With the launch of its third cohort in 2025, Citizenship Beyond the Vote reaffirms its commitment to empowering Guatemalan youth. In the context of political and social challenges, this initiative has established itself as a crucial space for nurturing new leadership, providing young people with the tools to influence decision-making and strengthen democracy in the country.

Participants of the 2024 cohort of the Citizenship Beyond the Vote Project.

For decades, Guatemalan youth have been seen as a generation with great potential but lacking effective spaces to exercise it. In a country marked by the scars of armed conflict, inequality, and democracy under constant strain, young people have been left out of decision-making processes. However, with the emergence of a new civic consciousness and the advantage of the demographic dividend, initiatives like Citizenship Beyond the Vote present an opportunity to transform Guatemala’s political and social reality.

The Citizenship Beyond the Vote program is driven by a consortium of organizations committed to strengthening democracy and youth participation in Guatemala. Among them are Fundación Esquipulas/Global Peace Foundation Central America, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), the Association for Research and Social Studies (ASIES), the Indigenous Organization for Planning and Development (NALEB), and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) through the Electoral Institute. These institutions have joined forces to provide academic, political, and social training to Guatemalan youth, with the goal of enhancing their influence in decision-making and contributing to the construction of a more peaceful, inclusive, and democratic country.

The Demographic Dividend: The Key to Development or a Missed Opportunity?

The inaugural session of the second cohort 2024.

Guatemala is a young country. More than 60% of its population is under the age of 30, representing a strategic advantage known as the demographic dividend—a period when the majority of the population is of working age and can drive economic growth. However, this potential has yet to translate into real opportunities for young people.

The statistics highlight a paradox: although young people are the majority, their participation in political, economic, and social spaces remains minimal. In the 2023 elections, for instance, youth voter turnout was below 50%, reflecting their disenchantment and lack of representation in the political system. Additionally, youth unemployment in Guatemala exceeds 30%, and higher education enrollment reaches less than 12% of the young population.

The absence of public policies that promote the inclusion of young people in political and economic life has perpetuated their marginalization. In this context, the Citizenship Beyond the Vote initiative emerges as a key platform to channel youth leadership and foster active and effective participation in society.

Indigenous Youth: Double Exclusion, Double Resilience

Citizenship Beyond the Vote has awarded scholarships to more than 50 young people in its first two cohorts in 2023 and 2024.

In Guatemala, being young already presents significant challenges, but being both young and Indigenous multiplies the barriers. Indigenous communities have historically faced political and economic exclusion, which is reflected in their low representation in Congress, municipal governments, and other decision-making spaces.

Indigenous youth make up approximately 40% of the country’s young population, yet they continue to experience unequal access to education, healthcare, and employment. Moreover, their political participation has been hindered by structural discrimination and a lack of spaces that integrate their worldview and political and social organizational structures.

The Citizenship Beyond the Vote program is one of the few initiatives that have actively included Indigenous youth in its training process. With an intercultural approach, the program has fostered dialogue spaces that recognize and value Indigenous democratic practices, such as community councils and consensus-based decision-making.

Citizenship Beyond the Vote: Building Leadership for Change

During an in-person session, topics of strategic and political communication were discussed.

Since its creation in 2023, the Citizenship Beyond the Vote program has trained more than 50 scholarship recipients, with the goal of having at least one participant from each of Guatemala’s departments. Each cohort consisted of 25 participants who received training in political, economic, social, environmental, and strategic and political communication topics, with the aim of shaping them into agents of change.

Over the course of the first two cohorts, the program has fostered the creation of a network of young leaders who promote development projects in their communities. The participating youth are mentored and trained by experts in politics, economics, and strategic communication, who guide them in designing initiatives for political advocacy.

Democracy, Peace, and Development: An Inseparable Triad

Strengthening youth participation impacts politics and contributes to the consolidation of peace and development. In a country with a history of conflicts and inequalities, empowering young people means investing in long-term stability.

The Citizenship Beyond the Vote program has demonstrated that when young people are given the tools to understand and transform their environment, they can become leaders who promote social cohesion and civic engagement. Additionally, the inclusion of young women in the program has helped address the gender gap in political participation—an essential aspect of equity and social justice.

With the third cohort on the horizon, the program aims to establish itself as a benchmark for youth leadership training in Guatemala. The long-term vision is for these young people to

participate in elections and engage in public policymaking, municipal governance, and the development of sustainable initiatives.

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