Young parliamentarians from 61 countries have called for wide-ranging measures to be put in place to ensure the world’s youth are politically engaged and represented at the conclusion of the first global conference of its kind.
More than 180 young MPs, youth leaders and experts at the IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians which ended today in Geneva, identified youth quotas for parliaments and political parties among several key actions to assure youth political representation and participation. Currently MPs under 30 years of age represent less than two per cent of parliamentarians.
Quotas were also needed for youth participation in local politics to help prepare young people for national politics. Political parties were encouraged to put youth in their leadership and decision-making structures.
In a Conference outcome statement, young MPs highlighted a reduction in the minimum age for voting and for being elected as another key step that needed to be taken. Voting and eligibility ages required alignment.
Youth involvement in political decision-making and in governance both at national and international levels was similarly called for. This included a youth component in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) which will replace the Millennium Development Goals when they expire in 2015.
Other actions to take include the creation of parliamentary committees on youth, the allocation of sufficient resources in national budgets for youth programmes, training and education and incorporating youth perspectives into national budget plans.
Drawing upon their experience either as young MPs or the part they would have played in youth movements, participants called for democracy to be revived and for regimes the world over to be more democratic. With young people more than anyone concerned by the economic crisis, unemployment, education and climate change, young people want politics and politicians to be efficient, open and transparent.
Political education should be integrated into school curriculums with an emphasis on democratic values, governance institutions and the responsibilities of citizenship as a way to put political engagement at the heart of young people’s lives.
A second IPU Global Conference for Young MPs is planned for next year in Japan. The Geneva gathering was funded by the Japan-based organization, Worldwide Support for Development.
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