[t]hey brought a sophistication and professionalism to their cause — exploiting the anonymity of the Internet to elude the secret police, planting false rumors to fool police spies, staging “field tests” in Cairo slums before laying out their battle plans, then planning a weekly protest schedule to save their firepower — that helps explain the surprising resilience of the uprising they began.

Interestingly, while we in the US saw the protests as largely spontaneous expressions of anger, the article makes it clear that these protests were nothing if not organized:

The organizers disseminated a weekly schedule, with the biggest protests set for Tuesday and Friday, to conserve their energy. And before each protest they leaked a new false lead to throw off the police, letting out that they would march on the state television headquarters, for example, when their real goal was to surround Parliament.

Life in Egypt is just starting to get back to some sense of normalcy.  No one is sure what the new Egypt will look like, but while some in the US worry about groups like the Muslim Bortherhood, perhaps the best hope for peace and stability lies in the youth:

Asked if he could imagine an Egyptian president who was a Christian woman, [Islam Lotfi, a lawyer who is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Youth] paused. “If it is a government of institutions,” he said, “I don’t care if the president is a monkey.”

It comes as no surprise that the brainchildren behind the recent Egyptian events are young people. Today’s cover story on the NY Times highlights the important and leading role Egyptian youth are playing in this remarkable movement:

“Most of us are under 30,” said Amr Ezz, a 27-year-old lawyer who was one of the group as part of the April 6 Youth Movement, which organized an earlier day of protests last week via Facebook. They were surprised and delighted to see that more than 90,000 people signed up online to participate, emboldening others to turn out and bringing tens of thousands of mostly young people into the streets.

Surprised by the turnout, older opposition leaders from across the spectrum — including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood; the liberal protest group the Egyptian Movement for Change, known by its slogan, “Enough”; and the umbrella group organized by Dr. ElBaradei — joined in, vowing to turn out their supporters for another day of protest on Friday. But the same handful of young online organizers were still calling the shots.

Check out Al-Jazeera English’ livestream coverage on the events HERE.

NYTimes – Protests’s Old Guard Falls In Behind Young

So, in an incredibly important point on the future of American electoral politics.

National exit polls of more than 17,000 voters show a remarkable trend: Adults age 18-29 voted against the Republican Tsunami by 16 points (56-40). Younger adults age 18-24 were even more progressive, voting against Republicans by 19 points (58-39). The exit polls, conducted by Edison Research in association with AP and CNN found that:

* 18-29-year-olds voted for Democrats over Republicans by 16 points (56-40)

* 18-24-year-olds voted for Democrats over Republicans by 19 points (58-39)

Read the full, awesome article here.

And if you prefer Rock the Vote’s prosaic style, here‘s a similar point on how much we rock from them.

With so many people competing for so few jobs, unemployed youth “are the silent victims of the economy,” said Adele McKeon, a career specialist with the Boston Private Industry Council who counsels students on matters like workplace etiquette, professionalism and résumé writing.

Getting that first job “is an accomplishment, and it’s independence,” Ms. McKeon said. “If you don’t have it, where are you going to learn that stuff?”

The unemployment rate for the 16-to-24 age group reached a record 19.6 percent in April, double the national average. For those job seekers, said Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, “This is the worst year, definitely since the early ’80s recession and very likely since the Great Depression.”

Job Outlook for Teenagers Worsens

Though his picture is everywhere this week, we couldn’t help honoring Senator Kennedy a bit more. This image, from his Senate campaign in 1962, shows Kennedy as an idealistic youth just getting started.

A great reminder of why we do what we do.

Photo: uncredited

A recent study published by Convenant House , which operates shelters for young people, reveals the number of young and homeless in New York City has increased by one-third since last year. On any given night, approximately 3,800 young people are on the street.

[T]he study, one of the largest-ever examinations of young homeless people in New York, found that their future did not look much better — because they are dangerously isolated from mainstream channels of work, family life and basic schooling.

Forty-seven percent of the group said they had been disciplined physically before entering the shelter, 37 percent said they had been victims of physical abuse, and 19 percent had endured sexual abuse. Forty-one percent said they had witnessed violence in their homes.

The vast majority said they found it difficult or impossible to find a good job. Seventy-eight percent said they were unemployed when they entered the shelter. Among those who had jobs, 41 percent said those jobs were “off the books.”

Kevin M. Ryan, the president of Covenant House, a privately financed agency with facilities in 20 cities nationwide, including Philadelphia, Detroit, Newark and St. Louis, said he hoped the study alerted the public “to the growing crisis of homeless youth in New York City."

Want to help MYD make a difference in young people’s lives? Email Sarah Gudernatch, MYD’s Community Service Director .