A Conversation about the Participation of Young People in Democracy: Time to Act?

Without the inclusive participation and representation of young people in our national and European elections, we cannot hope to create legitimate and effective democracies. The event, “A Conversation about the Participation of Young People in Democracy: Time to Act?” which took place in Brussels on Monday, opened up discussions about youth participation in democracy and explored how young people can be encouraged to become more politically active and engaged.

The European Youth Forum co-hosted the event alongside the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). International IDEA is an inter-governmental organisation that supports sustainable democracy worldwide and works to support stronger democratic institutions.

Swedish Ambassador, Anna Jardfelt, introduced the event by expressing that there has never been a more important time to ensure the voices of young people are heard. An insightful discussion followed, with contributions from members of the audience as well as guest speakers. Present on the panel were youngest male and female MEPs Terry Reintke and Andrey Novakov, researcher Tomaž Deželan, and the Secretary-Generals of International IDEA and the European Youth Forum, Yves Leterme and Allan Päll.

A main point of the discussion was why young people are so often excluded from traditional political processes such as elections, and what can be done to engage them more in mainstream political discourse. Panelists all agreed that the lack of participation by young people should not be mistaken for apathy towards political issues. Terry Reintke argued that the common assumption that young people neither understand nor care about politics only serves to create a barrier against their involvement through traditional means. Through his research for the League of Young Voters, Tomaž Deželan showed that young people have turned instead to non-institutionalised platforms, preferring to engage in a more personalised, issues-based form of politics.

The role of social media as a tool to encourage young people’s political engagement also came under scrutiny. While it was acknowledged as being a useful source of information, Allan Päll pointed out that social media can also be restrictive. Although users can connect easily with others of a similar viewpoint, a lack of in depth discussion and debate between ideological groups means young people may miss out on opportunities to expand and develop their own ideas. It was concluded therefore that social media should not be considered as a stand-alone solution.

Yves Leterme of International IDEA also spoke about the broken link between voters and decision makers, where citizens across Europe no longer feel that they have a direct say over where decisions are made. Although he admitted that there is no ‘magic bullet’ to solve this, he assured that there are lots of ways for young people to make a change. MEP Andrey Novakov also advocated for increased involvement of young people, saying that by joining and becoming involved with political parties, you have an opportunity to create change.

The event also provided an opportunity for both the European Youth Forum and International IDEA to join together in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the objective of enhancing cooperation and collaboration between both organisations. Both Allan Päll and Yves Leterme welcomed the agreement, which will involve future collaboration on the development of joint research initiatives and the ongoing exchange of information on topics of mutual interest.