Palestinian youth’s future thinking in context

The aim in this exploratory study was to characterise Palestinian youth’s future thinking in terms of content, scope and function. A qualitative design was used. Individual online interviews were conducted with 11 participants (mean age of 20.73 years). All participants were residents of the West Bank or Jerusalem. Qualitative data in the form of transcripts obtained from the individual interviews were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Three interpretive themes were generated from the transcripts: (1) Dream big, we don’t know if we will live until tomorrow; (2) Push and pull relationship between our personal and collective futures in Palestine and (3) Riding the wave of future thinking: the ups and downs and why it matters most. The aspirations and challenges that permeate youth’s future thinking are discussed within the context of the tension between their personal and collective futures, and the implications of future thinking for Palestinian youth are highlighted.