Abstract

Of the challenges confronting the nation-building project in Timor-Leste, the “generation gap” is one of the most important. The history of Timor-Leste, characterized by foreign occupations by both Portugal and Indonesia, has produced an emerging national identity founded on the concept of suffering in the name of national self-determination. Official state narratives that outline a national identity based on the recent struggle for independence have privileged the generation of East Timorese whose members led the resistance movement against the Indonesian occupation. This emphasis has not only overlooked youth involvement in the liberation struggle, but it has also estranged the younger generation of East Timorese from the nation-state. The examination of street art, the medium most accessible to members of Timor-Leste’s Geração Foun, or “new generation”, permits exploration of the ways that they identify with official notions of an emerging national identity.

pdf

Share