Writer: Ysabella Naizza Yumul
Creatives: Jia Moral
Moderator: Tobey Fhar Isaac Calayo
Observed annually on September 15 is the International Day of Democracy. This day, first celebrated worldwide in 2008, was instituted by the UN General Assembly in 2007 and has since empowered and urged government bodies to prioritize democratic integrity and resilience. The global commemoration is recognized for the opportunity it yields for leaders and governing bodies to assess the democratic landscape worldwide. It seeks to emphasize the need for accountable and participatory leadership. It also encourages and supports efforts to deepen civic participation among the international community, civil society, and individuals.
António Guterres, UN Secretary General, reflected on its 18th year of observance in his video message, reaffirming that “democracy is powered by the will of the people – by their voices, their choices, and their participation. …we honour the courage of people everywhere who are shaping their societies through dialogue, participation, and trust. At a time when democracy and the rule of law are under assault from disinformation, division, and shrinking civic space, these efforts are more vital than ever.”
Amid the tireless calls for deeper civic engagement, one group remains strongly affected and often silenced: the youth. According to Nishiyama (2017), though frequently portrayed as passive participants in civic discourse and spaces, young people remain involved in action, whether through activism, community and development work, or everyday decisions that ripple through society. In a study conducted by Saat, et. al. (2025), it was revealed that Southeast Asian youths have pressing concerns surrounding the following: unemployment and recession, corruption, and widening socio-economic gap and rising income disparity. Additional findings from the study showed that Filipino youth exhibit skepticism in democracy, with only 25.9 percent expressing optimism on the country’s current political situation.
Young people, often regarded as digital natives, are now witnessing and experiencing an involuted psychological landscape. There is an underlying yet growing pressure to stay informed and engage civically despite expressions of skepticism, helplessness, and disillusionment.
Feng and Suzuki (2023) found that increased political engagement significantly impacts poor mental health, as evident among numerous diverse youth populations, albeit not in individuals with strong community ties and access to local resources. Further results showed that voting, commonly considered an empowering act, was linked with improved mental health among the overall youth. However, the trend demonstrated a reversal among Asian youth who,along with LGBTQ+ youth and those with lower household income and lower educational attainment, associated the democratic act with emotional strain and distress. This may result from the stress of civic engagement that individuals, who are already overwhelmed by their living conditions, have to shoulder (Ehsan and De Silva, 2015, as cited in Fenn, et. al., 2024). Moreover, the youth often view politics and political engagement with pessimism. In a 2022 poll conducted by Harvard’s Institute of Politics, results showed that plenty of young people hold the belief that “political involvement rarely has tangible results” (36%) and their vote “doesn’t make a difference” (40%) (Erickson-Schroth, 2024).
In relation to previous observations, Brett Q. Ford, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, mentioned that politics is not just a one-time thing that impacts us every election season; instead, it trickles down to our everyday lives. It is essential, a necessity, to provide the youth with the tools that will allow them to “manage the chronic stress of day-to-day politics” while also exemplifying the drive to sustain engagement with politics when called for.
If democracy is in truth, as the UN Chief has mentioned, powered by the voices and participation of the people, then young people’s mental health should be recognized as, first and foremost, a democratic concern. Listening to and uplifting their voices, empathizing with their lived experiences, and co-creating solutions with them are not mere acts of compassion. Rather, they serve as acts of governance, demonstrating the true potential of democracy in practice.
As affirmed by Min Cheon, who previously campaigned as Singapore Democratic Party’s GE 2020 candidate, democratic institutions affect individual empowerment because it’s “about creating the space, and allowing people to participate, to feel safe enough, in which it has a very strong bearing on the well-being of society, in terms of mental health, and stable progression.” For this reason, she underlined the power of listening, remarking that it should be the first step towards a progressing society. “To build a society that’s compassionate, inclusive, and progressive, we need to listen to each other, we need to build support, and encourage each other,” she continued.
Now more than ever, we, the youth, recognize the need to turn voice into action. But without sufficient support from leaders and governing bodies that promised us a bright future and a better nation, how do we move forward?
Session Questions
- What spaces (online or offline) make you feel safe to express your views?
- How do you cope with feelings of helplessness or burnout related to your country’s political climate and the issues surrounding it?
- Have you ever participated in a civic activity (e.g., voting, protest, community forum)? How did it affect your sense of agency?
References:
Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2025). International day of democracy. https://www.ipu.org/impact/democracy-and-strong-parliaments/international-days/international-day-democracy
UNESCO. (n.d.). International day of democracy. https://www.unesco.org/en/days/democracy
United Nations. (2025, September 14). International Day of Democracy 2025 – UN Chief message | United Nations [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEO1TrRUwFE
Nishiyama K. (2017). Deliberators, not future citizens: Children in democracy, Journal of Public Deliberation, 13(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.16997/jdd.267
Saat, N.; Halimatusa’diyah, I.; Anamwathana, P.; Shukri, S.; and Gregorio, V.L. (2025). Youth and civic engagement in Southeast Asia: A survey of undergraduates in six countries. ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, (1). https://www.iseas.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/TRS1_25.pdf
Feng, L. and Suzuki, S. (2023, April 27). Community connections matter for the mental health of politically active youth. Circle. https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/community-connections-matter-mental-health-politically-active-youth
Fenn, N.; Sacco, A.; Monahan, K.; Robbins, M.; and Pearson-Merkowitz, S. (2022, December 21). Examining the relationship between civic engagement and mental health in young adults: a systematic review of the literature, J Youth Stud, 27 (4), 558-587. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2022.2156779
Erickson-Schroth, L. (2024, September 30). Civic engagement can boost youth mental health. The Jed Foundation. https://jedfoundation.org/civic-engagement-can-boost-youth-mental-health/
Ford, B.Q.; Feinberg, M.; Lassetter, B.; and Gatchpazian, A. (2023, January 23). The political is personal: The cost of daily politics, The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/01/politics-affecting-mental-health
