Writing Contributor, The New Agora Lab

You write two analyses on how young people debate, vote, protest and take part in public life, and on what makes a disagreement useful. Two analyses in one 3-month cycle, five places, fully remote.

Read the lab’s research avenues: research avenues

HOW TO APPLY

Apply here on Idealist. In a few lines, present the topic you propose, your angle and what makes it original. Start from one of the lab’s research avenues listed below, or propose another topic linked to the lab.

THE ASSIGNMENT AT A GLANCE

• Lab: The New Agora Lab (Civic space & debate)
• What you write: two analyses, in English or French, of 430 to 1,600 words each (op-ed, analysis brief or field piece)
• Places: 5 contributors for this lab
• Cycle: 3 months, from 1 December 2026 to 28 February 2027
• Renewal: once, for a second cycle from 1 March to 31 May 2027
• Time: 3 to 5 hours a week
• Location: fully remote, from any country
• Fully voluntary assignment

ABOUT THE LAB

The New Agora Lab is opening a debate space where young people worldwide confront their views, disagree and argue about the issues that matter to them. It is a circle where young people debate among themselves and build their own positions.

Lab page: The New Agora Lab

THE TOPICS: THE LAB’S RESEARCH AVENUES

• Debating when everyone has their own feed: Recommendation algorithms fragment the common space. Rebuilding places where disagreements meet becomes a democratic issue.
• Is sortition the future of democracy?: From Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly to France’s Citizens’ Convention for Climate: citizens chosen by lot deliberate and make proposals. Their place is still being invented.
• Voting at sixteen: Austria, Brazil, Scotland and others have opened the vote before adulthood. The observed effects feed a debate that returns in many countries.
• Climate civil disobedience: Road blockades, museum actions, occupations: the legitimacy of these acts and the response of states vary from country to country.
• Leaderless movements: From Chile to Hong Kong, from Sri Lanka to Kenya: youth movements organised online have held the streets through shared leadership.
• Committing for the long haul: Eco-anxiety, activist burnout, online harassment: engagement wears people down. Some forms of action protect those who take part.
• What boys learn online: Influencers, communities, models of masculinity: young men also form their bearings on social media, and schools and families are looking for their place.
• The neutrality of schools: Secularism, prayer, flags, history curricula: every country answers the same question differently, how to shape citizens while respecting each person’s beliefs.
• Laughter as a political weapon: Memes, cartoons, stand-up: humour exposes power and can lead to prison. Its place says a great deal about the state of a democracy.
• Debating everything, with everyone?: Cancelled talks, contested speakers on campus, debate platforms: the question of where free speech ends and legitimisation begins comes up everywhere.
• The right to the city: Public space, rents, curfews, night transport: who gets to live in and occupy the city, and at what price?
• Repairing after political violence: South Africa, Colombia, Rwanda, Argentina: truth commissions, transitional justice and memory shape the lives of generations born after conflict.

You can also propose another topic linked to the lab. Anchor it in a country, a city, a sector or a period: a good topic fits in one precise sentence.

PROFILES WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Political science or international relations: sortition, voting at sixteen, leaderless movements, youth in institutions
• Public law and civic freedoms: free speech, protest and civil disobedience, the neutrality of schools
• Sociology, media and communication studies: filter bubbles, influencers, what boys learn online, humour and power
• History, philosophy or education: teaching divisive subjects, memory and repair after political violence
• Urban studies, and people active in debate clubs, student unions, youth councils or civic movements who write from that experience

Every background counts: a course, a student project, an internship, volunteering or a personal project. First-hand experience of the topic you write about is a strength.

WHAT YOU DO DURING THE CYCLE

• Confirm your two topics with the lab at the start of the cycle, within the needs set by the Lab Lead
• Research and write each analysis yourself, with a verifiable source for every figure, quotation and fact
• Submit each analysis through our submission space: the text, its sources, a two- or three-sentence biography, a portrait photo and a declaration of any AI tool used
• Revise your text with the editorial board’s written feedback until its final decision

OUR EDITORIAL CHARTER

• Your own words: a text produced or rewritten by generative AI is rejected, and any use of an AI tool is declared, proofreading included
• Verifiable sources: author, title, date and link for each one
• Three checks before the editorial board: AI detection, plagiarism check and source check
• Unpublished work, reserved for YouthShare until it is published

Read the charter: editorial charter

WHAT THIS ASSIGNMENT GIVES YOU

• Two analyses published under your name, in English and French
• Written feedback from the editorial board at every round
• Your card on our

Contributors page

• Research writing experience to the standard of a demanding editorial board

HOW CYCLES WORK

Each lab welcomes 5 contributors per 3-month cycle. The assignment can be renewed once, for a second cycle. After each cycle, the lab opens a new cohort according to the needs set by its Lab Lead.

HOW SELECTION WORKS

We select applications according to our values (equity, solidarity, integrity, participation, resilience and impact), your availability and the places open in the cycle.

If you need an adjustment to apply or to take part, write to hr@youthshareinitiatives.org

AFTER SELECTION: SUBMIT ON OUR WEBSITE

Each analysis is submitted with a personal code received by email: submission space

ABOUT YOUTHSHARE INITIATIVES

YouthShare Initiatives is an international think-action tank and a French non-profit (Act of 1 July 1901). It brings young people from around the world together in five labs to think together, then act: research, debate, mentoring and foresight. Discover us: youthshareinitiatives.org

RÉSUMÉ EN FRANÇAIS

Rédiger deux analyses sur la démocratie, l’engagement et le débat public (La Nouvelle Agora) : Vous rédigez deux analyses sur la façon dont les jeunes débattent, votent, manifestent et prennent part à la vie publique, et sur ce qui rend un désaccord utile.

Mission bénévole à distance, 5 places, cycle de 3 mois du 1er décembre 2026 au 28 février 2027, renouvelable une fois ; 3 à 5 h par semaine. Candidatez ici sur Idealist : présentez votre sujet, votre angle et ce qui le rend original.

Vos analyses se déposent ensuite sur notre site : soumettre une analyse

Pistes de recherche du laboratoire : lire les pistes