The New World Order: Global Leadership and the Rise of Gen Z Political Movements

Join Emerging Leaders alumni and Young Professionals for a conversation with the 2026 Eisenhower Global Fellows on the rise of Gen Z-driven political movements.
University students at a protest hold a banner that reads "MARCH FOR JUSTICE" in red letters in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 31, 2024.
Apr
29
Rajib Dhar / AP
Date and Time
Doors Open: 4:45 pm
Location
Chicago Council Conference Center, 130 E Randolph Street

REGISTRATION

This event is for members of our Emerging Leaders and Young Professionals communities. For further information, please reach out to mjirgal@globalaffairs.org.

About This Event

In summer 2024, a student-led protest movement in Bangladesh toppled long-time septuagenarian prime minister Sheikh Hasina and highlighted the growing political power of Generation Z (born 1997-2012).  Subsequent youth-led protests in countries such as Mexico, Madagascar, Peru, and the Philippines signal a broader global shift. Now 26 percent of the world population, members of Gen Z are not waiting for a seat at the table or even for the ballot box. The 2025 Global Youth Participation Index found that those under thirty years old are more likely to take their political participation from social media to the streets. 

How do we make sense of the potency and limitations of these mobilizations? What kinds of change are they generating, and at what cost? Where are they reshaping institutions, and where are they running up against them? And what does it actually take to translate youth-driven mobilization into durable political change? Join Emerging Leaders alumni and members of the Young Professionals Network for a candid conversation with this year's Eisenhower Global Fellows on the rise of Gen Z-driven political movements.