Ngada Regency, especially in Bajawa City, it is rather difficult to find political movements influencing this area's social and political situation, at least in the last 10 years. This situation is rather interesting to observe because, in 2014, the movement to influence and even suppress government policies appeared rather intensively, spearheaded by a young man, Fritz Dose, who organized himself in the Ngada Community Communication Forum as a forum for fighting against the Ngada regional government's policy of reallocating (moving) traders from the market. Bajawa Inpres to a new market, namely Boubou. This community raises several issues. In its first broadcast, this community was relatively bold in raising a theme related to politics with the theme "Are you ready to be the next?" who appointed one of the young figures in Ngada Regency, namely Geradus Reo, in the regional election contestation for Ngada Regency (https://youtu.be/BnskTWgmdfM). It was considered brave because they raised political themes but at the same time discussed a figure directly. It has the potential to make this podcast a political tool for a certain group. It will readily be labeled a "supporter" of someone and become an "opponent" of another group. However, this is interesting in the context of young people and the city of Bajawa, where political talk in "official" public spaces is scarce. That means the youth movement has become a rigid hacker who talks about politics openly. This kind of movement is interesting because in the context of Ngada in general and Bajawa City in particular, where people tend to be socially connected (family), know each other, and are socially connected to the bureaucracy, talking about politics and even figures has the potential to result in direct social disunity. Such a risk is something that many people in Bajawa do not want to take, let alone young people. In other early episodes, especially in episode 3, they raised the issue of Covid-19, which at that time was so worrying for the people in this city. This worry is not solely due to the danger of spreading the Covid-19 virus but precisely because this situation is taking place in an area, especially Bajawa City, a relatively small city. In situations like this, the social dynamics related to this issue are far more complex. At that point, as young people, they tried to fill the space of public anxiety about covid-19 with information about various things related to covid-19. 740 More than that, crucial issues full of conflict, such as the Mataloko geothermal development, were also raised (https://youtu.be/Fl8ZJTAY4KU). Featuring guest speaker Toni Anu, several things are attempted to be reviewed in this podcast. The interesting thing that was revealed was the reason for the residents' rejection of the development of this geothermal project. Some of these reasons include that the community around the project location tends to perceive that this project has no significant implications for their welfare. Another thing is the use of productive land for the community as this project's scope. On the other hand, the land is the basis of community life in the agricultural and plantation community scheme. Concerns about disruption to residents' springs, the environment and the emergence of social conflicts were also some of the reasons raised in this discussion. In this discussion, they also raised how this rejection relates to the government. What is evident is the government's systematic efforts to involve community leaders, religious leaders, village government and sub-districts for a comparative study in Manado. Another issue raised concerns "PSN", namely the Ngada Football Association (https://youtu.be/BnskTWgmdfM), a local club belonging to Ngada Regency. As an area whose residents are very interested in football and are fanatical about PSN, the progress, problems, achievements, et cetera. Related to this club will be a concern and even be defined as a public problem typical of the Ngada people. This condition has prompted LOTUMAPI also to discuss this issue in their podcast. Interestingly, this episode was the episode with the most visitors. In contrast to the youth movement in Kupang City, a more typical situation is found in Bajawa City. Communal social character (everyone tends to know each other/connected in various ties such as family/grand, religious institutions, social and cultural rituals), especially socially connected with the bureaucracy (family/acquaintances in the bureaucracy), is a situation that does not allow the emergence of political movements open. Through the bureaucracy, parents, relatives and other social forms, people in Ngada (Bajawa) mobilize social status, an established economic base, social symbols of the community and even, to some extent, become channels of access to bureaucratic resources such as projects for contractor families, social assistance and other types of access. That means criticizing the bureaucracy is tantamount to dealing with "their people". In this situation, the movement to influence the public and even deal with the government is carried out in a "soft mechanism" through digital media instruments. Through this media with intelligent packaging, conflicts can be minimized while maximizing their movement in social relations (community).The research results in these two areas show the following character trends in the involvement of young people in public issues, as explained below. Definition of a public problem. The findings of this study indicate that young people in these two regions can define public issues that they consider essential. To a certain extent, public problems are not always defined in the mainstream. For example, the issue of city archives is an interesting example of this. The issue of the city archives is considered vital by them amid typical issues of the City of Kupang in general, such as drinking water, garbage, street lighting and et cetera. For residents of Kupang City in general, the city archives are not a concern and are even thought of as a public matter. Youth in Bajawa City is the same way. The PSN Ngada issue concerns the Ngada public, but they tend not to see it as part of a public issue within a public framework. The issue concerns many people but is not considered a policy issue. At that point, young people in this city problematized this issue and voiced it from a public perspective, not just a matter of social interest. The tendency to use digital media as a forum for organizing and social movements. Digital media allows children's