Growing up in Girona, you quickly learn that politics is never something distant. It is not only what happens in Madrid, Brussels, or the United Nations. Politics is in the language you speak at home, the history your grandparents tell you, the flags hanging from balconies, and the debates in the halls, cafés and university classrooms. For many young Catalans, questions about identity, representation, and self-determination are part of their everyday life.
For an eighteen-year-old girl beginning to study law at university, these conversations can feel at the same time exciting and overwhelming. Suddenly, words like constitution, self-determination, human rights, autonomy, and international law stop being abstract concepts from textbooks and suddenly become connected to real communities, real conflicts, and real people.
This is exactly why this theme matters so deeply.
Minority, unrepresented, and Indigenous youth carry a disproportionate share of the struggles facing their communities, they are still being absent from the conversations and decisions shaping their futures. Young people have to face political conflicts, cultural struggles, environmental crises, and economic inequalities created by previous generations. At the same time, they are expected to preserve their communities’ language, traditions, and political hopes for the future without having a clear example of how to do it.
Youth representation matters because young people are not only witnesses to history. They are also its continuation.
This is especially true in communities fighting for recognition and self-determination. Across the world, minority and Indigenous youth are preserving languages, defending territories, documenting cultural memory, and creating political movements that challenge systems of exclusion, while at the same time, are suffering.
As someone from Girona, it is impossible not to connect these global struggles with the Catalan experience.
Catalunya has its own long history of debates surrounding identity, autonomy, and independence. For many young Catalans, especially those who grew up around the events of 2017, politics became deeply personal.
In my case, when it happened, I was only ten years old, at my uncle's house, studying history, while at the same time, history from my country was happening.
The referendum of October 1st, 2017, often referred as “1-O” in Catalunya, marked an entire generation. The Catalan government organized a vote on independence despite the Spanish Constitutional Court declaring it illegal. On that day, images of police violence, ballot boxes being hidden in schools, and citizens protecting polling stations spread around the world.
At first, I wasn’t even conscient of what was going on, but when you start seeing how the faces change, how their eyes show fear, you stop thinking it is just a day off.
In Girona especially, the atmosphere was intense because the city has long been associated with the Catalan independence movement. Former Catalan president "Carles Puigdemont", served as mayor of Girona before becoming president of the Generalitat. For supporters of independence, Puigdemont became a symbol of resistance and democratic self-determination after leaving Spain following the referendum and facing legal prosecution, and he still is to this day.
For critics, the referendum represented a challenge to Spain’s constitutional order. But what we should be wondering is, do we really want this type of constitution, where a whole population doesn't feel related to the colours they are forced to wear, with the language they speak at home and other differences that are undeniable.
For law students, the Catalan case raises fascinating and difficult legal questions. Can a region legally organize a referendum on independence without state approval? How should constitutions balance territorial unity? What happens when legality and legitimacy appear to clash?
These are not simple questions.
One organization that focuses heavily on these issues is the "Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization". Founded in 1991 in The Hague, the UNPO was created to provide representation for nations, minorities, and Indigenous peoples that are excluded from major international institutions.
The organization supports nonviolent advocacy, human rights, cultural preservation, environmental protection, and political participation. Unlike the United Nations, which mainly represents recognized states, the UNPO represents peoples and communities who often don’t find a place in this regulation.
The UNPO includes members from many different parts of the world. Some members seek full independence, while others seek cultural rights, political autonomy, or protection from persecution.
Among the communities connected to the organization are Tibetans, Uyghurs, West Papuans, Assyrians, Baloch, and Indigenous peoples from different regions. Some former members, including Estonia, Latvia, Armenia, and East Timor.
This problem is not unique to distant conflicts.
Many young Catalans also feel disconnected from political systems that claim to represent them. Whether someone supports independence or not, it is clear that many young people in Catalunya believe their voices are not fully heard from Spanish politics. This feeling of exclusion is something minority and unrepresented youth experience worldwide. Young people often carry the consequences of political conflicts without being included in negotiations about their futures.
