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Athena Charanne Presto, a sociologist from the Philippines and a PhD candidate at the Australian National University, advises caution when interpreting recent unrest as solely a generational issue.
In 2025, youth-led protests broke out across numerous countries, drawing global attention. These demonstrations were largely driven by young populations frustrated with systemic corruption, entrenched nepotism, and a lack of accountability in their governments, Presto explained to SBS News.
While some young people continue to engage in self-care via social media, Presto noted that this care increasingly emphasizes community. The aim is to collectively pursue more transformative and meaningful societal changes.
SBS News took a closer look at three of the uprisings — in Nepal, the Philippines and Indonesia — to examine how youth-led movements reshaped political conversations, challenged authority and, in some cases, altered the course of power in 2025.
Nepal: Youth protests force regime change
Growing up between city and country — across divides of caste, class and gender — he said he started to recognise deep inequalities embedded in society.
Nishchhal Kharal is a Nepali international student in Australia who founded a grassroots organisation that went on to play a key role in Nepal’s youth-led uprising. Source: Supplied / Nishchhal Kharal
In 2020, Kharal founded Freedom Studio to help activists use digital media to raise social awareness.
The following day, then-prime minister KP Sharma Oli resigned and fled his official residence.
Fire and smoke rise from the Singha Durbar Palace, which houses government and parliamentary buildings, as protesters stormed the premises in Kathmandu, Nepal. Source: EPA / Narendra Shrestha
The uprising succeeded in bringing about a regime change — but at a high cost. At least 72 people died, including 34 from gunshot wounds, according to a UN-backed autopsy report.
“The government really underestimated the power of young people,” Kharal told SBS News.
‘The people have spoken’
The Karki government has formed a three-member judicial commission to look into the killings of protesters as well as the vandalism, arson and other violent activities that shook the country.
To protect his team, much of the studio’s work has moved offline — but Kharal said he remains undeterred.
Nepal’s interim prime minister, Sushila Karki, faces challenges in restoring order and rebuilding trust while preparing for new elections. Source: AAP / Niranjan Shrestha
A national election scheduled for March 2026 will formally decide Nepal’s next government. The political battle lines are already being drawn.
“And if you don’t, the people will revolt.”
Philippines: Protests expose climate and corruption crisis
She alleged corruption is deeply embedded in the political system in the Philippines, with officials who awarded contracts to themselves or family businesses nicknamed “congtractors” — “congressmen” who doubled as private “contractors”.
Sociologist Athena Charanne Presto said corruption is deeply embedded in the political system in the Philippines. Source: Supplied / Athena Presto
Many of these families openly flaunt their wealth on social media, Presto said.
“If you’re 26 and underemployed, you’re angry, right? That means you have the best years of your life wasted all because of persistent corruption in your country,” she said.
An ongoing cycle of protests
“It’s all for talk,” Presto said.
Various anti-corruption protests have been held in the Philippines since September as Filipinos continue to demand accountability for massive corruption in flood-control projects. Credit: Lisa Marie David/Getty Images
Views among protesters were divided.
With no clear resolution in sight, Presto said she expected the unrest to continue. “I’m expecting to see more protests,” she said.
Indonesia: A death sparks unfinished reckoning
It was here, on one of Indonesia’s largest islands, that youth-led protests erupted in August — protests that brought back painful memories of the nation’s past.
Ethan Joes spoke at a rally in Sydney in August, held in solidarity with Indonesian student protesters. Source: Supplied / Ethan Joes
The protests were triggered by plans for well-paid politicians in Indonesia’s House of Representatives to substantially increase their housing allowances. Their subsequent ridicule of public criticism only inflamed the situation.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto ordered the security forces to take firm action against the protests, but he also announced that politicians’ perks — including the contentious housing allowance — would be cut, as well as overseas trips, a rare concession to the protesters.
The protests in Jakarta started on 25 August, with thousands demonstrating outside parliament against a housing allowance for MPs that was nearly 10 times the minimum wage in the Indonesian capital. Source: AAP / Tatan Syuflana
But for Joes, these steps were superficial. “Not really,” he told SBS News. “There’s not really been any change.”
“The government is trying to whitewash our history,” Joes said. “The legacy of corruption, of nepotism, of police brutality, it’s still a living breath. We’re still experiencing those.”
Teaching the other history
Their Australian chapter formed during the August protests, with the mission of teaching the country’s history from perspectives often ignored in official narratives.
A screenshot shared from a video filmed during Ethan Joes’ recent trip to Medan, where posters declaring former Indonesian president Soeharto a “national hero” were put up across the city. Source: Supplied / Ethan Joes
“We’re basically trying to create a curriculum that provides an alternative history to the propaganda of the military,” Joes said.
“I hope that some day with the consolidation of this movement, we would not be afraid to do electoral politics,” he said.
