Abstract
Student and climate strikes represent an essential, somehow even ritual, aspect of mobilisation in Italy rooted in years of organising from below and at the national level. Beyond protest, there is an intense work of communication where several layers of strategy, identity and political culture emerge, especially in youth mobilisation. This study analyses the communicational practice of two key youth organisations: Fridays for Future, for the climate strikes, and Rete degli Studenti Medi, for the student strikes. To do so, we inquire about the national level of these structures by interviewing activists involved in communication management. Secondly, we look at the output of the communication strategies, specifically focusing on posts shared on visual social media platforms. The complex organisational specialisation within these two associations emerges. The analysis shows how social media communication became a key task for student and youth leadership at the national level and how the development of expertise made survival possible for relatively resource-poor organisations in an evolving social media landscape.
Presenters
Giuseppe LipariStudent, PhD student, Scuola Normale Superiore, Firenze, Italy Costanza Azzuppardi
PhD Candidate, Sociology and Political Science, Scuola Normale Superiore, Firenze, Italy
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—From Democratic Aesthetics to Digital Culture
KEYWORDS
Social Media, Student Movement, Climate Strike, Strike, Youth Leadership, Organising
