This report was produced by the Palestine Space Institute in response to the Call for Input by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for the UNGA-81st thematic report on “Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Youth Activism Report: Gen-Z Activism and the Future of Civic Space” Cite as: El-Shawa, S. (2026), “Protecting Intellectual Resistance: Reflections on Youth Activism and Freedom of Expression from the Palestine Space Institute,” Response to United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Call for input for the FoAA UNGA81 – Youth Protest Report, Palestine Space Institute. DOI doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20558026 Abstract This report draws on the experience of the Palestine Space Institute (PSI), a youth-led international think tank working at the intersection of space policy, human rights, research, education, and advocacy. It argues that intellectual resistance constitutes an increasingly important form of youth activism, particularly in the context of Palestine, where research, education, documentation, public scholarship, and knowledge production have become important avenues for public engagement, advocacy, and dissent. While existing frameworks for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association often focus on protests, demonstrations, and formal civil society organizations, this submission highlights the growing role of scholar-activists, researchers, educators, and youth-led knowledge initiatives in shaping public discourse and advancing collective action. Drawing on PSI's experience, it examines how these forms of engagement face challenges including harassment, intimidation, institutional exclusion, funding barriers, digital repression, censorship, and other forms of social and professional retaliation. The report further explores how digital platforms increasingly function as dual-use infrastructures that simultaneously enable and constrain participation. It concludes that international human rights frameworks must evolve to better recognize and protect intellectual, educational, and digital forms of collective action as legitimate expressions of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.