From Raleigh to Turkmenistan: Amplifying Youth Voices

Maru Gonzalez, an associate professor and youth development specialist with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, and Christy Byrd, an associate professor in the College of Education, on Nov. 22 welcomed a delegation of seven representatives from Turkmenistan, among them journalists and social media influencers to discuss ways to elevate the voices of youth.

The delegation’s visit was part of a three-week International Visitor Leadership Program exchange — Social Media as a Tool for Building Information Resilience — sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the Meridian International Center and International Focus, Inc.

The purpose  of the delegation’s visit with Gonzalez and Byrd was to learn about their work with #PassTheMicYouth, a multimedia program with NC State Extension that amplifies the voices and experiences of young people. The program shines a spotlight on youth-led civic and community engagement, and provides practitioners with resources for teaching social impact storytelling. 

#PassTheMicYouth is no stranger to international collaboration. Their youth-led podcast and blog, which ran from 2019 to 2024, regularly featured young leaders from around the world, including the U.S. and various parts of Latin America and Africa. 

Three undergraduate students — Kearns Trotter, Syna Sharma and Kadiatou Diawara — also spoke with the delegation, sharing how they leveraged social media as a tool to connect, access information and raise awareness about pressing social justice issues. 

Diawara said the visit made her “more perceptive to the lenses that other cultures use to view U.S. social media as a whole.” Sharma added that she “found it interesting to learn about how people are navigating life and social media usage to connect with others in a country where most commonly used social media apps are banned.”

While social media can and has been misused to sow division and perpetuate disinformation, it can also offer a path toward greater resilience, meaningful connection, and increased access to accurate information. According to Gonzalez,  “Building information resilience must be a global effort, one where adults and young people have a seat and a voice at the table. Our meeting with the Turkmenistan delegation was a step in the right direction.”