Youth Delegations & Youth Budgets

Young people around the world are solving current challenges by coming up with innovative solutions. However, young people still don’t have a seat at the decision-making table discriminating them systematically regarding influence. Such discrimination is provided by the very general structure of society, leaving out perfectly capable young individuals.

That’s why we propose the implementation of youth delegations. In the United Arab Emirates, for example, all ministers are obliged to have youth delegates who advise them on all policies. This allows senior government officials to thoroughly reflect on other perspectives, especially youth perspectives. Simultaneously, youth delegates have the possibility to actively draft policies. Youth delegation programs facilitate intergenerational dialogue and can bring about meaningful change if they are implemented in the right way.

We also propose that every major city allocate a dedicated youth budget which is managed by the young people themselves. This participatory budget program is well established in the US city of Boston, which allocates one million US Dollars to young people each year. Some of the projects proposed by the young people include school heating systems to help students concentrate in class during the winter, shelters for those who are experiencing homelessness, and the planting of more trees in the city to help fight climate change. A similar youth budget program runs in Paris.

Youth budgets should be scaled up around the world in order to ensure meaningful youth participation.