Subcultures and identity
This subculture emerged in the 1970s, known for punk rock music, distinctive hairstyles (like mohawks), and a DIY attitude.
What is punk?
This type of work is done without financial reward to help people, communities, or the environment.
What is volunteering (or voluntary work)?
At this age, young people in Belarus officially obtain a passport and become criminally responsible for most offenses.
What is appropriate for 14 years old?
The term used to describe the lack of understanding and communication between parents and children due to different values and experiences.
What is the generation gap?
The largest youth organization in Belarus, whose name translates to "Belarusian Republican Youth Union".
What is BRSM (БРСМ)?
These people are passionate about information technology, video games, and often engage in hacking or software development.
Who are hackers (or geeks/nerds)?
An international non-governmental organization founded in the UK in 1971, focused on environmental issues, known for campaigns like "Save the Arctic".
What is Greenpeace?
The document adopted by the UN in 1989 that outlines the civil, political, economic, and social rights of children and young people.
What is the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
People born roughly between 1997 and 2012, who have grown up with the internet, smartphones, and social media as an integral part of life.
Who are Generation Z (or Zoomers)?
This youth movement in Belarus focuses on patriotic education, military-patriotic training, and often wears distinctive green uniforms.
What are the Young Patriots (or Youth Army / "Movement of Young Patriots")?
A modern phenomenon where young people build their personal brand, create content, and influence their followers' opinions on social media platforms.
What is influencing (or being a blogger/influencer)?
The term for a campaign where people collect money, food, or clothes for those in need, often organized by schools or youth centers.
What is a charity drive (or fundraiser)?
The right that allows young people aged 18 and above to participate in the political life of their country by choosing their representatives.
What is the right to vote (suffrage)?
An idiom meaning that a child's behavior or personality is very similar to that of their parent (often used in a negative context).
What is "a chip off the old block"? (Или: like father, like son)
An international scouting organization that existed in Belarus before the Soviet era and has been revived in recent years, focusing on outdoor skills and community service.
What are the Scouts (Belarusian Scouting Association)?
The term for a group of people who reject mainstream consumerism and choose to live outside conventional society, often in rural communities.
Who are hipsters (or freegans)?
A large-scale youth volunteer movement in Belarus that helps with agricultural work, construction of social facilities, and preservation of historical sites during summer.
What is STS (Student Service Teams) / БРСМ?
This type of responsibility involves being accountable for one's own actions, making independent decisions, and accepting the consequences.
What is personal responsibility (or autonomy)?
The psychological term for the process where adolescents push against established norms and parental authority to establish their independence.
What is rebellion (or adolescent rebellion)?
Name of the state program in Belarus that supports talented and gifted youth, providing scholarships and opportunities to participate in international olympiads.
What is the Presidential Fund for Social Support of Gifted Pupils and Students?
Name of the psychological concept describing the process of forming a coherent sense of self, a central task for adolescents according to psychologist Erik Erikson.
What is identity formation (or identity vs. role confusion)?
This United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) specifically focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
What is SDG 4 (Quality Education)?
Name of three "participation rights" (as opposed to protection rights) that young people have according to the UN Convention.
What are freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to be heard?
According to sociologists, this is a key difference between Millennials (Gen Y) and Baby Boomers regarding career expectations: Boomers sought stability, while Millennials prioritize...
What is meaning/purpose (or work-life balance / flexibility)?
This youth parliament (or council) operates under the Ministry of Education of Belarus, allowing young people to participate in law-making discussions and represent student interests.
What is the Youth Parliament (or Student Council / Republican Council of Student Self-Government)?