In Catalunya, youth have played a major role in political mobilization over the last decade. University students organized protests, discussions, and campaigns connected to the independence movement. Social media became a major tool for activism, due to the fact that nowadays we are constantly surrounded by it.
In Catalunya, language has always been central to political and cultural identity. Catalan is spoken in schools, homes, and public life, yet many young people still feel pressure to justify its importance politically.
Nowadays, if you go to the most overcrowded cities, like its capital, Barcelona, it is hard to hear Catalan. Even if you go to the smallest shop, you may have to change your language into Spanish or English. It is so sad when in many jobs they don’t require you to speak Catalan in order to get it. Listening to class colleagues, most of them, use Spanish to communicate between each other, despite the fact that they speak with me, they both know I can speak Catalan and they will switch. But mostly, they won’t firstly speak in Catalan.
A lot of times, I’ve heard people criticizing our language. Saying that it is useless, but Catalan is not just a language, it’s a way of seeing the world, a way of expression.
Youth therefore become essential for cultural survival.
When young people continue speaking their language, learning traditional practices, and preserving collective memory, they carry their communities into the future. This is one reason why representation matters so much. Representation is not only about having politicians from minority backgrounds. It is about ensuring communities can continue existing culturally, politically, and socially across generations.
Young people often live between different worlds. They may feel connected to ancestral traditions while also trying to succeed within modern educational and economic systems.
A young Catalan student in Girona might speak Catalan at home, Spanish socially, and English at university. An Indigenous student in Canada might balance traditional community values with urban life. A Kurdish student in Turkey might grow up hearing one political narrative at school and another at home. These experiences create both tension and strength. Youth today are increasingly skilled at moving between cultures, languages, and identities. Technology has amplified this ability. But you can do all of this, without losing your roots.
It is memory. It is spirituality. It is identity.
Without going really far, a few weeks ago, when the game between Atletico de Madrid and Barcelona was played, all of a sudden, an “Estalada”, the flag that represents Catalunya’s independence was shown. A few minutes later, the security forces from the stadium, took it from the Barcelona’s supporters.
It gives a very scary message, if you don’t feel aligned with this country, then you will be oppressed.
Going back to the education field, in my lessons, from ten subjects that I’ve done during this year, five of them have been in Spanish, wich means that in a community where Catalan is the first language, only half of the education is taught like that.
For first-year law students, it is tempting to imagine law as something neutral and objective. But it is deeply connected to history, politics, and power. The Catalan independence debate demonstrates this clearly.
Supporters of independence often argue that democratic principles should allow Catalans to vote on their political future. Opponents argue that the Spanish Constitution establishes the unity of the Spanish state and therefore limits unilateral independence efforts.
Both positions rely heavily on legal arguments.
This creates a difficult question familiar in many self-determination movements worldwide: what happens when legality and democratic aspirations conflict?
International law itself does not always provide clear answers. The principle of self-determination exists in international law, especially in relation to colonized peoples and human rights protections. However, the international system also strongly protects territorial integrity in order to avoid the wrongly called chaos, but if we take a look back, before every prosperous society, there has been chaos for example the France Revolution, the Independence War of the United States from England. But if we look more closely, between England and the United States are fewer differences, England and the United States share language, share legal systems, they both use common law. Then why with Spain, with whom we don't share language, we have a different Civil Code and many other differences do we still have to be kept together.
This matters because youth movements are often unfairly portrayed as dangerous or irrational. In reality, many youth-led movements focus on peaceful protest, cultural preservation, education, and dialogue. Like I said previously, in the 1-O, the people who wanted to vote, were there peacefully, raising their hands every time a rubber ball was thrown into their eyes. There was blood, but only from one side. They wanted to portray the peaceful side as a furious and aggressive.
Across the world, minority youth are creating independent media platforms, cultural centers, language schools, and grassroots organizations. In Catalunya, youth organizations continue promoting Catalan culture through festivals, student associations, literature, and political debate. Culture itself becomes a form of resistance. Art is especially important here. Music, poetry, cinema, photography, and literature allow young people to express emotions and experiences that political speeches alone cannot capture. Catalan music and literature have historically played major roles in preserving identity, especially during periods when the language faced repression.
