Put Youth in Charge
Although young people between the ages of 15 and 24 constitute about 25 percent of the world’s population, their participation and influence in formal politics remain limited. This creates the feeling of alienation among young people and a general sense of not being listened to, which negatively impacts further political involvement. The right to participate in a country’s political and electoral processes is a basic Human Right. The underrepresentation of youth in parliaments and governments across the globe is a serious issue which undermines democracy and threatens the equal right of every citizen to take part in decision-making processes, inevitably leading to missed opportunities for building intergenerational consensus within our societies.
Solution: Enact change with electoral quotas
We demand the adoption of electoral quotas for youth in parliaments in order to be able to truly name them “democratic”. Our Open Society depends on inclusivity and the democratic representation of all groups in our communities, regions, and the state as a whole. Therefore, the opinions of youth must be reflected in the legislative and executive bodies of the state and the policies which they initiate. The implementation of a proportional youth quota for young people to stand as members of parliament would encourage youth to have a guaranteed say and to be listened to when it comes to decision-making.
Our insistence on implementing a youth quota is about bringing a new perspective. It is about the right of democratic representation. It is about taking young people seriously and bringing them and their valuable opinions to the table. In order to foster the election of young members of parliaments under 35–40 years of age, we demand that youth quotas be adopted in respect to the proportion of young people in a state and its demographic characteristics.
Our demand aims to encourage and promote the intergenerational dialogue in society. Through this measure, we could truly strive for an Open Society that listens and takes into account the rights and duties of every individual and works towards inclusion and real democracy. Youth quotas are not an artificial method for placing young people in charge. Youth quotas are a necessity until democracy is truly enacted, corrupt and exclusionary practices eliminated, and awareness raised that everyone is capable of contributing in an Open Society.
We recognise the importance of a better and more democratic access to the decision-making process. This is why we propose placing the focus on youth empowerment through adequate civil education as well as on increasing the opportunities for formal and non-formal engagement of young people. Skills and confidence will facilitate bringing the burning issues identified by the youth population of any country to the political agenda and be addressed through an inclusive and open process of intergenerational dialogue and concrete policy decisions.