Youth wing

A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous or independently allied front of a larger organization that is formed in order to rally support and allegiance for that organization's campaigns from members and potential members of a younger age. Youth wings may also be discussion forums for younger members and supporters of the organization to debate policy and ideology.

Political parties

The term "youth wing" is most often used to refer to the youth wings of political parties; in such youth wings, ranking or leading members are often seen, upon attainance of the minimum age requirement, as potential leaders or bureaucrats of the main political party. This has led to a perception of political party youth wings as being mere gateways of employment opportunity in the government bureaucracy for younger members, especially in the case of dominant- or one-party systems where a party is ensured of victory at the polls.

Distinctions

From college/campus/student wings

Youth wings are distinct from student wings, as the former is not necessarily established on, for solely focused upon, a student-exclusive basis.

Wing

A wing is a type of fin with a surface that produces aerodynamic forces facilitating movement through air and other gases, or water and other liquids. As such, wings have an airfoil shape, a streamlined cross-sectional shape producing lift.

The word "wing" from the Old Norse vængr for many centuries referred mainly to the foremost limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle.) But in recent centuries the word's meaning has extended to include lift producing appendages of insects, bats, pterosaurs, boomerangs, some sail boats and aircraft, or the inverted airfoil on a race car that generates a downward force to increase traction.

Various species of penguins and other flighted or flightless water birds such as auks, cormorants, guillemots, shearwaters, eider and scoter ducks and diving petrels are avid swimmers, and use their wings to propel through water.

A wing's aerodynamic quality is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. The lift a wing generates at a given speed and angle of attack can be one to two orders of magnitude greater than the total drag on the wing. A high lift-to-drag ratio requires a significantly smaller thrust to propel the wings through the air at sufficient lift.