Understanding and Empowering Timor-Leste’s Young People

Almost two-thirds of Timor-Leste’s population is under 30, presenting a critical opportunity for the country. Timor-Leste’s young people will lead the country’s economic development, drive its digital transformation, and become the leaders that shape its future. Yet, finding sufficient jobs and opportunities for these young people remains a significant challenge.

Timorese youth are often stigmatized as jobless, unproductive, and potential sources of unrest. But there is another story to be told, one of initiative and creativity. Young Timorese care deeply about their country, and many are already taking steps to build a new future for their communities.

The Timorese National Youth Policy describes young people as vital resources for the country’s socioeconomic future, and their voices are important for developing education and employment policies that respond to their needs and to the nation’s. Understanding youth priorities is also essential to their civic engagement, which has been shown to provide crucial benefits to young people and their communities, such as higher self-esteem, better communication and critical thinking skills, and greater community cohesion.

To better understand the aspirations of Timorese youth, The Asia Foundation’s SASUKAT program, funded by the Australian government through the Partnership for Inclusive Prosperity (PROSIVU), conducted a series of focus group discussions in six Timor-Leste municipalities—Dili, Ermera, Oecusse, Bobonaro, Covalima, and Viqueque—between April and July 2024. These discussions involved more than 100 young people, including university students, youth representatives on village councils, young entrepreneurs, social media influencers, and members of community-based organizations.

Diverse aspirations and local realities

Young people’s aspirations are shaped by many factors in their life experience, including gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and conditions in the community such as the prevalence of violence. Across all municipalities, Timorese youth emphasized how longstanding national challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited access to education and healthcare, and a lack of economic opportunity affected their hopes for the future.

But the discussions also revealed the creativity and resilience of youth. Young people in Dili, the national capital, displayed a clear and confident vision of their future. They pictured themselves contributing to their country’s development in positions such as judges, heads of municipalities, and leaders of international organizations. Many were already active in youth organizations, running businesses, or leading community initiatives.

One young woman, for example, founded the “youth hub” Kios Matenek, a gathering place and learning center where young people can work with hydroponics. The hub also offers a basic English language course for young people, with a unique approach to payment: participants are required to bring plastic waste for recycling or disposal whenever they attend, thereby combining education with environmental responsibility.

Another notable example from the capital was the Laudato Si’ Movement Timor-Leste, a Catholic youth movement dedicated to implementing the teachings of Pope Francis on environmental sustainability and climate change. The group recently organized the 2024 Local Conference of Youth, at which Timorese young people prepared a statement on climate change that will contribute to the Global Youth Statement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November.

Outside of Dili, the focus group discussions confirmed the findings of other studies that aspirations are not evenly distributed. Some youth from rural municipalities struggled to articulate their aspirations in detail, while others expressed a fatalism that reality would eventually disappoint them. Youth from less privileged backgrounds have fewer resources, social networks, and opportunities to explore their potential than their more privileged peers. Rather than dismissing these young people as lacking initiative or imagination, we should understand their humbler aspirations as a reflection of their socioeconomic circumstances.

But this was not the only narrative emerging from the regions. Despite facing many hurdles, young people in rural settings were also leading creative initiatives to respond to local challenges. In Holsa, a village in the Bobonaro municipality in western Timor-Leste, martial arts groups have great influence on local youth, and tensions sometimes emerge between rival groups. Recognizing the need to harness this energy for good, a group of young people formed the Holsa Village Development Group to bring young people together to talk about community issues. Collaborating closely with community leaders, and with village, municipal, and national authorities when necessary, the group organizes sporting events and other activities to promote cooperation and a sense of community among young people.

Another example of youthful initiative can be found in Ermera municipality, less than an hour’s drive from Dili. Ermera Ai-Kulat Mutin Orgániku (EAMO) is a youth-led organic mushroom business launched with just $150 in 2018. After several early failures and problems with language barriers and acquiring raw materials, the enterprise is now thriving and has secured donor funding to expand its operations. EAMO illustrates how young people are finding creative new ways to contribute to the rural economy, even as many of their peers move away from agriculture.

Gender also plays a role in young people’s aspirations. Young women often spoke of their hopes for educational attainment or entrepreneurship—acquiring a university education, pursuing academic careers, or running successful businesses that employ other young people. This suggests a growing desire among young women for the social mobility that education and entrepreneurship can provide. Young men, on the other hand, often aspired to positions of public leadership such as police officer, village head, or member of parliament. This may reflect the traditional predominance of men in these decision-making roles.

Timor-Leste still faces significant development challenges, and the more modest ambitions of rural youth suggest the need to create new opportunities, to spread awareness of the opportunities that exist, and to amplify the voices of young leaders who are already making a difference. But the nation’s young people remain hopeful, and they are ready to mobilize for change. It is important that their voices be heard.

Ivo Ribeiro is a recent intern with The Asia Foundation’s SASUKAT program in Timor-Leste and a 2022 Asia Foundation LeadNext fellow. He is completing a Bachelor of Science in economics at University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts. Inquiries may be directed to Director of Program Development Tim Mann at [email protected]. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author, not those of The Asia Foundation.