How we benefit from empowering the young in politics
What can we learn from different generations? What is on young people’s minds? How do we get citizens to the table and how do we make everybody listen and be open about conflicting positions? Together with five inspiring experts from countries all over Europe, the European Forum Alpbach, Act Now, the City of Vienna and The Innovation in Politics Institute hosted one of the breakout sessions at this year’s Forum Alpbach.
Bringing people together on different tables, each hosted by a moderator, we talked about topics that concern society right now. Brexit, Climate change, empowering the young in politics and equality education were just some of the topics covered during this next level brainstorming session.
The main conclusion we came to throughout the event was as apparent as challenging: Youth participation is key to creating policies that work! As our five experts reported, there are many projects and initiatives that were realized through tools of participation, but many issues are still a long way from being solved. That is why we need to empower young people and “young people empowerers”, like our experts, in order to move things into a more fair, inclusive and sustainable future.
To find out more about our experts, click the links below:
- Amanda Chetwynd-Cowieson, (Head of Student Mobilisation, FFS – For our Future’s Sake, London)
- Jürgen Czernohorszky (Executive City Councillor for Education, Integration, Youth and Personnel, Vienna
- Melanie Eberhard (Project Manager, engage.ch; Member of Management, Umbrella Association Youth Parliaments DSJ, Basel)
- Johanna Leukkanen (Planning Officer, Ruuti, Youth, Culture and Leisure Division, City of Helsinki)
- Suki Wan (Former Chair, SYP – Scottish Youth Parliament, Edinburgh)
