Civic participation by young people plays in an important role in society through their actions to address public issues. Youth civic participation can be voluntary or mandatory (driven by norms/laws) and done individually or collectively. In this baseline study, we have explored the profile and current situation of youth civic participation in Greater Denpasar and Greater Makassar to look into the changes in youth civic participation and youth’s participation behavior through the BASAbali program. We used in-depth interviews and literature review as qualitative data collection methods. Interviews were conducted with youth respondents, local government officials, and academics. This study finds that the concentration and underlying factors that influence the current situation of youth civic participation are different between both areas. Social norms based on the culture and customs are the common driver of youth civic participation in Greater Denpasar. Collective values and thriving social communities are among the main factors that influence youth civic participation in Greater Makassar. However, youth civic participation in both areas is still limited, such as in terms of scope of issues addressed and the influence of social pressure. Also, youth in both areas generally only engage in less complex forms of participation. In this regard, as some inhibiting factors can be intervened and the supporting ecosystem is already available, it can arguably be said that there is still room for growth and development of youth civic participation in both areas. Therefore, in the subsequent studies, the complexities and nuances of youth civic participation need to be further scrutinized, such as by exploring the indication of levels of participation and the influence that group-based participation has on civic participation in general.