Chances and obstacles for young leadership
It is factual that our generation in Europe has experienced a long-standing period of crisis, without having had a say in the creation of the system that caused it. On average, we are faced with unprecedented youth unemployment, we are the ones who suffered most from social, ecological and political decisions taken by our elders - and ensuing developments have indeed adversely affected young people's perception about politics.
Young people are worried about the future and are concerned about those who represent them, the decisions of whom have proved to have real consequences for real people. If we want to be honest with ourselves, politicians are not always listening to the real concerns of people and sometimes they seem to not understand that politics is not a game. Certainly, in many aspects politicians need to better themselves but at the same time young people walking away is definitely not the answer. It is really disappointing to note, that according to a study by the European Youth Forum, 72 per cent of 16/18 to 24 years old did not vote in the 2014 European elections, while more than 50 per cent of 65+ olds did. Such figures are unacceptable. If young people want politics to change, they must also be willing to participate.
Therefore this is a two-fold problem: On the one hand, society is gradually losing trust in politics amongst others due to the crises that occurred in the last decade attributed to bad political decisions. On the other hand, the vast majority of young people have chosen to voluntarily abstain from participating in decision-making. This is highly problematic as young people have different perspectives and a host of different ideas: by voicing their opinions, we could move the political world forward and avoid generation gap issues. If we want to resolve this existential problem at the core of our democracies, we need to take urgent and efficient action to increase young leadership.
Approximately 30 per cent of Europeans are below the age of 30. This age group should be adequately represented in national and European Parliaments which is not the case today. We are not talking about the need of teenage politicians but the point here is to encourage young adults to take a more effective role in politics. There are certainly ways to facilitate that and the assistance of the state in achieving this is essential. For example, a youth-friendly legal framework is crucial which enables youth political participation. In many countries, laws stipulate an eligibility age to run for parliament which creates a gap between the legal age of voting age, on the one hand, and the age at which an individual can serve in elected office. Also, although youth quotas are used as a means to elect more young parliamentarians in certain countries, the majority of these limited seats are allocated to candidates pushing the boundaries of the concept of “young”, often defined as less than 45 years old. All European countries should introduce quotas for young people of maximum 35 years of age.
Furthermore, in line with the digital revolution, it is time to embrace e-voting to encourage higher turnouts. Research indicates that young people were more than half as likely to turn out for an online ballot than vote at a polling station. It further alludes that people who vote online are more likely to hesitate on what to vote. Lastly, more research should be done in relation to lowering the voting age to 16. Lowering the voting age in conjunction with a proper political and civic education at schools can instill a habit of voting in young people and encourage them to become involved with decision-making.
Hence, last but not least we should not forget the role of education in all aspects of our lives and that includes the youth engagement in democratic life. In this regard, free political education is seen as a requirement for more participation. For example, it would be efficient to include a practical element in learning about democracy, at a formal and non-formal level. It is also deemed essential to make political education compulsory at a very young age. That would entail that pupils come across hopeful and engaged role models, learn more about their political history and government structures and most importantly learn the importance of being an active citizen.
To conclude, I believe that the rhetoric that young people hate politics is mistaken. There are young people in our society who volunteer and dedicate their lives to serving political parties, governments, civil organisations or other non-for profit organisations involved in politics. Some devote themselves and their time because they are compelled to change the status quo; some join in because they want to work with people they think alike, some because they feel duty bound. What is to a certain extent true, is that many young people have started to develop a dislike for politics while they should play a much more important role in politics and in everyday life. Supporting more young leadership is not merely good, but necessary for society.
