Nurturing roots; growing wings: strategies for negotiating transcultural solidarities and resilience through digital activism

The paper examines the experiences of Gen Z digital activists from India, Sudan, and other countries of the Global South in navigating transcultural solidarity and interplay between global and local movements. Aligning with the Cultural Discourse Studies approach and drawing from a six-year-long ethnography in five cities of India with 68 Gen Z digital media users in the age group of 15–24, along with ethnographic research in Sudan and analysis of in-depth interviews, observations, and social media ethnography, the study points to three strategies that Gen Z activists adopt in the process of globalising local movements and localising global movements: Consistent network building, dispersed activism, and strategic fleeting solidarities. Gen Z activists from the Global South leverage these strategies to negotiate the entrenched power of cultural norms in their societies while forging transcultural relationships. They draw strength from solidarity, resources, and visibility afforded by global networks. Transcultural practices of resilience challenge the quick assimilation of local identities and struggles into global movements and acknowledge differences arising from various identities. The findings of the study contribute to understanding how Gen Z activists in the Global South build resilience through digital activism as a dynamic, relational, and transcultural process.