For example, if you think of dating realities, it is very hard to find one in Catalan, luckily, a channel like TV3 have now created “La Gran Cita”. Speaking of true crime, magnificent journalists like Carles Porta have created “Crims” and all this with the creation of a Catalan platform live “3 Cat”, where you can find all kinds of streaming programs in Catalan.
Youth creativity demonstrates that identity is not frozen in the past. Cultures survive because younger generations reinterpret traditions within modern contexts.
Mental health is another major issue affecting minority and Indigenous youth. Political conflict, discrimination, social pressure, and economic insecurity can create enormous emotional insecurities. Being ashamed of speaking Catalan if you go around Spain or trying to not attract attention.
In Catalunya after 2017, many young people experienced frustration, polarization, and uncertainty about the future. Families sometimes became politically divided. Friendships were affected. Yet mental health discussions are often ignored within political movements.
Young people today are increasingly changing this. They speak openly about anxiety, trauma, and emotional exhaustion while also emphasizing the importance of community support. This reflects a broader transformation in youth activism.
Modern youth movements are not focused only on political victory. They also emphasize care, dignity, and collective well-being. Young women have become especially influential within these movements.
Across Catalunya and internationally, young women lead protests, organize educational initiatives, produce journalism, and defend human rights. At the same time, they often face sexism both inside and outside political movements. This inclusiveness is shaping a new generation of activism.
University spaces are particularly important because they expose students to new perspectives.
In our first year, we will study constitutional law while also attending debates about independence, climate justice, migration, or international human rights. These experiences shape political awareness.
They also reveal that law is never completely separate from society. Behind every legal principle are real human experiences. A constitutional article affects families. A language policy affects classrooms. A court decision affects communities.
Youth voices matter because they reveal how laws function in everyday life. This is why representation within legal institutions is so important. When courts, governments, or international organizations fail to include minority perspectives, they risk creating systems disconnected from reality, and as a consequence, they lose support and later credibility.
The future of democracy depends partly on whether institutions can genuinely include younger generations. Not symbolically. Not temporarily. But structurally. Young people deserve participation in shaping the political, economic, and cultural systems they will inherit.
This is especially urgent for communities fighting for recognition, like Catalunya.
The Catalan case may not be identical to Indigenous struggles elsewhere, but it still illustrates broader questions about identity, democracy, and political belonging. It demonstrates how strongly people can feel connected to language, history, and collective memory. It also demonstrates how political conflicts can deeply affect youth without even caring about them.
For many young Catalans, 1-O was not simply a political event. It became part of their generation’s identity. Some, like me, remember seeing police violence on television. Others remember feeling hopeless, feeling that your country will always be oppressed. And others felt worried about division and instability.
Regardless of political position, the events left a lasting impression. This is why studying law in Catalunya today feels especially meaningful. Questions about democracy, constitutionalism, civil rights, and self-determination are not theoretical here. They are lived realities.
The same can be said for many communities represented within the UNPO. Young Tibetans preserving their language. West Papuan activists documenting environmental destruction. Uyghur students speaking internationally about cultural repression. Assyrian youth protecting ancient traditions. All of these examples reveal the same truth:
Youth are central to the survival of communities. Without young people carrying forward memory, culture, and political vision, communities risk disappearing as the time goes on.
This is why amplifying youth voices matters. Not because youth are automatically morally superior, but because excluding them weakens democracy, justice, and cultural continuity.
Minority, unrepresented, and Indigenous youth are already shaping political movements worldwide. They are redefining activism through technology, art, environmental advocacy, legal action, and cultural preservation. They are creating international networks of solidarity, they are imagining futures beyond fear and silence.
For a young law student in Girona, these conversations matter because they reveal it’s true purpose. Law is not only about rules, it is about people, people who want their voices to count, who want their identities to be protected, and to have their stories recognised.
Because Catalunya’s independence is not only about those who fight for it every day, it is about those who couldn’t have it, and those who deserve to be born in a world where Catalunya is not free.