movements which tend to be small and limited, to have greater reach and social influence. Here, social media is not merely a means of movement but is inherent in the 741 character of young people who are literate in this area. Through digital media, they can produce a kind of autonomous space in determining the content and direction of movement, including freedom in defining the public issues they believe in. Autonomous movement. One of the main findings of this study is the character of the independent youth movement, especially in financing. They tend to finance themselves, raise funds for their activities, and even use their resources. This independence is strongly influenced by their desire not to be interfered with by other groups. Diametric relations with the government. Another strong trait is their desire to be independent of the government. Even though their efforts are often considered necessary by the government, they tend to keep their distance from the government. To a certain extent, they think the government cannot connect with them, especially regarding public issues, working mechanisms and offered solutions. Conceptual Framework for Youth Citizenship: Digital Media, Active-Differential (Connected and Disconnected). Research shows that the child publicity movement is unique. It turns out that the youth movement does not only refer to "good citizenship" as the exercise of rights (Collin, 2015), where the youth movement tends to be oriented towards fulfilling their fundamental rights, especially those articulated in elections and political literacy in general. However, the case regarding recording cities, for example, is much broader in orientation. They are not seeking to influence the state through formal political mechanisms to promote their ideas. However, they do it in the community they develop by expanding it through the digital media they control. The youth movement under study is also not fully engaged within the framework of good citizenship as the exercise of duties. This approach emphasizes "duty" as a critical component. Here they see the importance of active citizens in policy participation as a form of political responsibility. Even though, to a certain extent, the youth movements studied reflect active citizens. They do not place them as "duties". The activeness they develop is not in the "duty membership" relationship scheme, which at a certain level, reflects a hierarchical relationship. Instead, they try to carry out their activities in a relatively autonomous scheme to what is defined by the state. The youth movement under study seems more toward the logic of good citizenship as the articulation of difference. This approach tends to place their movement in a "different" movement in the public mainstream. They tend to be autonomous in determining the boundaries of public matters and how they do them. Although the youth movement is developing in the digital era, which allows all people's activities to be commodified economically, the self-interested character of each individual is not fully developed in their movement. Instead, they move in situations where Denhartdt (2017) refers to Mansbrodge's (1994) thinking as guided by "public spirit". In this context, the youth movement is oriented towards something beyond their interests and tries to go beyond it for the greater public interest. Based on these various descriptions, this study proposes a framework for youth citizenship called active-differential citizenship. Active-differential citizenship shows the character of the youth movement, which is autonomous in carrying out its ideas and movement models. Their movements are only sometimes structurally connected with state institutions. Even though they do not openly oppose state actors and institutions, they can appear beyond the state through their activities which are not always defined by the state technically administratively. This kind of diametrical relationship is possible because young people can use digital media as a basis and an instrument for their movement. Through this situation, they can do two things that characterize 742 the youth movement: being connected to the public and, simultaneously, not being connected (autonomous) to the state. CONCLUSION Referring to the main research question, namely, how does youth citizenship grow and consolidate in encouraging the management of public issues? Based on the previous description, this study constructs the citizenship character of young people, which is referred to as an active- differential model. This model of citizenship shows the emergence of youth-style activism, which is quite strong. The activism of young people especially grows and is facilitated through digital media that is currently developing. Through this mechanism, the character of the youth movement then grows and tends to become more autonomous and relatively independent from the influence of state institutions. The autonomy of the youth movement can be seen in two main things, namely, the substance of the movement and its model. In substance, public problems (publicity) are defined in a particular way. It is not defined as the dominant view of something important and deserves to be called a public problem. Their point of view is different from that defined by the state in general. From the aspect of its movement model, youth movements develop on a small scale and are bound to solid relationships. However, in this model, they have the power to reach the public more broadly and deeply. Based on the results of this study, several suggestions can be submitted To other researchers. This theme is fascinating if you want to read it from a public administration perspective. It is because, so far, public administration studies have yet to sufficiently examine policy and management issues with a specific approach, especially for young people. Demographically, they are a dominant group and, at the same time, dynamic. It means that if we want to understand policy, we must also understand the dynamics of this cluster. In this regard, the civic approach needs to be more developed in the study of public administration. Therefore, other researchers can fill this space by using a more diverse model of citizenship to understand its dynamics in policy and management. The limitation of this research is that there needs to be a complete explanation regarding the social, economic and political contests that shape the social character of young people and their relation to digital development. 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