Introduction: Adolescent and young people’s voice, agency and citizenship in the Global South

The introduction to this volume establishes a conceptual framework for understanding the voice, agency and citizenship of adolescents and young people in the Global South. It reflects upon key knowledge and policy gaps in relation to young women and girls and younger adolescents’ citizenship, and how to understand the nuances of voice and agency in contexts of inequality, marginalisation and precarity. Of particular emphasis is how voice and agency are expressed at different levels and in different spaces by young people, particularly those who are marginalised on the basis of gender and/or sexual identity, age, disability, citizenship status or geographical location. The conceptual framework presented here draws on intersectional approaches, the notion of collective agency, and the concept of ‘everyday politics’ to present a new lens on adolescent and young people’s voice, agency and citizenship in the Global South.