A Freirean Analysis of the Youth Social Movements in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This article analyses the youth social movements in Hong Kong employing ‘conscientisation’ popularized by Paulo Freire. It is argued that the youth, as historical beings, promote humanisation by seeking to effect structural changes with the help of the social media. However, the youth-led movements in Hong Kong differ from Freire’s ideas in two significant ways. First, the increasingly violent nature of the protests departs from Freire’s emphasis on peaceful resistance. Secondly, Freire’s call for loving dialogue is not evident in Hong Kong despite meetings between the authorities and protesters. Hong Kong highlights the usefulness of the notion of conscientisation in shedding light on the youth social movement in an Asian context. At the same time, the developments in Hong Kong extend the existing literature on Freirean thought by situating it in a Confucian cultural setting.