Supporting capacity-building for youth participation in decision-making
Source: Anu Pekkonen, CIVICUS Participatory Governance Programme Coordinator

It is vital that opportunities are created to foster greater youth participation in political processes. Young people in the global North and South alike express a sense of alienation from the political system, manifested in low voter turnouts among youth and ageing membership of political parties. Whilst this is often interpreted as political apathy in younger generations, evidence shows that it is the lack of confidence in the efficiency of their participation and in their ability to influence political decisions-making that constitutes a more fundamental reason for the disengagement. Frequently having their views and concerns overlooked or undermined by the adult world, while being denied any meaningful decision-making roles, has forced young people into the periphery of democratic process. As a result, their potential to contribute in their local communities and society at large goes largely untapped.  

Participation is a fundamental human right. All people, including the youth, are entitled to express their views on decisions that affect their lives. Whether an issue is of local or national concern, be it on education, employment, health or environment, youth have a right to participate in the discussion, prioritisation and formulation of solutions to the problems they face. Not only is a participation a substantive right, ratified by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), but it also has unassailable instrumental value. Young people are in the best position to identify and assess their needs and come up with appropriate solutions; including young people in decision-making processes will result in more effective programs, policies and services. Moreover it is equally important that the concerns, opinions and ideas of young people are incorporated in decision-making processes beyond the realm of youth-specific issues. Youth voices - and those of other traditionally marginalised groups - are instrumental in establishing democratising politics; making it more representative and inclusive.  

As with all forms of civic participation, the opportunities for youth participation in government decision-making processes are greatest at the local level. The more widespread methods include youth forums, providing for youth representatives to city councils, and the establishment of youth commissions to advise councils on youth-related issues. It is important that youth participation moves beyond tokenistic consultation to genuine participation where young people have a real ‘say’ over decisions; lack of real power to inform and influence decisions can easily lead to disillusionment and a growing sense of alienation from political processes. By contrast, the experience of sharing authority on determining policies and processes fosters active citizenship within the youth and supports their role as partners and stakeholders in society.  

Whilst youth participation has become popular in many local, national and global fora over the past two decades (to the credit of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) and its increased recognition as key to sustaining healthy communities and strengthening democratic processes, there remain multiple barriers to effective youth participation. Among the key obstacles are prevailing attitudes and presumptions of adults to do with youth incompetence, lack of seriousness and experience. Cultural norms prescribing hierarchical relationships between generations also continue to inform adult attitudes. Such attitudes are frequently used to legitimise circumscribing youth participation in the political arena. It is commonly held, however, that when adults are exposed to effective participatory processes involving youth, they are willing to admit the misconceptions and let go of their reservations.  

Whilst the attention to youth issues has seen a burgeoning of national, regional and global youth initiatives and networks, the sharing of practical experience between organisations working in the field of youth participation is still nascent. Young people generally have less experience in decision-making processes. Whilst promoting greater opportunities for youth participation, it is equally important to provide young people with opportunities to share experiences in successful initiatives as well as access to training and capacity-building opportunities to develop the requisite skills and knowledge for effective participation.  

In recognition of the salience of these issues, Instituto Polis, a non-profit organisation based in Sao Paolo , Brazil , has been focusing on the theme of youth participation since the start of the millennium. From 1-4 September 2008 Polis organised, with the support of CIVICUS, a workshop on youth participation in public policies. The workshop was attended by around 30 participants from youth organisations and government from Brazil , Argentina , Uruguay and Chile with a shared interest in fostering youth participation in governance processes. The objective of the workshop was to share experiences of policy influence and enhance participants’ skills and knowledge of the various techniques and methods that can be used to promote effective youth participation and citizen participation in decision-making processes more generally.

The workshop is part of CIVICUS Participatory Governance Programme’s ongoing work on supporting skills-building programmes for participatory governance practitioners from some twenty countries around the world. A similar skills-building event took place in Delhi , India from August 20-26, 2008 . Over the next six months, future programmes are planned for West and Southern Africa and possibly for practitioners from the South-East Asia and Middle East/North Africa regions. For more information about the CIVICUS Participatory Governance Programme and upcoming skills-building events, please visit our website at www.civicus.org/pg/6/46-pg-home or contact us at governance@civicus.org.   

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